Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
World leaders have begun to respond as Russia moves military forces into Ukraine early Thursday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemning the action as an “egregious attack.”
“These unprovoked actions are a clear further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Trudeau said in a statement.
“Canada calls on Russia to immediately cease all hostile and provocative actions against Ukraine and withdraw all military and proxy forces from the country. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and the Ukrainian people must be free to determine their own future.”
Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden called Russia’s move an “unprovoked and unjustified attack.”
Biden said in a statement that “the prayers of the entire world are with the people of Ukraine tonight.”
“President Putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering,” he said. “Russia alone is responsible for the death and destruction this attack will bring, and the United States and its Allies and partners will respond in a united and decisive way.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in a televised address that Russia would be performing a military operation within Ukraine in response to threats, claiming that the goal is not to occupy the country.
He stated that the Ukrainian “regime” would be responsible for any bloodshed.
This comes after weeks of rising tensions and warnings from Biden and other world leaders that an invasion from Russia could be imminent. Putin signed a decree Tuesday recognizing two regions in eastern Ukraine occupied by pro-Russian separatists as independent entities.
Both Trudeau and Biden added in their statements that they would be meeting with G7 nations the following morning to discuss the situation and coordinate with NATO partners on a response.
“In the face of these attacks on Ukraine, Canada will take additional action to stop Russia’s unwanted aggression,” Trudeau stated.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly stated in a tweet that “Russia’s egregious and unprovoked attack on Ukraine is a challenge to democracy, the likes of which reached new heights today.”
“These acts, with profound human consequences, will not go unpunished,” she continued. “Canada stands with the people of Ukraine.”
The United Kingdom has weighed in as well, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeting that he is “appalled by the horrific events in Ukraine” and had already spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“President Putin has chosen a path of bloodshed and destruction by launching this unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” Johnson stated.
“The U.K. and our allies will respond decisively.”
Bob Rae, Canada’s representative to the United Nations, tweeted in response to the Russian action, calling it a “grotesque warcrime.”
“Unprovoked, evil, aggression,” he continued in further tweets. “From a permanent member of the Security Council, during a meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations.”
"When Pearl Harbour happened the meetings stopped. C’mon people, stop pretending. War has started."
He was referencing a late-night meeting of the UN Security Council which was taking place while Russian forces moved into Ukraine.
During that meeting, the Ukrainian ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, addressed his Russian counterpart, Vasily Nebenzya, who is the council’s current president, calling on him to step down as chair and tell Putin to “stop the aggression.”
“There is no purgatory for war criminals,” he said. “They go straight to hell, ambassador.”
Within an hour of Putin announcing the “military operation,” those on the ground in Ukraine were reporting the sound of explosions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
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.