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☆ Colombia senate votes down recreational marijuana bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] People demonstrate in front of the Colombian Congress, in favor of the regulation of marijuana for adult use in Bogota, Colombia June 20, 2023. Uruguay, Canada and some states in the U.S. allow the sale of recreational marijuana. Backers including Interior Minister Luis Fernando Velasco said recreational marijuana's continued illegality only benefits criminals. "From the government we will insist on this issue," Velasco said in quotes shared by the Senate on Twitter. We have majorities, we lacked seven votes," he tweeted after the vote on the bill, which needed 54 votes in favor and won 47, with 43 against.

Persons: Luisa Gonzalez BOGOTA, Gustavo Petro, Luis Fernando Velasco, Velasco, Juan Carlos Losada, Oliver Griffin, Carlos Vargas, Julia Symmes Cobb, Alexander Smith Organizations: Colombian, REUTERS, Colombia's, Senate, Twitter, Liberal Party, Thomson Locations: Bogota, Colombia, Uruguay, Canada, U.S

SYDNEY, June 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Senate passed legislation on Monday that paves the way for the country to hold a landmark referendum later this year on whether to recognise its Indigenous people in the constitution. Support for the constitutional change has been wavering in the recent weeks. Getting constitutional change is difficult in Australia. In the past there have been 44 proposals for constitutional change in 19 referendums, and only eight of these have passed. Independent Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe, who has also been a vocal opponent of the bill, said the change will only create a "powerless advisory body".

Persons: Anthony Albanese, Albanese, Malarndirri McCarthy, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Lidia Thorpe, Praveen Menon, Michael Perry Organizations: SYDNEY, Australia's, Labor Party, Liberal Party, Independent, Thomson Locations: Torres, Australia's, Australia

☆ Australian senator quits Liberal Party after allegations of misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, June 18 (Reuters) - A senator from Australia's main opposition Liberal Party facing accusations of sexual misconduct by several female politicians has resigned from the party but will stay in parliament, the senator's office said on Sunday. The claims against Liberal Party Senator David Van follow a 2021 inquiry into Australia's parliament house culture that found one in three people working there had experienced sexual harassment. Van, who denies the accusations, said in a message to the president of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party that he would resign his membership immediately. Following Thorpe's comments, former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker said in a statement that Van inappropriately touched her at a party in 2020 by squeezing her bottom twice. A third claim has also emerged against senator Van, Dutton told the media on Friday, without giving details.

Persons: David Van, Van, Peter Dutton, Lidia Thorpe, Amanda Stoker, Dutton, Scott Morrison, Sam McKeith, Lincoln Organizations: SYDNEY, Liberal Party, Liberal, Victorian, Reuters, Thomson

The referendum, which comes amid a wider reckoning over race relations, proposes to change the constitution and establish an advisory body called the Indigenous Voice to Parliament to give Indigenous Australians a direct say in policies that affect them. Five of those polled were funding or planned to fund the "Yes" campaign, while none endorsed nor were contributing to "No". Commonwealth Bank told Reuters it plans to fund the "Yes" campaign and had hosted two panel discussions with Indigenous speakers. Rio Tinto, which faced criticism in 2020 for destroying Indigenous rock shelters, said the Voice would bring an "additional lens" to government decision-making. Aurora Milroy, a lecturer in Indigenous affairs at the University of Western Australia, said supporting the Voice was easy publicity for companies.

Persons: Rita Wright, Loren Elliott, Anthony Albanese, Intifar Chowdhury, Albanese, Meg O'Neill, Ross Piper, Baker McKenzie, Thomas Mayo, Kate Gillingham, Peter Dutton, Coles, Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Aurora Milroy, Byron Kaye, Praveen Menon, Melanie Burton, David Crawshaw, Devayani, Anant Chandak, Veronica Khongwir, Sujith Pai Organizations: Australian, REUTERS, Australia's, BHP, Rio Tinto, Woodside Energy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Labor, Voice, National, Nine Entertainment, Reuters, Commonwealth Bank, Ethical Investment, Qantas, Australian Financial, Liberal, Fair Australia, Miners, Fortescue Metals, University of Western, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Rio, Western Australia, Woodside, Queensland, University of Western Australia, Melbourne

☆ Australian senator asked to resign after allegations of misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, June 16 (Reuters) - Australia's main opposition Liberal Party leader asked a senator to resign on Friday following allegations of sexual misconduct against him by female senators, which he has denied. The accusations against Liberal Party Senator David Van follow numerous previous complaints about the culture in Australia's parliament house, which led to an inquiry in 2021 that found one in three people working there had experienced sexual harassment. Earlier this week Thorpe, speaking under parliamentary privilege, said she had been sexually assaulted by Van in the previous parliamentary term, which Van immediately denied. Following Thorpe's comments, former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker said in a statement that Van inappropriately touched her at a party in 2020 by squeezing her bottom twice. A third allegation has also emerged against senator Van, opposition Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton told the media on Friday, without giving details.

Persons: David Van, Thorpe, Van, Amanda Stoker, Peter Dutton, Dutton, Scott Morrison, Morrison, Praveen Menon, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, Liberal Party, Liberal, Nine Radio, Thomson

☆ Australian senator alleges assault in parliament house; calls for safer workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, June 15 (Reuters) - An Australian senator on Thursday said she was followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched by another senator in parliament house, and called on the government to make the building safer for women. "I experienced sexual comments and was inappropriately propositioned by powerful men," Thorpe told the Senate, where her comments are protected by parliamentary privilege. Thorpe made the comments on Thursday, after the previous day accusing Liberal Party senator David Van of harassing and sexually assaulting her during the previous parliamentary term. "I will fully cooperate with the investigators and answer any questions that they may have of me and Senator Thorpe should do the same," Van said. Thorpe's claims follow numerous reports of sexual abuse and misconduct in parliament, which led to an independent inquiry into parliamentary workplace culture which found one in three people working there had experienced sexual harassment.

Persons: Lidia Thorpe, Thorpe, David Van, Van, Peter Dutton, Dutton, Thorpe's, Praveen Menon, Lincoln Organizations: SYDNEY, Senate, Liberal, Liberal Party, Thomson Locations: Australian

While a federal election is not due until 2025, housing affordability is among the top concerns for Canadians who have grappled with supply shortages. The Liberal Party government's ambitious plan to welcome 500,000 immigrants per year by 2025, or about 1.25% of its population, is expected to fuel robust demand for housing. In April 2022, the Liberal government announced plans to double housing construction over the next decade. It's been 8 years (since he took power), and now, housing costs have doubled," Poilievre said on Twitter earlier this month. Speaking with the heads of Canada's municipalities last week, Trudeau said the government's next "long term infrastructure" plan will be revealed this autumn.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Randall Bartlett, Bartlett, Pierre Poilievre, Trudeau, Poilievre, Darrell Bricker, they're, Bricker, James Laird, Laird, Fergal Smith, Steve Scherer, Marguerita Choy Organizations: TORONTO, Bank of Canada, Liberal Party, Desjardins, Liberal, Housing, Canada Mortgage, Housing Corporation, Canadian Home Builders ' Association, Reuters, Conservative Party, Twitter, Toronto Area, Public Affairs, Thomson Locations: Toronto, Ottawa

☆ Australia's Indigenous recognition bill passes first hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, May 31 (Reuters) - Legislation to hold a referendum to recognise Australia's Indigenous people in the constitution cleared its first parliamentary hurdle on Wednesday as it was passed in the House of Representatives. Aboriginal people, making up about 3.2% of Australia's near 26 million population, track below national averages on most socio-economic measures and are not mentioned in the 122-year-old constitution. "We're one step closer to holding a referendum on constitutional recognition through the Voice in 2023," Linda Burney, the Minister for Indigenous Australians said in a tweet after the outcome of the vote was announced. The bill will still need to go through the senate next month, after which the government will set a date for the polls. A successful referendum would finally give constitutional recognition to Australia's Indigenous people, who are one of the most incarcerated people in the world.

Persons: Linda Burney, Praveen Menon, Christopher Cushing Organizations: SYDNEY, Representatives, National Party, Liberal, Indigenous, Thomson Locations: Torres, Australia's

☆ Brazil's Lula cuts losses after setbacks on environment and Indigenous front
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Maria Carolina Marcello | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On Wednesday, the minority Lula government faces another key vote in the chamber that will reduce the powers of the ministries of the environment and of Indigenous affairs. Lula called an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the dilemma, and called the speaker of the lower house, Arthur Lira, whom he plans to meet as well, to ensure the measure passes. INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL SETBACKThe law passed on Tuesday would set a cut-off date for recognizing Indigenous land claims, establishing that they had to be occupied before Brazil's current Constitution was enacted in 1988. Brazil's 1 million Indigenous peoples are guaranteed by the Constitution the right to live on ancestral lands. After the bill passed, the minister of Indigenous peoples, Sonia Guajajara, said that the deputies who backed it would be "responsible for approving a bill that explicitly attacks the lives of Indigenous peoples in Brazil."

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Arthur Lira, Jair Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro, Sonia Guajajara, Lisandra Paraguassu, Ricardo Brito, Maria Carolina Marcello, Anthony Boadle, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Lawmakers, Liberal Party, Thomson Locations: BRASILIA, Congress, Sao Paulo, Brazil's, Brazil, Brasilia

CNN —Canada’s former Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole has accused China of targeting him with misinformation and voter suppression campaigns during the 2021 election, citing intelligence from Canada’s spy agency. Canadian Security Intelligence Service last week identified multiple threats against him, O’Toole told Parliament on Tuesday. O’Toole emphasized that alleged misinformation occurred in the run-up to the 2021 general election, which saw the reelection of a Liberal Party government led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Earlier this month, Canada expelled an accredited Chinese diplomat accused of involvement in a harassment campaign against Canadian opposition lawmaker Michael Chong and his relatives. China has repeatedly dismissed previous claims of political interference in Canada’s political system.

Persons: CNN —, Erin O’Toole, O’Toole, ”, Justin Trudeau, Michael Chong, Chong, Marco Mendicino, Mendicino, Meng Wanzhou, Michael Kovrig, Michael Spavor, Meng Organizations: CNN, Conservative Party, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Liberal Party, Huawei, Canadian Public Safety, CSIS, ” Locations: China, Canada, Canadian, Beijing

TORONTO, May 9 (Reuters) - Pierre Lassonde, a Canadian mining industry veteran, has made an offer to invest in Teck Resources Ltd's (TECKb.TO) coal business, in a bid to thwart Glencore Plc's (GLEN.L) hostile attempt to merge with Teck. Vancouver-based Teck has rebuffed Swiss mining company Glencore's $22.5 billon offer to combine the two companies and is instead pursing plans to separate its copper and coal business. Teck last month pulled its initial business separation plan at the last minute after failing to secure enough shareholder support. Glencore has offered a cash component for Teck's coal business worth C$8 billion ($5.98 billion). A source close to the matter said that an alternative offer for Teck's steelmaking coal business might push the Swiss conglomerate to finally make an improved offer.

☆ Canada Says It Will Expel Chinese Diplomat Amid Influence Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Yonette Joseph | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Canada said on Monday it was expelling a Chinese diplomat amid reports he had been intimidating and gathering information on a Canadian lawmaker who had been critical of Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority, a decision likely to increase tensions between Beijing and Ottawa. Mélanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, said in a statement that the diplomat, Zhao Wei, had been declared “persona non grata.” Ms. Joly said the decision has been taken “after careful consideration of all factors at play.”“Diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior, they will be sent home,” she added. “We will not tolerate any form of foreign interference.”Allegations of election interference have rocked Canada in recent months. The Globe and Mail newspaper and other prominent Canadian news organizations have published a series of leaked intelligence reports accusing the Chinese government and its diplomats in Canada of trying manipulate the last two elections to ensure that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party won.

☆ Man who threw gravel at Canada PM Trudeau sentenced to house arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, May 8 (Reuters) - A man who threw gravel at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2021 election campaign was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest and one year of probation by a court in Ontario on Monday, according to his lawyer. Trudeau was hit by a handful of gravel in 2021 while on the campaign trail as he made his way past a crowd shouting their opposition to COVID-19-related mandates and restrictions. The prime minister was not injured and his Liberal Party went on to win the election. Shane Marshall later pleaded guilty in March to a charge of common assault related to that incident. Marshall's lawyers had requested that he be sentenced to 60 days of community sentence, while prosecutors had asked for a 30-day jail term.

☆ Did China Help Vancouver’s Mayor Win Election?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Dan Bilefsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Every day when he arrives at his office in City Hall, Mayor Ken Sim stares at a prominent black-and-white photograph of Chinese railway workers toiling on the tracks in British Columbia in 1884. Mr. Sim, the son of Hong Kong immigrants, said the workers’ weathered faces are a daily reminder of the symbolic importance of his election as Vancouver’s first Chinese Canadian mayor, and of just how far Chinese Canadians have come. Six months ago, his historic landslide victory was widely lauded, viewed as the triumph of a politically adroit change-maker whose centrist policies had swept him to power. But since February, the Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto has cited classified intelligence reports in describing an effort by Beijing to manipulate Canadian elections, including those in Vancouver, raising questions about whether China played a role in his win. Across Canada, a political storm is raging over the intelligence reports, which have not been made public by Canada’s national intelligence agency but are said to conclude that the government of China and its diplomats wanted to ensure victory for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party in the two most recent federal elections, while encouraging wins for some candidates of Chinese descent.

☆ Canada's Justin Trudeau may be struggling but he still commands his party
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

OTTAWA, May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will kick off what is likely to be the last Liberal Party convention before the next election on Thursday, and though fatigue with his government has deepened there is little question that he is fully in command of his party. Though some cabinet members and former central banker Mark Carney appear to have ambitions to lead the party after Trudeau, no one has come out publicly against him. "Trudeau is the party brand, for better or worse," said Shachi Kurl, president of Angus Reid research group. Conservatives would win 35% of the vote compared to 29% for the Liberals, according to the Angus Reid poll. But in Montreal, the Liberals lead 38% to 15%, and in the suburbs of Toronto the Liberals are ahead 40% to 34%, Angus Reid said.

☆ Canada, revenue agency workers reach deal, heading off Trudeau confrontation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's government reached a deal with 35,000 revenue agency workers on Thursday, ending a strike that had slowed the processing of annual tax returns and heading off a potential embarrassment for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The tentative agreement is very similar to the deal struck on Monday with 120,000 federal employees, according to statements by both the government and the union. Both the revenue agency workers and other federal departments had walked out on April 19. The proposed agreement includes an 11.5% wage increase over four years, with a 0.5% allowance in the third year, and a one-time $2,500 bonus for employees, the Canada Revenue Agency said separately in a statement. The union calculates the deal as a "compounded" overall wage increase of 12.6% in four years.

[1/3] Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as security forces operate, outside Brazil’s National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, April 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's Congress on Wednesday prepared to open an inquiry into the Jan. 8 storming of key government buildings in the capital by violent demonstrators who denied the electoral victory of the recently inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The right-wing opposition has pushed for an inquiry as a way to blame his new government for security failures in Brasilia that day. Once the congressional inquiry is formally opened, there will be a fierce battle over the committee's composition. Reporting by Anthony Boadle and Ricardo Brito Editing by Brad Haynes and Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CNN —A man dressed in the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag walks towards a glass table inside the Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia with a metal rod in his hand. The footage provides new insight into one of the darkest days in in the life of Brazil’s young democracy. It also appears to bolster the claims of those who accused police of failing to act to stop protesters from breaking into the Presidential Palace, among other government buildings. The newly obtained footage shows police forces seemingly retreating as supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro – who was ousted in a vote last fall – march on the palace. “To liken my behaviour to that Major distributing waters to protesters is absurd,” he told Brazilian broadcaster Globo.

Bolsonaro's electoral outlook contrasts sharply with former U.S. President Donald Trump, another right-wing populist who challenged the results of his failed re-election campaign. Bolsonaro never conceded his narrow defeat in the October election and continues to question the reliability of Brazil's voting system. RISING CONSERVATIVE STARSStill, conservative powerbrokers allied with Bolsonaro are ready to reshuffle the deck for the next election cycle. He said a TSE decision to bar Bolsonaro from running would only boost the ex-president's political appeal. Any right-wing substitute could win with his endorsement, he added, while side-stepping the high rejection rates Bolsonaro faced as a candidate last year.

☆ Australia opposition lawmaker quits shadow cabinet over Indigenous referendum stance
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 11 (Reuters) - An Australian opposition lawmaker quit the shadow cabinet on Tuesday in disagreement with his Liberal party's decision to campaign against a proposal to constitutionally recognise the country's Aboriginal and Torres Island people. Explaining his decision to resign as shadow attorney general and shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Julian Leeser said he was unable to persuade his Liberal colleagues to support the proposed constitutional changes. "I resign without rancour or bitterness and I remain a loyal Liberal," Leeser said during a media briefing, pledging his support to opposition leader Peter Dutton. Leaving the shadow cabinet will give Leeser the freedom to campaign for the recognition of Australia's Aboriginal people in the constitution and the establishment of an Indigenous advisory group, called the "Voice". Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has staked significant political capital on the referendum, welcomed Leeser's decision.

☆ 'Judas betrayal': Indigenous Australians denounce opposition for rejecting referendum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Praveen Menon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File PhotoSYDNEY, April 6 (Reuters) - Senior Indigenous leaders on Thursday criticised Australia's main opposition party's "Judas betrayal" for declaring it would campaign against a proposal to constitutionally recognise the country's Aboriginal and Torres Island people. Noel Pearson, an Indigenous leader and a key campaigner for the community, said he had a sleepless night after hearing the decision of the Liberal Party. "I was troubled by dreams and the spectre of the Dutton Liberal party's Judas betrayal of our country,” he told ABC radio. Uluru Dialogue spokeswoman and Indigenous leader Pat Anderson said the Liberal decision was a vote for “business as usual”. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government has staked significant political capital on the referendum, but no referendum has succeeded in Australia without bipartisan support.

☆ Australia opposition says opposed to Indigenous body in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 5 (Reuters) - Australia's main opposition Liberal party said on Wednesday it would oppose setting up a consultative body in parliament that could advise lawmakers on matters affecting the country's Indigenous people. The move comes after the centre-left Labor government moved a bill last week to hold a national referendum, the first step towards enshrining an independent advisory body for Indigenous people in the constitution by setting up an Indigenous "Voice to Parliament". He said regional and local committees in Indigenous communities could be more effective than having a national body. Any constitutional alterations in Australia require a national referendum and to succeed, it requires a double majority. That means it requires a national majority of votes as well as a majority of votes in at least four of the six states.

[1/3] Yunupingu, an influential Australian Indigenous leader, is seen with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in this July 29, 2022 handout photo in Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Yunupingu a "national treasure" who worked to unite Australia's leaders with its Indigenous community. Born in 1948 in Australia's remote Northern Territories, Yunupingu also worked with successive prime ministers to draft legislation on Indigenous rights. The Australian government last week took the first formal step towards holding a referendum to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution and set up an Indigenous "Voice to Parliament" to advise lawmakers on matters that impact their lives. Opposition leader Peter Dutton, whose Liberal party is yet to clarify its position on the referendum, called Yunupingu "one of our greatest Australians".

BRASILIA, March 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year's election, returns from self-imposed exile in Florida on Thursday to lead the opposition to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro left for the United States two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on Jan. 1. His return to Brazil is eagerly awaited by the party's leader Valdemar Costa Neto, who wants Bolsonaro to become the leader of the opposition to the Lula administration and lead the PL into municipal elections next year. "Bolsonaro will lead the opposition and travel around Brazil preaching the party's liberal values and helping the PL grow," he told Reuters, outlining a plan for a right-wing comeback in the 2026 presidential elections. Barreto said her ambitions may provide an outlet for the ex-president's supporters if legal probes lead electoral authorities bar him from seeking office.

☆ Australia govt introduces Indigenous referendum bill in parliament
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Introducing the bill in parliament, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the referendum, to be held between October and December, would be an opportunity to acknowledge history and help Australians come together "for a more reconciled future." The main opposition Liberal party has not yet decided if it would support the proposed constitutional amendments but its junior coalition partner, the rural-based National Party, has said it would oppose them. A Guardian poll last week showed public support for the referendum was down 5% but was still backed by a majority, with 59% in favour. Any constitutional alterations in Australia require a national referendum. To succeed a referendum requires a national majority of votes as well as a majority of votes in at least four of the six states.

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