Canada is the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession to join NATO
Canada is the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession to join NATO
Canada is the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession to join NATO
Canada became the first country to ratify Finland and Sweden's accession protocols to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday.
The move follows NATO leaders officially inviting the two nations to join the alliance during a summit in Madrid last week, and brings the two countries a step closer to becoming full NATO members.
"Canada has full confidence in Finland and Sweden's ability to integrate quickly and effectively into NATO and contribute to the Alliance’s collective defence," Trudeau said in a statement.
"Their membership will make NATO stronger and we call on all NATO members to move swiftly to complete their ratification processes to limit opportunities for interference by adversaries."
According to The Associated Press, all 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols on Tuesday, sending the membership bids to each nation for legislative approval. Both Canada and Denmark were quick to turn around their ratification documents.
"Thank You Canada! Canada is the first country to deliver its instrument of ratification to the United States Department of State, the depository of the North Atlantic Treaty!" tweeted Sweden's Ambassador to Canada Urban Ahlin.
In Canada, the federal government made moves domestically to move through the ratification quickly, Trudeau said. This included issuing orders-in-council authorizing Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to "take the actions necessary to ratify, on behalf of Canada."
Ahead of Parliament adjourning for the summer, the House of Commons debated and voted on a motion signalling their support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
In May, the House Public Safety and National Security Committee adopted a motion expressing "strong support" for the two Scandanavian countries’ membership in the alliance. The motion also called on all NATO members to approve their applications as quickly as possible.
A debate was held on this motion on June 1, and it passed unanimously when put to a vote the following day.
"Russia's war in Ukraine has actualized something that was once only theoretical. An authoritarian state led by an autocrat has attacked a democracy: It has demonstrated that it is willing and able to attack a democracy. It has made clear that democracies that stand alone and are not part of military alliances are most vulnerable," said Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong during the House debate. "That is why it has become necessary to bring both Sweden and Finland into the NATO alliance. This is an urgent matter."
Also taking part in the debate, NDP MP and foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said she supports Finland and Sweden doing all they can to prevent their countries from being threatened further by Russia.
"Prior to the further invasion of Ukraine, support for NATO membership was around 20 to 30 per cent in Sweden and Finland. Now, 76 per cent of Finnish people support joining NATO. Very simply, Vladimir Putin and the aggression of the Russian Federation are responsible for escalating tensions in the region and leading Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership," McPherson said.
With NATO member countries having different processes for completing ratification, it could be some time still before the two nations formally become a part of the longstanding intergovernmental military alliance.
With files from Senior Political Correspondent for CTV News Channel Mike Le Couteur
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly was challenged Thursday on her assertion the federal government making the decision to grant a two-year exemption to federal sanctions, allowing a Canadian company to return repaired turbines from a Russian-German natural gas pipeline, was done to 'call Putin's bluff.'
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair and RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki took turns Monday denying pressuring the RCMP, or interfering in the police investigation into the Nova Scotia mass shooting, saying that their approaches were appropriate and warranted, given the unprecedented nature of the situation.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's inflation rate is set to remain 'painfully high' for the rest of the year. In an exclusive interview with CTV News, Macklem says the path to a 'soft' economic landing is 'narrowing' but at this point the central bank is not projecting a recession.
Five months ago, the first 'Freedom Convoy' trucks rolled into Ottawa. After the federal government took the unprecedented step of invoking the Emergencies Act to end the protests, a series of inquiries and probes have been initiated. With the nation's capital bracing for more protests over the Canada Day weekend, CTVNews.ca takes a look at where the main commissions and studies stand.
Now that the House and Senate have adjourned for the summer, CTVNews.ca breaks down what key pieces of legislation passed in the final days of the spring session, and what key government bills will be left to deal with in the fall.
'After a weeks-long survey of just about everyone I've met ... the overall judgment on Justin Trudeau is one of being a political write-off,' writes Don Martin in an opinion column for CTVNews.ca. 'He’s too woke, too precious, preachy in tone, exceedingly smug, lacking in leadership, fading in celebrity, slow to act, short-sighted in vision and generally getting more irritating with every breathlessly whispered public pronouncement,' Martin writes.
It's time for the whiners to win and the government to reopen the skies, a return to those glory times of flying when the biggest complaints were expensive parking, a middle seat and stale pretzels, commentator Don Martin writes in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
In an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin says Doug Ford coasted to majority re-election victory in Ontario by sticking to the middle of the road: 'Not too progressive. Not too conservative.'
There's a lesson for Canada's political leaders in the short life and quick death of Jason Kenney as premier of Alberta, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
It's becoming a make-or-break week for two Conservative premiers as their futures pivot on a pair of defining moments, writes Don Martin in an exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
Canada’s deputy attorney general says the Department of Justice had ‘no involvement whatsoever’ in the department’s review and delivery of documents to ongoing independent public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.
Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet is being accused of sexual assault in a class-action lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. The allegations are part of a series of claims made against clergy members that are included in two class-action lawsuits against the church that have been authorized by a judge.
The first possible case of human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox -- recently reported in a couple and their pet in Paris -- had been a theoretical risk up till now, said Dr. Rosamund Lewis, technical lead on the monkeypox response for the World Health Organization.
A B.C. man, who was among the first Canadians approved for Canada's Vaccine Injury Support Program, says he is frustrated with the length of time it is taking to receive compensation.
Parents of young children will need a prescription for over-the-counter fever and pain medication due to a shortage in pharmacies, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children is warning.
The next time the Bank of Canada raises interest rates on the scheduled date of September 7, 2022, it could potentially trigger a recession. Although there may be a chance that we don’t enter into a recession and the BoC is still hoping for a soft landing, it’s best to be prepared. Contributor Christopher Liew explains how.
Two infant products, manufactured by baby gear company 4moms, are being recalled due to strangulation hazards, according to a consumer product notice issued by Health Canada.
Canada's year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 7.6 per cent in July, with the deceleration largely driven by a decline in gas prices even as prices for food, rent and travel continued to rise.
Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Crimea on Tuesday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.
Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet is being accused of sexual assault in a class-action lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. The allegations are part of a series of claims made against clergy members that are included in two class-action lawsuits against the church that have been authorized by a judge.
Canada's year-over-year inflation rate slowed to 7.6 per cent in July, with the deceleration largely driven by a decline in gas prices even as prices for food, rent and travel continued to rise.
Two infant products, manufactured by baby gear company 4moms, are being recalled due to strangulation hazards, according to a consumer product notice issued by Health Canada.
The next time the Bank of Canada raises interest rates on the scheduled date of September 7, 2022, it could potentially trigger a recession. Although there may be a chance that we don’t enter into a recession and the BoC is still hoping for a soft landing, it’s best to be prepared. Contributor Christopher Liew explains how.
Crews are working to drain fuel from a sunken fish boat in U.S. waters just east of Vancouver Island before it fouls a key feeding ground for endangered southern resident killer whales. An update from the U.S. Coast Guard says the 15-metre Aleutian Isle has shifted since it went down Saturday off Washington state, near San Juan Island, roughly 25 kilometres east of Victoria.
Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Crimea on Tuesday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a leader in the Republican resistance to former U.S. President Donald Trump, is fighting to save her seat in the House on Tuesday as voters weigh in on the direction of the GOP in two deep-red states.
The international community needs to step up to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights abuses in Afghanistan, a year after the militant Islamist group took control of the country and limited the rights of women and girls, according to Heather Barr, associate director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed no regret Tuesday for the deadly attack by Palestinian militants against Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics half a century ago, countering that Israel had committed "Holocausts" against Palestinians over the years.
Lebanon's state prosecutor on Tuesday released a man who took up to 10 people hostage in a bank at gunpoint while demanding funds from his locked savings account.
Canada’s deputy attorney general says the Department of Justice had ‘no involvement whatsoever’ in the department’s review and delivery of documents to ongoing independent public inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia.
A former Supreme Court of Canada judge working with the inquiry into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting says he's worried the federal Justice Department has been discouraging witnesses from being forthcoming with relevant evidence.
The first possible case of human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox -- recently reported in a couple and their pet in Paris -- had been a theoretical risk up till now, said Dr. Rosamund Lewis, technical lead on the monkeypox response for the World Health Organization.
Parents of young children will need a prescription for over-the-counter fever and pain medication due to a shortage in pharmacies, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children is warning.
While no human crew will travel aboard NASA's Artemis I mission, that doesn't mean the Orion spacecraft will be empty. When the Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, scheduled for liftoff on August 29, set off on a trip beyond the moon, the spacecraft will be carrying some special items on board including three mannequins, toys and even an Amazon Alexa.
The fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin last year was an accident, according to a determination made by New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports. The medical investigator's report was made public Monday by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office along with numerous reports from the FBI on the revolver and ammunition that were collected following the shooting.
The next time the Bank of Canada raises interest rates on the scheduled date of September 7, 2022, it could potentially trigger a recession. Although there may be a chance that we don’t enter into a recession and the BoC is still hoping for a soft landing, it’s best to be prepared. Contributor Christopher Liew explains how.
A private fundraising campaign is underway in Norway to erect a statue of a walrus that drew crowds of spectators but was euthanized Sunday after authorities concluded the massive marine mammal posed a risk to humans.
Chloe D'Agostini was at a co-working cafe while living abroad when someone walked in, sat down beside her, and discretely stole her wallet from her bag.
Montreal's Eugenie Bouchard returns to the hardcourt this week following a 17-month layoff. The former fifth ranked player in the world is taking part in the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open WTA 125 event.
Jalen Harris has been reinstated by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association after serving a one-year suspension for a positive drug test.
A test car with autonomous steering capability veered into oncoming traffic in Germany, killing one person and seriously injuring nine others, police said Tuesday.
