Roundup: Zelenskyy’s trip to Canada

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It was Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s big day in Ottawa, his first since the war began, and he began the day paying a visit to Governor General Mary May Simon. She taught him the Inuktitut word “Ajuinnata,” meaning perseverance in the face of adversity, and it’s a message Zelenskyy took with him. (Simon also taught that word to the Queen when she was first appointed, and has been something of a calling card that she leaves with those she interacts with).

From there, Zelenskyy arrived on Parliament Hill and did the official greetings within the West Block before having an extended bilateral meeting that included signing new economic agreements and pledges of another round of economic and military support from Canada. And from there, to the House of Commons to address a joint session of Parliament, giving an excellent speech (that was far better than the one Joe Biden delivered a few months ago).

From there, Zelenskyy was off to Toronto to meet more business groups and supporters in Canada. The CBC has photos from the day here, and here is a summary of what was agreed to between the leaders.

Ukraine Dispatch:

While the cat’s away… Ukrainian forces launched a missile strike against Russian forces in occupied Crimea, and destroyed the headquarters of Russia’s navy in the region. On the eastern front, Ukrainian troops are vowing to fully re-take Bakhmut, but know that it’s going to be a challenge.

https://twitter.com/ukraine_world/status/1705219158013522222

https://twitter.com/rustem_umerov/status/1705273496157192520

Good reads:

  • The US Ambassador to Canada confirms that shared intelligence from Five Eyes partners helped inform Trudeau about India’s involvement in that Sikh murder.
  • Here is what we know about India’s decision to stop processing visas from Canada.
  • CBSA needs to convert some of their immigration detention facilities for high-risk individuals as their agreements with some provinces to use their jails expire.
  • Canada Post says they will review their policies after the Privacy Commissioner slammed them for using address data for targeted marketing campaign data.
  • Mark Miller gives a very frank interview about his job, and his feelings about the leader of the opposition. (More of this, please!)
  • Jagmeet Singh and Elizabeth May each wrote to Justice Hogue as she begins work on the foreign interference inquiry, each for different reasons (and its’ bad. Stop it).
  • Doug Ford lost a third minister yesterday, as his labour minister decided he was done with politics and is heading to the private sector.
  • It turns out that Scott Moe’s rush to create a restrictive pronoun policy in schools was based on 18 letters, 11 of which were not identified as being from parents.
  • Matt Gurney worries that Canadians’ good fortune has bred complacency that is going to hurt us as the security picture around the globe gets dicier.
  • My column looks closer into the story of Senator McPhedran’s expenses, and the underlying message in it that could influence other senators (in a bad way).

Odds and ends:

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One thought on “Roundup: Zelenskyy’s trip to Canada”

  1. Highlight of the day when the Honourable Members stood up and applauded a 98 year-old Ukrainian veteran who fought on the side of the Nazis against Russia.

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