| Via Rail terror plot suspects 'motivated by Islamic extremism', trial hears Posted: 02 Feb 2015 02:40 PM PST  Two men accused of planning a terrorist attack on a passenger train travelling between Canada and the U.S. were motivated by Islamic extremism and spent months plotting to murder as many people as they could, their trial heard on Monday. On the first day of the trial, Crown lawyer Croft Michaelson said the pair made up a terrorist group operating in Canada in 2012. "Mr. Esseghaier and Mr. Jaser, motivated by Islamic extremism, agreed that they would murder persons to instil fear in the community," Michaelson said in his opening remarks. Esseghaier, a Tunisian national who was doing doctoral research on nanosensors in Quebec, travelled to Iran in early 2012 and met with people who were, in his words, "carrying out Jihad for the sake of Allah," Michaelson said.
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| John Baird to resign as foreign affairs minister and not run again Posted: 02 Feb 2015 09:21 PM PST  John Baird, one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's most trusted and high-profile cabinet ministers, is resigning his foreign affairs post and will not seek re-election later this year. Multiple Conservative sources tell The Canadian Press that Baird announced the news Monday, shocking even some of his cabinet colleagues. It is still unclear where Baird is headed, and International Trade Minister Ed Fast appears poised to take over as acting foreign minister. "These are potentially peak earning years for him," said one Toronto-area Conservative.
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| Five Things to know about John Baird's long career in politics Posted: 02 Feb 2015 08:15 PM PST 1. While environment minister in 2007, Baird helped deliver the death knell to the Kyoto agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Baird painted a disastrous economic portrait of Canada post-Kyoto, saying it was a "risky, reckless scheme" that would spur a recession and cause 275,000 Canadians to lose their jobs. 2. Baird sparked a diplomatic fury in 2009, when he sent a short text to a friend that read simply: "Thatcher has died." Prime Minister Stephen Harper reportedly began preparing an official statement to mourn the passing of the Iron Lady after word spread throughout a crowd of about 2,000 Conservatives at a black-tie event in Toronto.  |
| Canada foreign minister to quit amid talk of tension with PM Posted: 02 Feb 2015 08:40 PM PST  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird is unexpectedly set to resign from the federal cabinet this week amid what sources said had been tensions with the prime minister's office. Polls show Prime Minister Stephen Harper would most likely lose his majority in Parliament and could even be thrown out of power. Baird, the sources said, had pushed for Ottawa to slap sanctions on allies of President Vladimir Putin who had business ties with Canada.
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| 'Mujahideen' talks in Iran cited in Canada train terrorism trial Posted: 02 Feb 2015 04:38 PM PST  Two men charged with plotting to derail a train traveling from New York to Toronto had their plans foiled by an undercover police officer who convinced them he could help pull off the attack, jurors heard at the opening of their trial on Monday. One of the men, Tunisian Chiheb Esseghaier, told the undercover officer that he had met with "mujahideen" in Iran and had a plan in place with a "Palestinian brother," a reference to the second defendant, Raed Jaser, the court heard. In opening remarks, prosecuting lawyers said the two were motivated by Islamic extremism and wanted to murder people to instill fear, and so that Canada and the United States would remove their troops from Muslim lands. The pair also spoke of other plans, including the use of a sniper to target political leaders, the undercover officer said.
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