Canada to pay Indigenous abuse survivors more than $2bn

Yahoo – AFP, 22 January 2023 

Canada will pay hundreds of Indigenous communities more than $2 billion in compensation for nearly a century of abuse suffered by children in residential schools, its government has announced. 

The Can$2.8 billion (US$2.1 billion) settlement, the result of a class action lawsuit by 325 Indigenous groups, will be placed in a not-for-profit trust independent of the government. 

It will be used to "revitalize Indigenous education, culture, and language -– to support survivors in healing and reconnecting with their heritage," according to a press release. 

"It has taken Canada far too long to own up to its history, own up to the genocide it committed and recognize the collective harm caused to our nations by residential schools," said Garry Feschuk, an Indigenous leader who is one of the plaintiffs in the suit. 

"It is time that Canada not only recognize this harm, but help undo it by walking with us. This settlement is a good first step," he said in the statement released Saturday. 

From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada's government sent about 150,000 children into 139 residential schools mostly run by the Catholic church, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture. 

Many were physically and sexually abused, and thousands are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect. 

The discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of the former schools over the past two years has dragged the legacy of those institutions back into the spotlight as Canada reckons with its dark colonial past. 

More than 1,300 graves have been identified, the most recent earlier this month. 

In Lebret, Saskatchewan, ground-penetrating radar has uncovered nearly "2,000 areas of interest" that need to be thoroughly investigated, the Star Blanket Cree community said. 

A fragment of a child's jawbone dating to some 125 years ago has already been identified on the grounds of a former residential school in the western Canadian community. 

The search areas were selected near the Catholic-run residential school -- which was open until 1998 -- on the advice of former students. 

"The residential school system decimated our languages, profoundly damaged our cultures, and left a legacy of social harms. The effects go beyond my generation. It will take many generations for us to heal," said Shane Gottfriedson, another Indigenous leader and plaintiff. 

"We believe that all survivors deserve justice and the compensation to which they are owed," said Marc Miller, federal minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations in the press release. 

The precise terms for disbursing the $2.8 billion will be determined by the federal court on February 27. 

A national commission of inquiry in 2015 called the residential school system a "cultural genocide." 

Last year, Pope Francis visited Canada on a penitential trip to apologize for the "evil" perpetrated in the schools -- a gesture seen by many survivors as overwhelming, but only the beginning of a process of healing and reconciliation.

Pope apologizes for 'evil' of Indigenous abuse in Canada

Yahoo – AFP, Clement Melki and Amel Semmache, July 25, 2022 

Pope Francis on Monday apologized for the "evil" inflicted on the Indigenous peoples of Canada on the first day of a visit focused on addressing decades of abuse at Catholic-run residential schools. 

The plea for forgiveness from the leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics was met with applause by a crowd of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people in Maskwacis, in western Alberta province -- some of whom were taken from their families as children in what has been branded a "cultural genocide." 

"I am sorry," said the 85-year-old pontiff, who remained seated as he delivered his address at the site of one of the largest of Canada's infamous residential schools -- where some 150,000 Indigenous children were sent as part of a policy of forced assimilation. 

"I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples," said the pope, citing "cultural destruction" and the "physical, verbal, psychological and spiritual abuse" of children over the course of decades. 

Francis spoke of his "deep sense of pain and remorse" as he formally acknowledged that "many members of the Church" had cooperated in the abusive system. 

As he spoke the emotion was palpable in Maskwacis, an Indigenous community south of provincial capital Edmonton that was the site of the Ermineskin residential school until it closed in 1975. 

Several hundred people, many in traditional clothing, were in attendance, along with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mary Simon, the country's first Indigenous governor general. 

Many lowered their eyes, wiped away tears or leaned on and hugged neighbors, and Indigenous leaders afterwards placed a traditional feathered headdress on the pope. 

Counsellors were waiting near teepees set up to provide support to those who may need it, and earlier volunteers had distributed small paper bags for the "collection of tears." 

'Cry love' 

"The First Nation believes that if you cry, you cry love, you catch the tears on a piece of paper and put it back in this bag," explained Andre Carrier of the Manitoba Metis Federation, before the pope spoke. 

Volunteers will collect the bags and later they will be burned with a special prayer, "to return the tears of love to the creator," he said. 

From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada's government sent about 150,000 children into 139 residential schools run by the Church, where they were cut off from their families, language and culture. 

Many were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers, and thousands are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect. 

During a ceremony performed before the pope spoke in Maskwacis, Indigenous people carried a bright red 50-meter long banner on which the names -- or sometimes only the nicknames -- of all the children known to have died were written in white. There were 4,120 of them, officials said. 

Since May 2021, more than 1,300 unmarked graves have been discovered at the sites of the former schools, sending shockwaves throughout Canada -- which has slowly begun to acknowledge this long, dark chapter in its history. 

A delegation of Indigenous peoples traveled to the Vatican in April and met the pope -- a precursor to Francis' trip -- after which he formally apologized. 

But doing so again on Canadian soil was of huge significance to survivors and their families. 

Later in the day, at 4:30 pm (2230 GMT) Francis will travel to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, one of the city's oldest churches, for a second speech to Indigenous communities. 

'Healing journey'

The flight to Edmonton was the longest since 2019 for Francis, who has been suffering from knee pain and was forced to use a wheelchair on the Canada trip. 

The papal visit, though highly anticipated, is also a source of controversy for some. 

"It means a lot to me" that he came, said Deborah Greyeyes, 71, a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, the largest Indigenous group in Canada. 

"I think we have to forgive, too, at some point," she told AFP. But "a lot of stuff was taken away from us." 

After a mass before tens of thousands of faithful in Edmonton on Tuesday, Francis will head northwest to an important pilgrimage site, the Lac Sainte Anne. 

Following a July 27-29 visit to Quebec City, he will end his trip in Iqaluit, capital of the northern territory of Nunavut and home to the largest Inuit population in Canada, where he will meet again with former residential school students, before returning to Italy.

VIDEO: Pope Francis decries "ideological colonization" and renews his apology to Indigenous peoples for decades of abuse in a speech in Quebec city to Canada's top officials pic.twitter.com/pM2qjzsegS

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 28, 2022

Ottawa compensates Siksika tribe Can$1.3 bn for taken land

MSN - AFP, 2 June 2022

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pictured in March 2022, said Ottawa had
'acted dishonourably' in taking the Siksika community's land in 1910. © JOHN THYS

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday signed a Can$1.3 billion (US$1.0 billion) deal -- one of the largest of its kind -- to settle a Blackfoot tribe's century-old land claim. 

"We're gathered today to right a wrong from the past," Trudeau said at a signing ceremony on the Siksika First Nation's traditional lands in western Canada. 

The government took almost half of the tribe's reserve lands in Alberta province in 1910 to use for resources development and to sell to settlers. 

The land grab came even though the 115,000 acres (46,000 hectares) in the western prairies region had been secured for the community in a treaty 30 years earlier. 

Trudeau said Ottawa had "acted dishonourably" in taking the community's "most productive agricultural and mineral-rich lands for the benefit of others." 

Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller noted that the Siksika had lost out on a share of the wealth created from these lands, as well as access to many sacred sites. 

He said it was important to recognize such "exploitative bargains and lands surrenders." 

"While this settlement doesn't make up for the past, we hope it will lead to a better and brighter future for this generation and those to come," he added. 

Under the settlement, the Siksika may acquire over time lands for addition to their reserve, to make up for those surrendered in 1910. 

"Our way of life has changed. It will never be the same as it was before," said Siksika Chief Ouray Crowfoot, wearing a feather headdress. 

"This land claim, yeah, $1.3 billion, that's a lot of money. It'll never make it whole of what it was before. But we got to move forward," he said. 

The community, he added, is starting to see a revival of its culture and traditions, as well as the Blackfoot language -- now used on local road signage, for example. 

He also pointed to a nearby archeological dig that is unearthing artifacts dating back thousands of years that show the Blackfoot "survived on these plains since time immemorial." 

"We're a resilient people here at Siksika. We're overcoming and now we're not just surviving, we're moving into an era of thriving."

Canada agrees to $31bn compensation for Indigenous children taken from families

Yahoo – AFP, January 5, 2022 

Over the past three decades, at least 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from
their homes and placed into one of 139 residential schools (AFP/Geoff Robins)

Canada announced a $31.5 billion agreement on Tuesday to reform its discriminatory child welfare system and compensate Indigenous families who suffered because of it, in what an official called the country's largest settlement. 

The agreements-in-principle include $20 billion Canadian dollars ($15.7) for First Nations children who were removed from their families and caregivers and put into state care, typically schools meant to forcibly assimilate them. 

The other $20 billion Canadian dollars will be earmarked for reforming the child and family services system over the next five years. 

"No compensation amount can make up for the trauma people have experienced," said Patty Hajdu, the Minister of Indigenous Services. "But these Agreements-in-Principle acknowledge to survivors and their families the harm and pain caused by the discrimination in funding and services." 

The deal, which stemmed from lawsuits brought by First Nations families against the Canadian government, acknowledges that "discriminatory underfunding" of child and family services in indigenous communities had inflicted suffering on those involved. 

Despite making up less than eight percent of children under 14, Indigenous children account for more than half of those in Canada's foster care, according to a 2016 census. 

Over the past three decades, at least 150,000 Indigenous children were ripped from their homes and placed into one of 139 residential schools.

 Thousands died, mostly from malnutrition, disease or neglect, in what a truth and reconciliation committee called "cultural genocide" in a 2015 report. Many others were physically or sexually abused. 

On the heels of the discovery of more than 1,200 unmarked graves at these schools, Canada is starting to come to terms with the nationwide trauma. 

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller called Tuesday's agreement "the largest settlement in Canadian history" at a videoed news conference. 

The amount to be paid to each individual, as well as how and when, will be determined later in consultation with experts and the country's largest Indigenous organization, the Assembly of First Nations, according to lawyers representing complainants in two class action cases. 

"This settlement is historic and hopefully a turning point in this country's work on reconciliation," Robert Kugler, one of the lawyers, said in a statement. The amount, he added, "underscores the severity of the harm suffered, and will provide financial support to enable victims to better their lives going forward." 

The Canadian government has previously fought orders to compensate Indigenous families over systems it has admitted were discriminatory, including in an appeal filed last year seeking to overturn a landmark decision awarding billions to indigenous children. 

Canada has said it believes the payments are necessary, but would rather iron out the details in talks. 

Tuesday's agreements-in-principle are expected to be finalized in the coming months.

Canada remembers horrors inflicted on indigenous peoples

Yahoo – AFP, Michel COMTE, September 30, 2021

A crowd gathers outside parlament in Ottawa around shoes that honour missing and
deceased indigenous children during Canada's first National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation. (AFP/Lars Hagberg)

Canada on Thursday commemorated a century of injustices against its indigenous populations in the first ever National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, following shocking discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves at former indigenous residential schools. 

"It is a day to reflect. It is a day to honour. It is a day to grieve. It is a day to mourn. It is a day to shed tears," Algonquin elder Claudette Commanda told a ceremony in front of parliament attended by thousands. 

Gatherings and marches were also held in communities across Canada. 

The occasion had been observed unofficially as Orange Shirt Day since 2013 to promote awareness of what a truth and reconciliation commission branded "cultural genocide" of Canada's indigenous peoples. 

It was inspired by a former student, Phyllis Webstad, who recounted how at six years old she was stripped of her clothes, including a new orange shirt bought by her grandmother, on her first day of residential schooling. 

The government elevated the day to a statutory holiday this year following the announcement of discoveries of more than 1,200 unmarked graves at several former indigenous residential schools since May. 

"The tragic locating of unmarked graves at former residential school sites across the country has reminded us of not only the impacts of colonialism and the harsh realities of our collective past, but also the work that is paramount to advancing reconciliation in Canada," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. 

An indigenous child holds a flaf during the first National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation in Ottawa (AFP/Larsc Hagberg)

On the eve of this day, he said Canadians must acknowledge the "terrible injustices" committed against the country's indigenous people. 

"Until we understand as a country that each one of our stories is all of our story there cannot be truth, there cannot be reconciliation," he said in front of parliament illuminated at night in orange.

On Thursday, messages of support poured in, including from Queen Elizabeth II who said she joins Canadians in reflecting "on the painful history that Indigenous peoples endured in residential schools in Canada, and on the work that remains to heal and to continue to build an inclusive society." 

Losing family and community 

From the late 19th century to the 1990s, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forcibly enrolled at the schools across Canada. 

Students spent months or years isolated from their families, and were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language. 

Thousands are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect. Many more became detached or alienated. 

Today, while searches continue for more grave sites, those experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in indigenous communities. 

"We can all understand what it might feel like to lose a child. We can all understand what it might feel like to lose our parents, families (and) communities," said Jenny Sutherland, whose grandmother went to a residential school. 

An indigenous leader in traditional head dress addresses a crowd in front of a wall
of posted message and children's drawing outside Canada's parlement during the
first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (AFP/Lars Hagberg)

"This is the space we need to step into today," she urged a crowd dressed in orange and traditional indigenous garments in Ottawa and those watching on television nationwide. 

The residential schools set up by Ottawa and run by the Catholic Church were "more than an aggressive assimilation tactic by our government, but an act of war," she commented. 

"We as indigenous people are not supposed to be here." 

In Montreal, Michelle Martel said she joined a march to commemorate her grandparents and other relatives who attended residential schools, but also "for my children and my grandchildren for reconciliation, so that we can live together in peace one day." 

Paul Bode, who is non-native, said he attended the march to show solidarity with indigenous people because "I continue to benefit from what has been produced by this injustice" -- in reference to lands taken from tribes for settlement by colonisers. 

Last week, the Catholic Church apologized "unequivocally" for abuses at the schools and acknowledged "the historical and ongoing trauma" inflicted on indigenous peoples. 

Indigenous leaders, however, are still awaiting a mea culpa from Pope Francis himself, as well as the release of school records. 

Marie-Pierre Bousquet, an indigenous studies professor at the University of Montreal, told AFP: "It's important that this story not just be an indigenous story, but one that is shared by all." 

"This is a time of coming together for the entire Canadian population" to reflect on the past and "show solidarity in moving towards reconciliation," she said.

Canada to take in 20,000 Afghan refugees targeted by Taliban

MSN – AFP, 14 August 2021 

Internally displaced Afghan families, who fled from the country's north due to fighting
between Taliban and Afghan security forces, take shelter in the courtyard of the
mosquw in Karbul on August 13, 2021.

Canada said Friday it will take in up to 20,000 Afghan refugees, including women leaders, government workers and others facing threats from the Taliban, as insurgents advanced across the country seizing major cities.

"The situation in Afghanistan is heartbreaking and Canada will not stand idly by," Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told a news conference. 

The refugees will include "particularly vulnerable" Afghans still in the country or who've already fled to neighboring states, which in addition to female leaders and government employees also comprises human rights defenders, persecuted minorities and journalists. 

Several plane-loads of asylum seekers have already departed with the first one landing Friday in Toronto, Mendicino said. 

As the Taliban advances on the capital Kabul, officials said Canadian special forces form part of a contingency plans to airlift Canadian embassy staff, but details were not provided due to the sensitive nature of the security operation. 

Earlier Friday, many countries including Spain, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands announced the withdrawal of staff from their respective embassies. 

Canada has said it is monitoring the situation in Afghanistan "very closely" and working with its allies on the ground. 

"Protecting the Canadian Embassy and our staff is our top priority," said Foreign Minister Marc Garneau. 

On Twitter, he said that Canada "owes Afghans a debt of gratitude and we will continue our efforts to bring them to safety."

Canada shaken by new discovery of 751 unmarked graves at indigenous school

Yahoo – AFP, Eric THOMAS, June 24, 2021 

A new discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves near a former school fir indigenous
 children in Western Canada follows the earlier unearthing of children's remains at
another school in Kamloops, British Columbia

More than 750 unmarked graves have been found near a former Catholic boarding school for indigenous children in western Canada, a tribal leader said Thursday -- the second such shock discovery in less than a month. 

The revelation once again cast a spotlight on a dark chapter in Canada's history, and revived calls on the Pope and the Church to apologize for the abuse and violence suffered at the schools, where students were forcibly assimilated into the country's dominant culture. 

"As of yesterday, we have hit 751 unmarked graves" at the site of the former Marieval boarding school in Saskatchewan province, Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme told reporters. 

"This is not a mass grave site. These are unmarked graves," he said, adding that each grave would be assessed in the coming weeks to determine the final number of victims whose remains are at the site. 

Delorme said the graves -- found through ground-penetrating radar mapping -- may at one time have been marked, but "Catholic Church representatives removed these headstones," adding that doing so is a crime in Canada and they were treating the site "as a crime scene." 

Excavations at the Marieval school, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of the provincial capital Regina, began at the end of May, after the discovery of the remains of 215 schoolchildren at another such former school in British Columbia. 

That first find at the Kamloops school triggered excavation work near several former institutions for indigenous children across Canada, with the assistance of government authorities. 

Some 150,000 Native American, Metis and Inuit children were forcibly recruited until the 1990s in 139 of these residential schools across Canada, where they were isolated from their families, their language and their culture. 

Many were subjected to ill-treatment and sexual abuse, and more than 4,000 died in the schools, according to a commission of inquiry that concluded Canada had committed "cultural genocide" against the indigenous communities. 

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron described the finding as "a crime against humanity." 

"The only crime we ever committed as children was being born indigenous," he said. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the findings at both Kamloops and Marieval "a shameful reminder of the systemic racism, discrimination, and injustice that indigenous peoples have faced -- and continue to face -- in this country." 

The discovery of unmarked graves at a former residential for indigenous vhildren in
Canada's Saskatchewan province follows a similar relevation in British Columbia

"Together, we must acknowledge this truth, learn from our past, and walk the shared path of reconciliation, so we can build a better future," he said. 

'We will find more bodies' 

The Marieval residential school in eastern Saskatchewan hosted indigenous children until the mid-1990s before being demolished and replaced by a day school. 

One former student, Barry Kennedy, told the broadcaster CBC he was shocked by the news but not surprised. 

"During my time at Marieval Indian Residential School, I had a young friend that was dragged off one night screaming," he said, adding that he never saw the child again. 

"His name was Bryan... I want to know where Bryan is," Kennedy said. 

He described a history of violence at the school. 

"We were introduced to rape. We were introduced to violent beatings. We were introduced to things that weren't normal with our families," he added. 

And he said he imagined that the graves found so far were just the tip of the iceberg: "By the stories that... were told by our friends and fellow students, there are multiple locations, you know, per school." 

Many indigenous community leaders expect more grisly discoveries in the coming months. Searches have already turned up possible unmarked burial sites in Ontario and Manitoba provinces. 

"We will find more bodies and we will not stop till we find all of our children," Cameron said at the press conference. 

"We all must put down our ignorance and accidental racism at not addressing the truth that this country has with indigenous people," said Delorme. 

"This country must stand by us." 

In early June, a few days after the discovery of the bones in Kamloops, UN human rights experts urged Ottawa and the Vatican to conduct a full and prompt investigation into the discovery.

Canada mourns 215 children after remains found at indigenous school

Yahoo – AFP, 30 May 2021 

Members of the community of the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Quebec march
through the town on May 30, 2021, to commemorate the news that a mass grave
of 215 Indigenous children were found at the Kamloops Residential School in
Britisch Columbia, Canada.

Canada flew its flags at half-mast Sunday in mourning for 215 children whose remains were discovered on the grounds of a former boarding school set up more than a century ago to assimilate indigenous peoples. 

"To honour the 215 children whose lives were taken at the former Kamloops residential school and all Indigenous children who never made it home, the survivors, and their families, I have asked that the Peace Tower flag (in Ottawa) and flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter. 

Several municipalities, including the economic metropolis Toronto, announced they would also lower their flags. 

The discovery of the children's remains, some as young as three, sparked strong emotions throughout Canada, particularly in the indigenous communities. 

A specialist used ground-penetrating radar to confirm the remains of the students who attended the school near Kamloops, British Columbia, the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc tribe said in a statement late Thursday. 

Local children of Kahnawake, Quebec step to view the hundreds of children's
shoes placed in front of the St. Francis Xavier Church, in tribute to a mass grave
of 215 Indigenous children found at the residential school in British Colombia, Canada.

The Kamloops Indian Residential School was the largest of 139 boarding schools set up in the late 19th century, with up to 500 students registered and attending at any one time. 

It was operated by the Catholic church on behalf of the Canadian government from 1890 to 1969. 

Some 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Metis youngsters in total were forcibly enrolled in these schools, where students were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language. 

Today those experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in their communities. 

Ottawa formally apologized in 2008 for what the commission later termed a "cultural genocide" as part of a Can$1.9 billion (US$1.6 billion) settlement with former students. 

Members of the community of the Kahmawake Mohawk Territory, Quebec march
through the town on May 30, 2021 to commemorate the news that a grave of
215 Indigenous children were found at the Kamloops Residential School in Britisch
Columbia, Canada.

"I've said before that the residential schools was a genocide of our people. Here's just another glowing example of that genocide in practice: undocumented deaths of children," the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Perry Bellegarde, said Sunday on the news channel CTV. 

Bellegarde noted there was still much work to be done to identify the remains, find their families and examine the sites of other residential schools. 

He said the federal government "does have a responsibility to make sure that these resources are in place to get the answers." 

Ceremonies to honor the young victims took place or were to take place throughout the country. About 100 people gathered Sunday in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. 

Participants placed children's shoes and toys on the steps of the Saint Francis Xavier church as a tribute to the victims.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lays flowers at a makeshift memorial in
front of parliament for 215 indigenous students whose remains were discovered
last week at a former boarding school

Related Article:

Trudeau lays flowers at makeshift memorial for indigenous students

Canada bans assault weapons in wake of worst-ever mass shooting

Yahoo – AFP, May 1, 2020

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has ordered a sweeping ban on many
assault weapons after a deadly mass shooting (AFP Photo/Dave Chan)

Ottawa (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced an immediate ban on military-grade assault weapons, responding to a mass shooting and arson spree that left 22 people dead earlier this month.

"These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time," Trudeau told a news briefing.

He said his government has approved a decree banning the sale, purchase, use, transport and import of 1,500 models of military-grade assault weapons and variants of them.

"There is no use, and no place for such weapons in Canada," Trudeau said.

The killing spree, the worst in Canadian history, began on the night of April 18 in Nova Scotia and led to a 13-hour manhunt for the shooter, who was eventually shot dead by police.

Authorities have said the assailant -- identified as 51-year-old denturist Gabriel Wortman -- was wearing a police uniform, driving a mock police car, and had several guns with him including at least one assault-style weapon.

Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty for people who currently own assault-style weapons to protect them from liability, and parliament will eventually pass legislation to compensate them for turning in their guns.

"For many families, including indigenous people, firearms are part of traditions passed down through generations, and the vast majority of gun owners use them safely, responsibly, and in accordance with the law, whether it be for work, sports shooting for collecting or for hunting," Trudeau said.

"But you don't need an AR-15 to bring down a deer," he added.

Mass shootings are less common in Canada than in the US "but the heartbreaking truth is, they're happening more often than they once did," the prime minister said.

He mentioned for instance a shooting at a mosque in Quebec City in 2017 that left six dead and 19 wounded.

Trudeau made banning assault weapons part of his campaign for elections that brought him to power in 2015. He repeated it in the campaign for the October 2019 elections in which he won another term.

Nearly four of five Canadians back such a ban, according to an Angus Reid poll released Friday.

Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart WILLIAMS, January 11, 2020

An Iranian holds a newspaper with a picture of the debris of the Ukrainian plane
that crashed in Tehran on January 8, 2020, outside a news stand in the Islamic
republic's capital (AFP Photo/ATTA KENARE)

Paris (AFP) - When a Boeing passenger jet crashed in Iran early on January 8, speculation immediately swirled that the only plausible explanation was that it had been shot down by Iran.

The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, retaliating for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike.

Immediately, theories multiplied arguing that Tehran's air defence system, on high alert for possible US retaliation, may have been triggered by accident.

Western leaders cited intelligence pointing to an accidental strike by Iran. Verified video images later emerged showing a missile striking a plane.

From Wednesday to Friday, Iranian officials repeatedly insisted that the plane had not been shot down. Early on Saturday however, the Islamic republic admitted that the plane had been hit by a short-range missile in what President Hassan Rouhani described as a "catastrophic mistake".

Ukrainian passenger jet crash in Iran (AFP Photo)

What happened on January 8?

The Boeing 737-800NG for UIA's flight PS752 between Tehran and Kiev took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 6:12 am local time.

Although there was no distress message from the pilot, the plane had begun to turn back for the airport before crashing at 6:18 am, said the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. The aircraft came down near Sabashahr on the outskirts of Tehran.

There were 10 departures from Tehran airport that day before flight PS752, according to the Flight Radar 24 monitoring site. That raised questions as to why air traffic had not been halted given the situation.

All 176 people on board the flight PS752 -- mainly Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals, but also Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes -- were killed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first major leader to publicly 

state Iran could be to blame for the plane crash (AFP Photo/Dave Chan)

How did pressure grow?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first major leader to publicly state Iran could be to blame. He said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources "including our allies and our own intelligence" that indicated "the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."

"This may well have been unintentional," Trudeau added.

His language was echoed by other Western leaders including Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

US President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" as "somebody could have made a mistake", and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said the United States believed it was "likely" that an Iranian missile downed the airliner.

The New York Times also said it had verified a video appearing to show a missile hitting a plane at night above the Tehran suburb of Parand, west of the airport.

What did Iran initially say?

For three days, Iranian officials refused to countenance any suggestion that one of its missiles had brought down the plane.

The country's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh said that one "thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile", arguing that it would have exploded immediately if hit by a missile.

Experts questioned that claim, arguing that such missiles explode before coming into contact with the target.

This handout photograph taken and released on January 11, 2019, by The 

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, shows people analysing 

the remains of the Ukraine International Airlines plane Boeing 737-800 that

crashed outside Tehran (AFP Photo/STR)

What does Iran now admit?

In an announcement early Saturday that took many experts by surprise, Iran admitted it had "unintentionally" shot down the jet after a missile operator mistook the plane for a cruise missile.

Tehran said its systems had been on high alert for American retaliation in the hours after the Iranian strikes on bases housing US troops in Iran.

"He had 10 seconds to decide," the aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said of the operator, who he insisted had "acted alone".

"He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances he took the wrong decision."

Rouhani called it an "unforgivable mistake", vowed that compensation would be paid to the families while those responsible would be prosecuted.

What kind of missile was used?

Unverified images posted on social media show the remains of a Russian-made Tor M-1 missile but Tehran has yet to give details on the kind of weaponry used.

Tehran received 29 such air defence systems from Moscow under a $700 million contract signed in 2005, a deal that caused considerable unease in the West.

The Bellingcat open-source analytics website has said the origin of the images is yet to be determined, and the people who captured the images have not come forward.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, pictured on January 9, 2020 in a 

presidential press handout photo placing flowers at a memorial for the victims 

of the Ukraine International Airlines crash in Tehran, has toughened his stance 

on Iran (AFP Photo/HO)

What does Ukraine want now?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, initially wary of blaming Tehran, has toughened his line since Tehran's admission.

After Zelensky spoke to Rouhani later Saturday, the Ukrainian presidency said that Zelensky asked Tehran to allow the bodies of the 11 Ukrainian victims to be repatriated "by January 19".

He added that Ukrainian diplomats had produced a list of steps to be taken to "resolve the compensation issue".

Despite the three days of denial from Tehran, some have compared its reaction favourably to that from Moscow over the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Although the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team says a Russian-made BUK missile fired by pro-Russian separatists was to blame, Russia still denies any involvement.

Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported https://t.co/jtSIrcZiX1

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 11, 2020