Canada signs treaty banning cluster bombs

OTTAWA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Canada announced Wednesday it has signed into an international treaty to ban cluster bombs and called on more countries to follow suit.

Canadian Ambassador to Norway Jillian Stirk signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions Wednesday on behalf of Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, Cannon said in a news release.

The convention bans members from using, stockpiling, producing or transferring cluster weapons, small explosives which are designed to cover a large area in a short period of time and are particularly dangerous to civilians and children, long after periods of conflict.

"This convention is a significant achievement," Cannon said, promising that Canada will work closely with other nations in the convention, the United Nations, Red Cross and others to "rid the world of cluster munitions, and as far as possible repair the shattered lives of people who have suffered because of them."

The treaty was initiated by Norway, who was the first to sign on, followed by Laos and Lebanon. More than 100 countries are expected to sign over Dec. 3-4.

"In Canada's view, the Convention on Cluster Munitions strikes an appropriate balance between humanitarian and security considerations. It establishes the highest international humanitarian standards with respect to cluster munitions, while allowing its signatories to continue to engage in combined security operations with allies that have not signed," Cannon said in the release.

Canada Green Party leader defeated in parliamentary election

OTTAWA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Leader of Canada's Green Party Elizabeth May was defeated in Tuesday's election, in her first attempt to win a seat in the parliament.

May lost to Conservative rival Peter MacKay, who as the current defense minister, has a traditional stronghold in the Central NovaRiding of the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia.

A former lawyer who entered politics with the only focus on protecting the environment, May has faired well in the campaign and become the first Green Party leader to take part in the leaders' televised debates.

Under May's leadership, the Green Party seized the first seat in the parliament earlier this year after a former Liberal member crossed the floor to become a Green member.

About 23 million voters across the country are casting the votes, with some polls in the western coast currently still open. Preliminary results of the polling stations in the eastern regions of the country have started to come out.

Canada Conservatives win second minority government

OTTAWA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Conservative Party won another minority government in Canada's general election Tuesday, to the disappointment of leader Stephen Harper who had triggered the election in hopes of achieving a majority.

The Conservatives garnered 143 seats out of a total 308 seats of the House of Commons, considerably stronger than the 126 seats that they got in the 2006 election. They need at least 155 seats to form a majority government.

According to preliminary results from Elections Canada, the Liberals stand at 76. The separatist Bloc Quebecois has won 49 seats, the leftist NDP 38.

Harper called the election on Sept. 7 on the grounds that the parliament had run into a deadlock and that his government has lost confidence from opposition parties.

Harper held a comfortable lead over his Liberal rival Stephane Dion at the early stage of the campaign, with a majority government well in the reach. But a sudden downturn of the economysaw his fortunes downturning too.

He had not been able to suggest any fundamental measures to face the looming economic difficulty throughout the campaign, while only arguing that a steady hand would get Canada through the turbulence that has hit world markets.

With his reserved character, he has been accused by opponents as been aloof from ordinary Canadians' concerns.

The Liberals suffered huge losses in the election, as it was hampered in the campaign by the ineffective performance of leader Stephane Dion and his insistence that despite tumbling markets and fears of a recession, the party would impose a carbon tax designed to cut greenhouse gases.

Before the dissolution of the parliament, the Conservatives held 127 seats in parliament while the Liberals had 95.

Canada Green Party fails to make breakthrough in federal election

OTTAWA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Green Party did not make any breakthrough in the general election Tuesday after leader Elizabeth May failed in her first attempt to win a seat in the parliament.

The only Green parliament member also lost his bid to retain his seat, rendering the party to zero in the House of Commons. British Columbia MP Blair Wilson, who switched to the Greens this summer after getting elected as a Liberal in 2006, lost his seat to a Conservative rival.

Despite a spirited effort, May ultimately failed in her bid to unseat Defense Minister Peter MacKay in Central Nova, a riding that has been in the MacKay family for decades.

But the bright spot for the Greens was their surge in popular support as, with a majority of polls reporting results, they received more than 745,000 votes, or 7 percent of the vote. In the last election, the Greens won 664,000 votes, or 4.5 percent of the total.

A former lawyer who entered politics with the only focus on protecting the environment, May has faired well in the campaign and become the first Green Party leader to take part in the leaders' televised debates.

At a speech after the election, May said she intends to stay on as leader and will run again.

"My personal preference is to remain as leader and continue to be a voice for change because I think Canadians find my voice interesting and refreshing," she said.

According to Elections Canada, the Conservative Party won 144 seats out of a total of 308 seats of the House of Commons, the Liberals got 77, the Bloc Quebecois 48 and the NDP at 37. Two independents also were elected

Canadian PM accused of plagiarizing Australian PM's Iraq speech in 2003

OTTAWA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was accused Tuesday of plagiarizing a speech from Australian Prime Minister John Howard in a 2003 address in the Parliament calling for Canadian troops to be deployed to Iraq.

At a campaign appearance in Toronto, Liberal Party foreign affairs critic Bob Rae played video showing then prime minister Howard speaking to the Australian Parliament on March 18, 2003, alongside video of an address by Harper, at the time the leader of the Canadian Alliance, two days later in Ottawa.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper was accused Tuesday of plagiarizing a speech from Australian Prime Minister John Howard in a 2003 address in the Parliament calling for Canadian troops to be deployed to Iraq.

The two speeches, which the Liberals posted to their website, appear to have lengthy duplicate passages, according to a comparison of the two parliaments' Hansard transcripts, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported Tuesday.

In one segment, both leaders are heard saying:

"It is inherently dangerous to allow a country, such as Iraq, to retain weapons of mass destruction, particularly in light of its past aggressive behavior. If the world community fails to disarm Iraq we fear that other rogue states will be encouraged to believe that they too can have these most deadly of weapons to systematically defy international resolutions and that the world will do nothing to stop them."

The clips then jump to Howard saying: "As the possession of weapons of mass destruction spreads, so the danger of such weapons coming into the hands of terrorist groups will multiply. That is the ultimate nightmare which the world must take decisive and effective steps to prevent. Possession of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by terrorists would constitute a direct, undeniable and lethal threat to Australia and its people."

According to the Hansard transcripts, Harper said:

"As the possession of weapons of mass destruction spreads, the danger of such weapons coming into the hands of terrorist groups will multiply, particularly given in this case the shameless association of Iraq with rogue non-state organizations. That is the ultimate nightmare which the world must take decisive and effective steps to prevent. Possession of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by terrorists would constitute a direct, undeniable and lethal threat to the world, including to Canada and its people."

Immediately following the speech, then-Foreign Affairs minister Bill Graham praised Harper for his "thoughtful and powerful presentation of his party's case."

Rae called the apparent duplication "shocking," saying it reveals the ideological approach of the Harper government in shaping Canada's foreign policy.

"How does a political leader in Canada's Parliament, on such a crucial issue, in fact an issue that in many ways defined our foreign policy for a generation, end up giving the exact same speech as another country's leader?" Rae said. "Let alone one who was the key leader of George W. Bush's 'coalition of the willing.'"

Harper's spokesman Kory Teneycke dismissed the issue as irrelevant, saying the release of the video was an "act of desperation" from the Liberal campaign a day ahead of the first of the leaders' debates.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion called for Harper to be expelled from the House of Commons over the affair, in which he said Harper "plagiarized George W. Bush about the Iraq war" in a telling way.

"It matters a lot, tremendously," he told reporters at a campaign stop in Gatineau, Que. "Canadians want that their country speak with its own voice on the world stage. It's true for the prime minister; it's true for the Opposition leader."

The revelation came as the party leaders were preparing for two televised debates later this week ahead of the Oct. 14 election.

Poll: Canada Conservatives hold lead over Liberals

OTTAWA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Conservative Party is holding its lead over major opposition the Liberal Party, as the election campaign enters into its fourth week.

A Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey released Tuesday had Stephen Harper's Conservatives steady at 36 percent, with the Liberals holding at 26. The gap between the two parties has been at this level since Harper announced that an election was to be held Oct. 14 date on Sept. 7.

The figures were also close to those in the last election in 2006.

The NDP was at 18 percent, the Greens were at 11, and the Bloc was at nine percent.

Leaders of the five parties are scheduled to take part in two televised debates, in French on Wednesday and English on Thursday. Analysts say the debates may help break the political log jam.

The poll surveyed a total of 1,247 people Friday through Monday and is considered accurate to within 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Pranksters send emails in Canadian PM's name

OTTAWA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Office has asked Canada's secretive electronic counter-espionage police to investigate how someone might have gained access to a government Internet service to send spoof emails in Harper's name.

At least two prank emails were issued Sunday to scores of people signed onto the prime minister's email service, including foreign correspondents.

One of the messages suggests Harper's recognition of Kosovo's independence could lead to Quebec sovereignty.

The other begins with the greeting, "Hi The Average Canadian, Stephen Harper wanted to tell you" that he intends to destroy health care, make Canada the 51st U.S. state, is beholden to the Alberta tar sands, and dislikes all things green except for the almighty American dollar.

Elected in 2006, Harper has been accused of following the Bush administration too closely, and protecting the oil industry while ignoring Canada's obligations under the Kyoto Protocol which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The notes were sent to an email address that automatically distributes messages to people who have signed onto the PMO listserv mailing list.

The jokesters would not necessarily have needed to hack into government computers to perform their stunt; all they would have required was the listserv's email address.

Members of the public are able to join the mailing list by visiting the prime minister's website at www.pm.gc.ca.

A spokesman for Harper said Monday the Privy Council Office, the bureaucratic wing of the MO, has contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Communications Security Establishment (CSE),asking them to track down the source of the emails. The CSE has the dual role of electronic eavesdropping and protection of federal computer systems.