BREAKING Slovakia's prime minister injured in shooting
Media reports say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital.
A psychiatrist involved in efforts to support children of Canadian women detained in Syria after travelling to join the Islamic State is urging Ottawa to speed up repatriation efforts.
Dr. Cecile Rousseau, a pediatric psychiatrist at McGill University and an expert on violent radicalization and extremism, was part of a committee of local health officials and child welfare experts brought together by the RCMP's Quebec detachment after the caliphate fell in 2017.
She said she does not believe that a handful of women returning with young children, who will be monitored and given support, will represent a danger to Canadian society.
"I think we should move forward because the more we wait, the more it will be difficult for Canada and for the people coming back to reintegrate into society," Rousseau said.
"So waiting is not a good idea, especially with young children. They are Canadian citizens, let's have them back home -- that's the best outcome for them and for us."
On Wednesday, Oumaima Chouay, 27, returned to Canada with her two children and another Canadian adult, Kimberly Polman of B.C.
Chouay faces charges of leaving Canada to participate in the activity of a terrorist group, participation in the activity of a terrorist group, providing property or services for terrorism purposes and conspiracy to participate in the activity of a terrorist group. Her case returns to court Nov. 8.
Polman was granted bail on Thursday by a B.C. court pending a peace bond hearing.
Rousseau said in an interview Thursday that she could not speak about Chouay's children, but she discussed the reintegration efforts considered before their arrival from northeastern Syria, particularly from the child's perspective.
Quebec authorities have been awaiting the return of citizens who travelled to the Middle East to join the Islamic State, with a particular concern for young children born overseas and arriving in Canada for the first time.
They spent more than a year discussing the plight of those children and their mothers held in detention camps and coming up with a plan for them.
Rousseau said officials looked at the experience of England and France, where mothers were separated from their children automatically after being repatriated. They also examined other models that involved a community approach, favouring no separation between mother and children and a quick integration into school and community.
"The idea was to favour, as much as possible, the preservation of an attachment relation," she said. "With a parent if possible, certainly with a relative and the extended family as long as the kids were safe. And not to take the predicament of other European countries who had kind of considered that extended family should be considered suspect until proven otherwise."
Authorities hope to avoid a revolving door of placement, especially "for kids who have undergone cumulative trauma, multiple attachment disruption and living in hardship or survival situations for the last at least three years if not during their whole lives," Rousseau said.
During a news conference on Wednesday, the Quebec RCMP said the force has long held concerns about the kids. Insp. David Beaudoin said extensive measures had been taken to ensure they receive proper support, including the involvement of extended family.
Rousseau said authorities considered everything from their arrival at the airport and providing kids waiting for hours while their parents undergo interrogation with food, toys and a place to rest. They also discussed what to do if there's no extended family in Canada, finding safe foster environments while promoting cultural and religious continuity and safety.
Rousseau said the first order of business was to determine whether the returning mothers were available for the children, both psychologically and emotionally. A depressed and traumatized mother may be able to look after the children, but not necessarily provide emotional care, she said.
"Because we know that this is what makes kids feel safe and this is absolutely essential," Rousseau said.
Rousseau said most of the kids coming to Canada are toddlers or school-aged children who have experienced trauma, war or grief of losing a loved one, notably their fathers. Many of them will suffer from acute post-traumatic stress disorder but also complex post-traumatic stress, where patients deal with deprivation at the same time as traumatic symptoms, she added.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the repatriation efforts last week and stressed it was important that people who travelled for the purpose of supporting terrorism face consequences.
"Fundamentally, travelling for the purpose of supporting terrorism is a crime in Canada. And anyone who travelled for the purpose of supporting terrorism should face criminal charges," he said.
Asked if other repatriation efforts are underway, Trudeau said Canadian authorities continue to "engage responsibly" in the region.
Media reports say Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital.
Wildfires continue to impact air quality across Western Canada, with conditions expected to worsen on Wednesday before improving.
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for an armed gang that killed two prison officers and seriously injured three others to spring an inmate they were escorting.
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
As wildfires rage in British Columbia, the family of a nine-year-old who died last summer is trying to protect people from poor air quality due to smoke this year.
A Malahide Township resident is out more than $2 million following a romance scam.
The husband of adult film actress Stormy Daniels said on Tuesday that there’s a 'good chance' the couple will leave the country if former U.S. president Donald Trump is acquitted in his Manhattan criminal trial.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.