Naval officer to testify and no time shift for Yukon: In The News for March 12

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 12 …

What we are watching in Canada …

OTTAWA — A naval officer reportedly threatened for reporting an allegation of misconduct against the chief of the defence staff is to appear before a parliamentary committee today.

The House of Commons defence committee summoned Lt.-Cmdr. Raymond Trotter to testify after Global News reported that he received two anonymous threats after bringing forward an allegation of misconduct by Admiral Art McDonald last month.

McDonald has since temporarily stepped aside while military police investigate the allegation, which hasn’t been detailed publicly.

The opposition Conservatives have accused the Liberal government of being behind the alleged threats, a charge that Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s office has strongly rejected.

The committee will also hear for a second time today from Sajjan, who is expected to offer more details about his handling of an allegation of sexual misconduct against then-defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance in March 2018.

Sajjan previously refused to confirm that military ombudsman Gary Walbourne raised the allegation with him at that time, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has since confirmed it. 

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Also this …

WHITEHORSE, Yukon — As other provinces and territories get ready to roll their clocks forward this weekend, the government official behind Yukon’s move away from the seasonal time shift says it’s been a relatively smooth process.

The territory stopped changing its clocks in November, with officials rearranging flight schedules and working with technology companies responsible for things like the clock in a vehicle that runs on a global position system.

Government analyst Andrew Smith says the process has largely been trouble free. 

He says the territory has shown that getting rid of the seasonal time change can be done, despite the hesitation from other North America jurisdictions.

The time change has affected those outside of the territory, largely along the Yukon-B.C. boundary.

Andie Neekan, in Atlin, B.C., says many residents keep clocks with one time showing local time and the other showing Yukon time.

She says the community’s residents go to Yukon for errands such as doctor appointments or to buy groceries.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

WASHINGTON — One year after the nation was brought to a near-standstill by the coronavirus, President Joe Biden pledged in his first prime-time address to make all adults eligible for vaccines by May 1 and raised the possibility of beginning to “mark our independence from this virus” by the Fourth of July. He offered Americans fresh hope and appealed anew for their help. 

Speaking in the White House East Room on Thursday night, Biden honoured the “collective suffering” of Americans over the past year in his 24-minute address and then offered them a vision for a return to a modicum of normalcy this summer.  

“We are bound together by the loss and the pain of the days that have gone by,” he said. “We are also bound together by the hope and the possibilities in the days in front of us.”  

He predicted Americans could safely gather at least in small groups for July Fourth to “make this Independence Day truly special.”  

But he also cautioned that this was a “goal” and attaining it depends on people’s co-operation in following public health guidelines and rolling up their sleeves to get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Only that, he said, can bring about an end to a pandemic that has killed more than 530,000 Americans and disrupted the lives of countless more.  “While it was different for everyone, we all lost something,” Biden said of the sacrifices of the yearlong-and-counting pandemic.  

The speech came just hours after Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion relief package that he said will help defeat the virus, nurse the economy back to health and deliver direct aid to Americans struggling to make ends meet.  

Some cash distributions could begin arriving in the bank accounts of Americans this weekend.  

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

BEIJING — A Communist Party newspaper says China will soon begin trials for two Canadians who were arrested two years ago in apparent retaliation for Canada’s detention of a senior executive for Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies. 

The Global Times said Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor “will soon be tried” after they were charged with “crimes undermining China’s national security” in June 2020.  

Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Spavor, an entrepreneur, were arrested in December 2018, days after Meng Wanzhou was detained at Vancouver airport. The U.S. wants her extradited to face fraud charges.  

China has revealed few details of the charges against the two, and Canadian diplomats allowed occasional visits have said little other than to call for them to be released.  

The Global Times said Kovrig was “accused of having used an ordinary passport and business visa to enter China to steal sensitive information and intelligence through contacts in China since 2017, while Spavor was accused of being a key source of intelligence for Kovrig.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said he had no additional details, but that China had “fully protected all the legal rights of the people concerned,” including allowing Canadian diplomats to visit the two.  

Meng, who remains free on bail in Vancouver, is also the daughter of the founder of Huawei, which China’s government has promoted around the world as one of its national champions. Her arrest enraged Beijing, which sees the U.S. case as a political move designed to prevent China’s rise, and it sent China-Canada relations into a tailspin.

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On this day in 1966 …

Chicago Blackhawks winger Bobby Hull became the first player in the NHL to score more than 50 goals in a season, getting his 51st goal against the New York Rangers

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In sports …

The Canadian Olympic Committee says its “strong preference” is for athletes competing in the Tokyo Games this summer to receive a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada.

David Shoemaker, CEO and secretary general of the COC, delivered his thoughts in a statement after the International Olympic Committee and China announced details of a vaccine partnership on Thursday.

The deal will have the Chinese Olympic Committee buying and providing vaccines for people taking part in the upcoming Games in both Tokyo and Beijing.

However, none of the Chinese vaccines are approved for use in Canada.

Shoemaker says the COC “will continue to follow Health Canada guidelines and the recommendations of our chief medical officer and the return to sport task force for all matters relating to the health and safety of Team Canada.”

Vaccines are not mandatory for athletes to compete in the Tokyo Games.

Federal officials said Wednesday that Canada is expected to have received one dose for each Canadian by the end of June. The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to begin July 23.

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ICYMI …

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is introducing restrictions on access to used police gear in reaction to last year’s mass shooting by a gunman who wore an RCMP uniform and drove a replica police cruiser.

Justice Minister Randy Delorey said today the Police Identity Management Act is expected to be passed in the spring session, in recognition of the 13-hour rampage last April 18-19 by a killer who took 22 lives before he was killed by police.

In the days following the tragedy, calls mounted for restrictions that would end the trade in surplus or unneeded police uniforms, as existing law only prohibits using the gear to impersonate a police officer.

The new legislation would make it illegal for unauthorized individuals to create, possess or sell the equipment and it would restrict ownership of police vehicle decals and police vehicle equipment to police and some others — such as film production companies — who will be governed by specific regulations.

Former police officers will be allowed to keep ceremonial uniforms and badges, but they must be rendered “unserviceable,” and the law will set up a process for the general public to forfeit or “permanently alter” any police-issued items they currently own.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2021

The Canadian Press