Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Calls mount for Canadian response on Hong Kong

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Aug, 2020 07:48 PM
  • Calls mount for Canadian response on Hong Kong

The federal Liberal government is facing increasingly frustrated and worried calls to help people leave Hong Kong for Canada as China continues to crack down on pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.

The growing exasperation follows Ottawa's suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong in early July after China passed a security law that put Hong Kong under tighter control from Beijing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the measure and asserted at the time that the federal government was looking at a variety of other responses as well, including on immigration.

The hope for activists, human-rights groups and others at the time was that the government would make it easier for people in Hong Kong to move to Canada, particularly those who already have family here or who have job skills.

But the government has yet to make any decision two months later despite Chinese authorities' having conducted several waves of arrests as part of a crackdown on pro-democracy activists and media.

The government says it is still examining its options, but some in Canada say the time to act is now before Chinese authorities make it impossible for people to leave.

MORE National ARTICLES

Provinces, regions weigh different COVID-19 factors on reopening: PM

Provinces, regions weigh different COVID-19 factors on reopening: PM
As some provinces considered staggered steps Wednesday towards reopening their economies, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear some of them may ease restrictions at different speeds.

Provinces, regions weigh different COVID-19 factors on reopening: PM

More than half of Canadian companies see sales drop at least 20%: StatCan

More than half of Canadian companies see sales drop at least 20%: StatCan
Almost one-third of businesses could stay open if physical distancing rules remain in place for six months, but nearly as many suggest they won't survive that long, according to survey results from Statistics Canada that provide a window into the financial strain of anti-pandemic rules on companies large and small.

More than half of Canadian companies see sales drop at least 20%: StatCan

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis
Doctors say they're becoming increasingly concerned about how they're going to handle the swelling backlog of elective surgeries once the immediate COVID-19 threat has ebbed.

Doctors fret over surgery backlog after immediate COVID-19 crisis

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19
Two more poultry processing plants in British Columbia say they have workers who have tested positive for COVID-19. Sofina Foods Inc. in Port Coquitlam and Fraser Valley Specialty Poultry in Chilliwack say each of their facilities has one worker who has tested positive.

Two more poultry plants in B.C. report workers who have COVID-19

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine
While researchers across the planet race to find a vaccine for COVID-19, a new poll suggests Canadians are divided over whether getting it should be mandatory or voluntary — setting up a potentially prickly public health debate if a vaccine becomes available. The federal government has committed tens of millions of dollars to help find or create a vaccine for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness that has infected at least 48,000 Canadians and killed more than 2,700.

Canadians divided over COVID-19 vaccine

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring
Canada's national police force wants a digital tool to harvest data from a sweeping variety of online sources, including the darkest reaches of the internet, to provide early information on threats such as disease outbreaks and mass shootings. The software would allow an RCMP officer to quickly mine data about a person's internet activities, from an emoji posting on Facebook to an illicit firearm purchase on the so-called darknet.

RCMP to ramp up online threat monitoring