Tory MP says party nixed statement on abortion motion

A Conservative MP wants the Speaker to rule on who controls the precious few minutes MPs have to make members' statements after he says he was denied the chance last week to talk about his motion against sex-selective abortion.

Mark Warawa, who is trying to bring a motion before the House condemning abortion based on sex, says he wanted to make a statement before question period, but his own party interfered.

The motion, M-408, was ruled non-voteable by a small committee of MPs last Thursday, despite a non-partisan analyst from the Library of Parliament telling them it qualified to go to the House for debate.

MPs get 15 minutes every day before question period to make one-minute statements in the House of Commons, known as SO-31s. The parties help organize the list of names provided, Warawa says, but it's up to the Speaker to determine who doesn't get to make one of those 60-second statements.

Warawa says he wanted to make a member's statement about his motion and recent speeches he made about it at universities in British Columbia and Ontario.

Warawa said he "was going to report the incredible support for M-408. I was going to report that and of course that SO-31 was removed [from the list]."

Rules 'have to be honoured'

Warawa tabled his motion on Sept. 26, the same day 86 Conservative MPs voted in favour of a motion to study when life begins. Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth's motion was defeated 203-91.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has insisted the government will not reopen the abortion debate, raising questions over whether the decision to make Warawa's motion non-voteable was influenced by the Prime Minister's Office.

Warawa still managed to make the statement as he introduced a petition on the issue after question period, but he now wants the rules explained. On Tuesday, he's going to ask Speaker Andrew Scheer for "a clarification" about whether MPs have the right to make member's statements.

"It's clearly laid out in the standing orders, and the rules of Parliament have to be honoured, respected," Warawa said in an interview with CBC News.

"If there is a misinterpretation of those standing orders, which can happen, then the Speaker clarifies that and that's what I'm going to be asking for. … My understanding is yes, they can, that's standing orders, that's one of their privileges."

The only person who can tell MPs they can't make statements, Warawa says, is the Speaker.

"We have a great responsibility in coming to Ottawa. We're sent here from our communities. That's who our boss is, that's who we report to, is our community," he said.

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Royal baby bill nears final vote despite U.K. changes

The Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee finished its quick review of Canada's bill to assent to changes in the royal line of succession last week, setting up Canada to be the first country to pass changes to allow any first-born child, boy or girl, to inherit the throne.

The committee wrapped up its clause-by-clause review in minutes, and is set to send C-53 back to the Senate for third reading as early as this week.

But the timing and wording of Canada's legislation — which does not spell out specific amendments to the ancient laws governing the monarchy but simply gives its assent to a British bill — was called into question by some senators.

After a speedy passage for the bill so far, Quebec Liberal Senator Joan Fraser indicated she may propose amendments at third reading.

C-53 passed with unanimous consent in the House of Commons on Feb. 4, with no debate or committee review by MPs.

Senators heard testimony on the bill at only two committee meetings.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson appeared last Thursday morning, along with Warren Newman, a senior constitutional lawyer from the justice department, and Joe Wild, the Privy Council official who's been in charge of co-ordinating the legislation with the U.K. and the 14 other countries, called realms, where Queen Elizabeth reigns.

Quebec Liberal Senator Serge Joyal noted that because the bill was fast-tracked, last Thursday's testimony from Nicholson was the first time the justice minister had ever spoken about the bill.

Nicholson called the principles behind the bill's reforms — enshrining gender equality and removing a prohibition on marrying a Catholic — "non-controversial."

Nicholson echoed Heritage Minister James Moore's portrayal of the bill when it was introduced Jan. 30, calling it a "straightforward approach" to modernizing the monarchy.

"The U.K. is not making law for Canada," Nicholson said, saying C-53 reflects a "sound interpretation" of the legal precedents, including bills passed in Canada following the abdication crisis triggered by King Edward VIII in 1937 and when royal titles were changed in 1947 and 1953.

Nicholson quoted former prime minister Louis St-Laurent, who said during the debate over the 1953 legislation that "Her Majesty is now the Queen of Canada. But she is the Queen of Canada because she is the Queen of the United Kingdom and the people of Canada are happy to recognize as their sovereign, the sovereign of the United Kingdom."

Approving a moving target?

But the U.K. legislation that Canada's bill would approve has not yet passed in the British Parliament. It's scheduled for third reading in the British House of Lords at Westminister April 22.

After that, several amendments made to the original legislation will be considered for incorporation into the final wording of the U.K. law.

Fraser pointed out during Nicholson's appearance Thursday that C-53 specifies Canada is giving its assent to a bill "laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom."

She said this wording leaves the impression Canada would be approving only the original draft of the bill, not amendments from the British House of Commons or House of Lords.

One of those amendments, she noted, is significant in that it clarifies which marriages (and whose heirs) among those in the royal line of succession are considered void because the monarch's consent was not obtained in advance.

"What are we assenting to?" Fraser asked the minister and his officials. "Which version?"

Nicholson acknowledged Fraser's was a "good question" but said that because all 16 countries will be bringing changes into force simultaneously regardless of when their individual bills pass, there is still a way for Canada to adjust for any U.K. amendments, if necessary.

Wild said the Harper government's approach "maintains flexibility" to deal with any issues that arise with the tricky sequencing.

That didn't satisfy the Liberal senators.

"It's really bothering me," B.C. Liberal Senator Mobina Jaffer said to Wild later in the meeting. "Why would we not just wait [until the final version of the U.K. law has passed]?"

Wild said Canada "did not want to be the last" to approve the changes, or hold up the overall reforms, and the government had to manage the schedule of the Commons and avoid a situation where the bill's passage was pushed back to next fall.

"We didn't see a signficant legal risk in moving [the bill] now," Wild said, emphasizing the basic principles of enshrining gender equality and removing the prohibition on marrying a Catholic have not been affected by the U.K. amendments in question.

What's the rush?

Although the approaching birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first child draws media attention to moves meant to modernize the monarchy, the royal baby's exact birthday is not a factor in the timing of these reforms.

When the changes were first proposed by British Prime Minister David Cameron before the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Australia in October 2011, all the countries agreed the changes would come into force simultaneously, retroactive to the date of their meeting.

Not all 16 realms are passing legislation to enact the reforms. Some countries may only need the agreement of their executive (cabinet) or feel they've already given consent in writing through the same kind of letter Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent to the British prime minister initially, agreeing to the changes in principle.

No countries have passed legislation so far.

In Australia, Wild told the committee, there remains a dispute over whether the bill needs to be passed by both the state and federal legislatures. The state of Queensland has objected to the Australian federal government's view that passing it at the federal level is sufficient.

The Senate committee heard from four other witnesses last week, including experts on the constitution and the monarchy.

Despite some media commentary questioning whether the Harper government's approach to this bill is constitutionally sound, none of the witnesses suggested significant changes to the bill.

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MPs review controversial Saskatchewan electoral changes

Controversial changes to federal electoral boundaries in Saskatchewan come before a parliamentary committee Tuesday, with Conservative MPs lined up against a commission's recommendations.

Seven Saskatchewan MPs will appear before the procedure and House affairs committee.

The Saskatchewan Boundaries Commission is recommending five new urban ridings be created, with three in Saskatoon and two in Regina.

Right now federal ridings in those two cities are part rural and part urban.

Conservative MP David Anderson, from Cypress Hills-Grassland, wants it to stay that way.

Liberal Ralph Goodale, the province's only non-Conservative MP, says the changes recommended by an independent commission reflect the growth in Saskatchewan's urban population. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)

"So much of our economy is rural based. Mining, agriculture, the forestry sector — a lot of that is done in the rural areas, but managed from the cities," Anderson told reporters.

The opposition parties have accused the Conservatives of being afraid of losing the new urban seats in the next election.

But Saskatoon-Humboldt MP Brad Trost said that's not the case.

"If you look at the current map situation, we're still the favourites in 12 of the 14 constituencies," Trost said.

Robocalls stir opposition

It's more than just Conservative MPs who are against the proposed new ridings.

The federal Conservative party was behind a series of robocalls in January that said the new ridings were against Saskatchewan values, then asked callers to press 1 if they agreed.

The only riding not held by the Conservatives is Wascana, held by Liberal MP Ralph Goodale.

Goodale said urban ridings make sense now that 40 per cent of the population lives in Regina and Saskatoon. He said the concerns of urban voters is increasingly different from rural ones.

"The way the boundaries are structured, they almost dictate that one must dominate the other. And whichever side of the debate you're on, someone ends up getting the short end of the stick," Goodale told CBC News.

Goodale says along with the five new urban seats, the commission is also recommending there still be three ridings with an urban-rural mix, while the remainder would be predominately rural.

"At the moment, it's 14 to nothing, which seems a bit one-sided and unfair and unrealistic, given the growth in the population and the urbanization trend," Goodale said.

All but one Saskatchewan Conservative MP has filed an objection with the parliamentary procedure and house affairs committee. The remaining one is Andrew Scheer, who must remain neutral as Commons Speaker.

The Saskatchewan Boundaries Commission will consider those objections before making is final decision later this year.

Similar commissions are considering changes to electoral boundaries in other provinces to reflect recent population shifts.

The Commons is also preparing to add 30 new seats in time for the next election. Ontario will get an additional 15 seats, Alberta and British Columbia six each and Quebec three.

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Top U.S. court to hear gay marriage arguments

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments beginning today on two laws critical to the rights of gay couples to marry, as new polls show a dramatic shift in the number of Americans who support overturning barriers to same-sex marriage.

Public opinion on the topic of gay and lesbian rights in the United States, a politically dangerous hot-button issue not so many years ago, has undergone one of the most rapid evolutions in recent history. The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 58 per cent of Americans favour the right to government-sanctioned marriage for gays and lesbians, with 36 per cent opposed. Just nine years ago, those figures were virtually the opposite.

As more gay and lesbian couples are in public view, Americans can see "there are real families who are impacted. People have seen there has been no negative impact (from gay marriage). It's only the exclusion from marriage that has a negative impact," said Jennifer Levi, professor of law at Western New England University.

The public opinion shift does not guarantee an outcome in favour of gay marriage in the conservative-leaning court. Gay marriage foes have expressed confidence that the justices will rule their way, and even some gay rights activists have worried that the court has taken up the issue too soon. Supporters of same-sex marriage hope for a ruling that will be the 21st century equivalent of the court's 1967 decision in Loving v. Virginia that struck down state bans on interracial marriage.

Proposition 8 arguments

On Tuesday, lawyers representing one lesbian and one gay couple from California will try to persuade the nine Supreme Court justices to strike down the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages and to declare that gay couples can marry nationwide.

People have been waiting for days outside the U.S. Supreme Court in winter weather to witness historic cases against anti-gay marriage statutes. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Lawyers representing supporters of the California ban known as Proposition 8 will argue that the court should not override the democratic process and impose a judicial solution that would redefine marriage in the some 40 states that do not allow same-sex couples to wed.

The case before the high court came together four years ago when the two couples agreed to be the named plaintiffs and become the public faces of a well-funded, high-profile effort to challenge Proposition 8 in the courts.

The fight began in 2004 when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city officials to issue marriage licences. Six months later, the state Supreme Court invalidated the same-sex unions. Less than four years later, however, the same state court overturned California's prohibition on same-sex unions. Then, in the same election that put President Barack Obama in the White House in 2008, California voters approved Proposition 8, undoing the court ruling and defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

The ballot measure halted same-sex unions in California. Roughly 18,000 couples were wed in the nearly five months that same-sex marriage was legal and those marriages remain valid in California.

The high-profile case has brought together two one-time Supreme Court opponents. Republican Theodore Olson and Democrat David Boies are leading the legal team representing the same-sex couples. They argued against each other in the Bush v. Gore case that settled the disputed 2000 presidential election in favour of George W. Bush. Opposing them is Charles Cooper, Olson's onetime colleague at the Justice Department in the Reagan administration.

The Obama administration has weighed in on behalf of the same-sex couples who brought the case, following President Barack Obama's declaration of support for same-sex marriage last year and his invocation of gay rights at his inauguration in January.

The case, having wound its way to the high court, could produce a number of rulings, ranging from upholding the California ban to striking it down in a fashion that would erase such bans nationwide. The court is not expected to rule before late June.

The case is being argued 10 years to the day after the court took up a challenge to Texas' anti-sodomy statute. That case ended with a forceful ruling prohibiting states from criminalizing sexual relations between consenting adults. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the swing vote on the divided court, was the author of the decision in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, and he is being closely watched for how he might vote on the California ban.

Nine states and Washington, D.C. allow same-sex marriage, 12 others recognize "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships" that grant the same benefits without full rights of marriage. The 29 other states ban gay marriage in their constitutions.

Defence of Marriage Act challenged

Next up on Wednesday, the court will hear the first challenge it has accepted to the Defence of Marriage Act, the 1996 measure signed into law by former President Bill Clinton. Both he and his wife, potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, recently reversed course and now support same-sex marriage. The law, known as DOMA, forbids nationwide recognition of same-sex marriages and bars married gay and lesbian couples from receiving federal benefits.

Catherine Smith, associate dean at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, sees a variety of reasons for the rapidly changing views on same-sex marriage, but foremost is the number of people who have publicly acknowledged they are gay. "That and the number of states that are recognizing this right (to marriage) is a huge factor."

But while public attitudes may be changing fast, there's still plenty of heavy and vocal opposition.

"I have always believed that gay people are human beings with human dignity who need to be treated with respect," Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, said in a recent National Public Radio interview. "But that's different from having a foundational norm that says there is no morally relevant difference between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships and (that) if you see one, you're like a bigot who's opposed to interracial marriage."

And given that argument — a powerful one among religious organizations, churches and conservative voters in particular — a large chunk of Americans feel sure the high court will see things their way.

"We remain confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will uphold the ability of states and the federal government to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, a definition that has served our nation well for hundreds of years," read a statement by Brian S. Brown, a 39-year-old father of eight who has raised millions of dollars from religious conservatives — especially his fellow Roman Catholics — to become the nation's leading opponent of same-sex marriage. He is president of the National Organization for Marriage and played a big role in passing California's Proposition 8.

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Trudeau draws on the past as he looks to the future

Justin Trudeau, frontrunner in the race to be Liberal leader, has been criticized for shying away from policy announcements.

But supporters, young and old, seem smitten with the idea of Trudeau leading the party, and he's drawing crowds much like his father, former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, did more than four decades ago.

Trudeau has been responsible for attracting the lion's share of nearly 300,000 supporters to the party under a new category that allows non-members to vote for the leadership.

Many of those supporters are young — and many of them in the end did not follow through and complete their registration in time to take part in voting for the leadership in a few weeks' time.

So, is this the return of Trudeaumania, or simply a party with nothing left to lose?

Watch Laurie Graham's report on CBC's The National.

Fundraising figures released

Liberal leadership frontrunner Justin Trudeau has raised more than $1 million for his campaign, according to the latest numbers posted Monday by Elections Canada.

The figures reported to Elections Canada by the candidates show Martha Hall Findlay in second with $178,000, just ahead of B.C. MP Joyce Murray with nearly $170,000.

The deadline for reporting to Elections Canada was Friday.

Numbers were not reported for Montreal-area MP Marc Garneau, who exited the race March 13.

Former Quebec MP and federal cabinet minister Martin Cauchon led the rest of the contestants, reporting more than $103,000. Cauchon was a late entry into the race and this is his first filing.

David Bertschi, who dropped out of the race last week, raised just over $50,000 and Karen McCrimmon and Deborah Coyne raised just over $26,000 and $25,000 respectively.

The number of donors listed by each candidate is perhaps more interesting than the dollar amounts.

Trudeau is far ahead of the pack, with 7,009 donors – and no outstanding loans, according to the Elections Canada website.

The figures show Murray has relied on 1,382 donors for her total, giving her a significantly larger donor base than Hall Findlay's 1,023 contributors.

By contrast, Cauchon raised his $103,000 with just 151 donors, indicating he received large donations from the bulk of his backers.

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Transport minister asks for review of possible ethics breach

Canada's Transport Minister Denis Lebel has asked his top bureaucrat to investigate whether a federal bridge agency improperly received gifts from a major Quebec construction firm.

It's the first time the Conservative government has said publicly it is taking action on something raised at the Charbonneau commission into municipal and provincial contract corruption in Quebec.

Earlier this month, a witness mentioned to the provincial inquiry she had sent gifts to Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridge Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Federal Bridge Corp. Ltd.

Ghislaine Dujmovic of DJL Construction said the company gave certificates to a spa in the Laurentians, bottles of wine, car emergency kits or other gifts to figures in the City of Montreal, the Quebec transportation department and the federal bridge firm every year at Christmas.

The administrative assistant said the practice was in place before she took it over in the late 1990s, and ended around 2008. The list of gift recipients was first reviewed by different project managers, and certain officials got better gifts than others.

Dujmovic declined to elaborate on the gifts to the bridge corporation when contacted by The Canadian Press.

DJL Construction has been awarded eight contracts worth $12 million between 2008-2012 through a competitive public tender process, according to Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridge Inc.

Spokesman Jean-Vincent Lacroix said the federal firm is unaware of any of its employees receiving gifts from DJL between 1998 and 2008, although staff turnover made it difficult to know for sure.

"After doing some verification, I also understand that there was a past informal tradition during the holiday season when greeting cards were sometimes accompanied by a bottle of wine," said Lacroix, adding that there was no register for those gifts.

Lebel's office said that the minister has asked his deputy minister to investigate the matter and ensure adherence to ethics rules.

"The expected behaviour for all public servants is clearly outlined in the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector," said Lebel's spokesman, Michael Winterburn.

"These standards are taken very seriously and they apply to everyone across the federal government, including employees of Crown corporations.

"If corrections need to be made, we will take the necessary measures."

The new ethics code says public servants must act "at all times with integrity and in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny, an obligation that may not be fully satisfied by simply acting within the law."

A similar line appears in the corporation's conflict-of-interest code for administrators.

It also says "an executive should not solicit or accept an economic advantage other than customary gifts, tokens of hospitality or other benefits of low value, except in the case of executory contractual rights, or by virtue of a property right of the administrator(/director)."

That code also prohibits executives from attending any political events, but in 2009 two of the corporation's five directors attended a Conservative fundraiser in Montreal featuring Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Board president Paul Kefalas and director Serge Martel were at the $150-a-ticket event, which was also attended by several executives from engineering firms that would shortly thereafter bid on a multimillion-dollar contract on Montreal's Champlain Bridge.

The corporation's board itself probed the issue, and concluded no rules had been broken.

The federal scene has popped up a few times recently at the Charbonneau commission, even though the inquiry is not touching on that level of government. One construction industry executive said last week that his firm, Dessau, had used fake billing schemes to funnel money to federal parties.

There were no more details about which parties might have received the cash, how much they received, and when they received it.

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Raised tariffs not yet a challenge for Flaherty in Asia

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, in Hong Kong to tout Canada's economic record and promote it as a valuable trade partner, said Monday there has been zero reaction to a budget measure that will increase import tariffs for countries in the region.

Flaherty's eighth budget, delivered on Thursday, takes Hong Kong, China, Thailand and other countries off the list of those covered by the General Preferential Tariff program.

Pushing a trade agenda with Asian economies while at the same time raising tariffs on them could pose a challenge for Flaherty, but no one raised the issue with him during his meetings Monday morning in Hong Kong, the finance minister said.

"There's a business roundtable tomorrow here in Hong Kong," Flaherty said in an interview with CBC News after a lunchtime speech at the Asia Society. "I'll be interested to see whether it's raised — or whether it's raised in Thailand."

Flaherty said he wasn't sure how the measure would be received during his trip to Hong Kong and to Thailand later in the week.

"I think most of the countries that have done well in terms of economic development realize this is a foreign aid initiative that's really designed for poor countries.

"It's difficult for a BRIC country or Hong Kong to say that they ought to be entitled to a preferential tariff as a poor country," he said.

Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, in fact just posted a massive surplus when Flaherty's counterpart John Tsang presented the city's budget last month.

"So far, so good," Flaherty said when asked whether he's confident Canada can still make its case for increased trade despite the tariff measure. Flaherty will have a working dinner with Tsang on Monday evening, and he joked that given Hong Kong's $8 billion surplus, "It would be nice to be the secretary of finance here, no question about it."

Balanced budget in 2015

Flaherty said that during his meetings in Hong Kong he will be talking about Canada getting back to balanced budgets and that his government is on a solid fiscal track to get there.

"We have the commitment to do it and we will accomplish this in 2015," Flaherty said in the interview.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty mingles with guests after a lunchtime speech in Hong Kong on Monday. (Meagan Fitzpatrick/CBC News)

The government is counting on closing tax loopholes and going after tax evaders to bring in more revenue, and Flaherty said the Canada Revenue Agency is going to get the tools it needs to do that. The finance minister said an important change will be a requirement for financial institutions to report to the CRA when transactions of more than $10,000 are made overseas.

Flaherty acknowledged that some Canadians object to the idea because of privacy concerns, but he said that it's a measure that is needed to keep taxes low. "It probably should have been done by governments before ours and perhaps by our government earlier on," he said.

Flaherty told his audience Monday that international trade is key to Canada's future economic growth and that the Conservative government is in the midst of an ambitious trade expansion plan. The goal is to increase exports to the world's fast-growing economies, he said, and the importance of Asia can't be overstated.

Hong Kong a priority market

Flaherty said Hong Kong is a priority market for Canada and that the government is determined to strengthen economic ties with China. He mentioned the controversial Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, and in the interview with CBC, Flaherty said the interest from China on a free trade agreement is mutual.

"We're interested too. We have an open-door policy with respect to commencing and seeing how far we can get on free trade agreements," Flaherty said.

The trade agreement with the European Union is close to completion, the government has signed nine other free trade agreements since 2006, and "there will be more to come, and certainly we're open to Asia," said Flaherty.

Canada is pursuing talks with India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand but so far has not signed a free trade deal with any Asian nation.

Given the criticism launched at the government over the FIPA, free trade negotiations with China would also likely provoke a lot of reaction. Flaherty said human rights concerns would be "an important issue" and that Canada has always been clear about its position on human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

"These are complicated negotiations," Flaherty said. "We would have to start at the beginning and see how it goes."

The NDP criticized Flaherty for leaving Ottawa immediately after delivering his budget, but the finance minister said it is a tradition for him to travel to an international financial capital after budget day, and this year he picked Hong Kong.

He has made several trips to mainland China and other Asian nations, but hasn't been in Hong Kong in more than a decade.

On another matter in Ottawa that was making headlines over the weekend, Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page's term coming to an end, Flaherty quipped that he and Page "weren't that close."

Page told CBC Radio's The House that the Conservatives are trying to "unwind the office." Flaherty, however, said that Page overstepped his boundaries and that a qualified person will replace him.

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Cree youth on final leg of Idle No More trek to Ottawa

A group of young people from the James Bay Cree community of Whapmagoostui, Que., is expected to arrive in Ottawa today, marking the end of their 1,600-kilometre trek to the nation's capital.

"It's just been a truly amazing experience. I'll tell you, words cannot describe the feeling that I'm feeling, that the group is feeling, that the walkers are feeling," said Lisa Commanda by phone Monday morning. She joined the group of walkers on Thursday when they reached the Kitigan Zibi Algonquin reserve in west Quebec.

"We're learning something from the young people," Commanda said.

Six youths and a guide left Whapmagoostui in January to snowshoe and walk to Ottawa in support of the Idle No More movement. They called the trek "The Journey of Nishiyuu," which means "The Journey of the People" in Cree.

The group now numbers about 400, according to volunteers, after other children and youth from Cree and Algonquin communities joined them along the way.

The journey continued Sunday afternoon as the group walked down Highway 105 southbound near Chelsea, Que., more than a three-hour walk from Ottawa.

Organizer says ending is bittersweet

David Kawapit, 18, says the walk has helped him and others deal with personal struggles, including depression and suicidal thoughts. (CBC)

David Kawapit, 18, is one of the original seven walkers who set out from Whapmagoostui.

"It feels really good, but at the same time I'm really sad that it's ending," he said on Sunday as the group reached Chelsea. "Because a lot of us shared a lot good times here, sad times, but we all stuck together."

Others on the walk have told Kawapit it's helping them deal with personal struggles, Kawapit said, including depression and suicidal thoughts. Kawapit struggles with the same.

"It feels really good that a lot of people are paying attention to what's going on, and that a lot of these guys that are walking with us are helping themselves on this journey.

"But this journey's really shown me a lot, how much I can help people. And it's really given me a better understanding of life. I've made a lot of friends here, so there's no way I'm going to leave them."

Chelsea provides shelter

Commanda said Chelsea offered the walkers a warm place to sleep in the community arena, and provided dinner and breakfast.

Just before 9 a.m. Monday, the group left Chelsea.

They're expected to head to Victoria Island, where a welcome ceremony has been scheduled between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The group will then complete their walk to Parliament Hill.

When "The Journey of Nishiyuu" arrived at Kitigan Zibi last week, 22 of the walkers sought medical attention at the community's clinic for foot injuries.

Three members of the group were also sent to hospital in nearby Maniwaki, Que., for further treatment.

The group has received warm welcomes in the communities where its members have rested. Its Facebook group has more than 32,700 members.

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Former Liberal MP stays away from Labrador byelection

The Liberal MP whom controversial Tory Peter Penashue unseated in the 2011 federal election said Monday he will not pursue a chance to get even.

Todd Russell, who had represented Labrador for six years before losing to Penashue by just 79 votes, says he still feels bitter over the last election, but said his priority is to serve as president of NunatuKavut, the organization that represents Labrador's Inuit Métis.

"I believe in my heart that I lost unfairly, that I was cheated, that in fact the people of Labrador were cheated out of a fair election," Russell told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

"That's what makes this decision so difficult …. At the end of the day, I had to put aside some of the hurt, some of the anger, some of the disappointment."

Penashue, who resigned his Commons seat earlier this month amid revelations his 2011 campaign had repeatedly accepted inappropriate donations, will stand for the Tories in the byelection.

Russell's decision is the latest twist in the still-unofficial competition for the Labrador seat, and comes on the heels of Green Party Leader Elizabeth May's call for the NDP to stand down in the race so that the Conservatives will be defeated.

Russell had a good motivation to run again, if only because he was defeated just 22 days before he was eligible to qualify for a parliamentary pension.

Meanwhile, Russell took a shot at Yvonne Jones, a Liberal representative in Newfoundland and Labrador's legislature and a former provincial party leader. Jones declared her intention to seek the Liberal nomination the morning after Penashue announced his resignation in the house.

"I was disappointed that Ms. Jones made such a hasty decision," Russell said. "I would have hoped that I would have had the liberty, the freedom to make my decision without that added consideration."

Meanwhile, the NDP proceeded Sunday with a nomination vote, despite a call from the Greens to cancel it.

Harry Borlase won a three-way race Sunday for the NDP nomination in Labrador. (NDP )

Harry Borlase, an analyst with C-CORE, a research organization working on cold-ocean development, won the race for the NDP's nomination on Sunday.

May asked the NDP to not nominate a candidate for the as-yet-uncalled byelection, on grounds that a concerted opposition could prevent a Conservative from winning. May is hoping that Opposition parties can collaborate from now on to ensure a system more in line with proportional representation.

Penashue was the first Tory since 1968 to win an election in Labrador. Since Confederation, the riding has otherwise been represented by Liberals.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has staunchly defended Penashue's record, is free to set a date for the election as early as Friday.

The NDP brushed aside May's call and proceeded Sunday with an online ballot that drew 106 votes among three candidates.

The party did not release a vote count.

"The NDP is the party best positioned to defeat and replace and Stephen Harper in 2015 and we can start right here in Labrador by punishing Peter Penashue and Stephen Harper for their ethical lapses," Nathan Rotman, the NDP's national director, said in a statement Sunday night.

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Pandas to get VIP treatment at Toronto arrival

Two giant pandas are set to touch down at Toronto's Pearson International Airport in less than an hour, beginning a five-year stay in Canada's most populous city.

Er Shun, a five-year-old female, and Da Mao, a four-year-old male, will spend 10 years in Canada in total, an arrangement that Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in China last year. But there are high hopes that the two will produce offspring while they are in Toronto.

The two pandas will spend the first half of that time at the Toronto Zoo and the second half in Calgary.

Harper, his wife Laureen and Zhang Junsai, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, will be participating in a photo op after the pandas land in Toronto.

This photo from the plane shows Da Mao, one of two pandas en route to Toronto, enjoying the in-flight catering. (FedEx Canada)

The pandas are scheduled to arrive in Toronto at 10:30 a.m. ET. Harper is expected to make a few remarks shortly before 11 a.m.

FedEx is handling the transport of the giant pandas to Canada aboard an MD-11 plane dubbed the Panda Express. This is the sixth time the company has handled a panda move.

FedEx Canada president Lisa Lisson was interviewed live on CBC News Network on Monday morning and said the pandas were adjusting well to their 15-hour, 12,875-kilometre journey.

"They look quite happy," Lisson said, referring to photos send via Twitter that show Da Mao chomping on bamboo inside the plane.

Plenty of legroom

Er Shun and Da Mao will also have veterinarians travelling with them.

"They have a full entourage and lots of legroom," Lisson told News Network host Heather Hiscox. "They have this whole plane to themselves."

Officials are hopeful the pair of pandas will become more than friends during their time together in Canada.

"We're hoping that when they're at the Toronto zoo they are going to breed, so we can protect this endangered species," said Lisson. "This is their first big date. They've never met before." said Lisson.

For the trip to Toronto, FedEx is bringing plenty of food — mostly bamboo and bamboo shoots, but also apples — for the pandas to munch on during their long journey.

Da Mao, a four-year-old male giant panda, was transported by FedEx from Chengdu, China to Toronto. (FedEx Canada)

FedEx will continue to be involved with the panda exhibit during Er Shun and Da Mao's time in Toronto. The company will be flying fresh bamboo for them to eat several times a week.

Canada has not hosted panda bears for more than two decades.

A pair of giant pandas came to the Toronto Zoo for a few months in 1985, and the Calgary Zoo hosted pandas in 1988. Their short stay in Toronto drew hundreds of thousands of visitors that year.

Another couple of pandas spent a brief period at the Winnipeg Zoo in 1989.

With files from The Canadian Press

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