Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
The leaders of 44 European countries stretching from Iceland all the way to Turkey met Thursday in what many said was a united stand against Russia's war on Ukraine, as an energy crisis and high inflation fuelled by the conflict wreak havoc on their economies.
The inaugural summit of the European Political Community involves the 27 European Union member countries, aspiring partners in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, as well as neighbours like Britain -- the only country to have left the EU -- and Turkey.
Russia is the one major European power not invited, along with its neighbour and supporter in the war Belarus.
"What you will see here is that Europe stands in solidarity against the Russian invasion in Ukraine," Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told reporters at Prague Castle in the Czech Republic, where the gathering was taking place.
Her Belgian counterpart, Alexander De Croo, said "if you just look at the attendance here, you see the importance. The whole European continent is here, except two countries: Belarus and Russia. So it shows how isolated those two countries are."
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said the fallout from Russia's war on Ukraine is something they all have in common.
"It's affecting all of us in the security sense, and its affecting all of us through our economies, through the rising energy costs. So the only way that we can handle this is working together, and not just the European Union. All the European countries need to work together," he said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was in Prague for the meeting, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the leaders by video link.
"There are no representatives of Russia with us here -- a state that geographically seems to belong to Europe, but from the point of view of its values and behavior is the most anti-European state in the world," Zelenskyy said.
"We are now in a strong position to direct all possible powers of Europe to end the war and guarantee long-term peace," he said. "For Ukraine, for Europe, for the world."
The forum is the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and is backed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. They say it should aim to boost security and prosperity across the continent.
Critics claim the new forum is an attempt to put the brakes on EU enlargement. Others fear it may become a talking shop, perhaps convening once or twice a year but devoid of any real clout or content.
Europe's leading human rights watchdog -- The Council of Europe -- seemed perplexed by the gathering. Spokesman Daniel Holtgen tweeted that the "European Political Community "is still to be defined."
"In the field of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, such a pan-European community already exists: it is the Council of Europe," he said.
Macron described the gathering as "an important moment." The aim, he said, is to forge a common strategy to confront the challenges Europe faces. "Up until now, that did not really exist and could lead to divisions."
Scholz called the new forum "a great innovation" because leaders can talk about their common concerns "free of a daily agenda and the need to reach agreements." This would help improve ties with the EU's neighbours, "many of which want to to become members."
He said the new European grouping is not about creating "a new institution with an administration, bureaucracy," but instead a venue for heads of state and government to meet regularly.
Thursday's summit kicked off with an opening ceremony, and was followed by a series of meetings for the leaders to discuss the key challenges Europe faces: security, energy, climate, the dire economic situation, and migration.
No EU money or programs are on offer, and no formal declaration will be issued after the summit. The proof of its success is likely to be whether a second meeting ever actually takes place.
------
Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.