December 2, 2024 | Advertise with us

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Trudeau dines with Trump at Mara Lago

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump discussed border security and Canada-U.S. trade during a surprise meeting at Trump's estate in Florida on Friday night.

Trudeau flew to Palm Beach, Fla., and visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago, where the president-elect has recently met with his transition team. The visit came amid Trump's threats to impose steep tariffs on Canadian products entering the United States.

Last week, Trudeau hosted a virtual meeting of the Premiers to discuss how to handle Trump’s second term in office. Coming out of the meeting, most said ‘the premiers are united.’

In a Truth Social post, Trump said, "I made it very clear that the United States will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic, caused mainly by the Drug Cartels, and Fentanyl pouring in from China,"

Telling the media it was a ‘great conversation’, Trudeau said, “Thanks for dinner last night, President Trump. I look forward to the work we can do together, again”

According to sources, discussion topics at the dinner included trade, border security, the fentanyl crisis, defence, China, energy and the upcoming G7 that Canada will be hosting next year. The source said there was also “lots of social talk.”

Notable names at the dinner table included cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc, chief of staff Katie Telford, Trump cabinet nominee Doug Bergum, and Trump security advisor former congressman Mike Waltz.

Trudeau is the first G7 leader to meet in-person with Donald Trump.

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Globe Theatre re-opens in Regina

The well-known Globe Theatre is finally opening its doors once again to welcome patrons to enjoy productions in Regina.

After almost five years of anticipation — enough to wonder if this day would ever come — one of Saskatchewan’s most cherished arts organizations is set to unveil a $42-million makeover to its downtown facilities.

Located within the historic Prince Edward Building and now known as Globe Theatre at MacCorquodale Place, the new-look venue officially opens this weekend with a season-launching presentation of Bad Hats Theatre’s Peter Pan.

The new Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport Alana Ross congratulated the theatre-in-the-round in Canada on the Premier’s social media last week, saying, “The Globe has undergone impressive renovations that will ensure the theatre continues as a hub for creativity and economic growth in our province.”

The support for the re-opening of the theatre was bi-partisan, as many NDP MLAs congratulated the theatre on its reopening, and attended the shows last week.

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Nuclear power industry sees great potential for Saskatchewan

Nuclear energy has been a topic of conversation in Saskatchewan over the last year, and the industry sees great potential in Saskatchewan.

The expansion of nuclear power generation means serious growth potential for some players in the industry, including Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, a Pennsylvania-based specialist in building nuclear reactors bought by Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp. and Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. in 2023.

It recently hosted an event in Saskatoon to help connect suppliers with those interested in developing the industry. Fabricia Piñeiro, Westinghouse’s vice president of operating plant services in Canada, said the event was the largest ever put on by the company and played into its optimism about nuclear power in the province. “Certainly, we do see Saskatchewan has huge potential for nuclear deployment in the near future,” she said.

Len Clewett, executive vice-president of nuclear development at SaskPower, said the Crown-owned corporation believes nuclear can help the province’s grid replace carbon-emitting sources. He said, “We wanted to be a follower, so we’re closely engaged with Ontario Power Generation and are watching and learning from their projects.”

SaskPower is looking to deploy the GE BWRX 300, a small modular reactor (SMR). The technology is still being developed. The first unit is expected to come online in Ontario in 2029; Saskatchewan is expected to follow in 2034. SMRs are attractive for Saskatchewan because the provincial grid usually has a load of around 3,000 to 3,500 megawatts. Clewett said large nuclear reactors generally have a capacity of around 1,000 megawatts, which makes them impractical for the province’s grid.

The site for the SMR will be in Estevan.

More news and info

• Sask. NDP holds post-election provincial council meeting (Carla Beck/X)

• Canadians are over three times more likely to prefer that the Federal Government intervene in the case of a port or railway labour dispute rather than allow a possible disruption (NMG/Nanos Research)

• Canadians see improvements to Indigenous, gender rights over time, but cool on welcoming immigrants, asylum seekers: survey (The Hill Times)