Indian heritage Anita Anand is Canada's new foreign minister; Sidhu given International Trade
Ottawa (PTI): Indo-Canadians Anita Anand and Maninder Sidhu have landed important portfolios in the new cabinet announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney after reshuffle.
While Anand was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sidhu is the new Minister for International Trade in the new cabinet announced on Tuesday.
Carney announced the reshuffle almost two weeks after his Liberal Party won the federal elections in Canada. He had replaced Justin Trudeau months ahead of the elections.
Anand, 58, was the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry before the polls and in the past has served in the roles including of defence minister. She replaced Melanie Joly, who is now the Minister of Industry.
“I am honoured to be named Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. I look forward to working with Prime Minister Mark Carney and our team to build a safer, fairer world and deliver for Canadians,” Anand, an MP from Oakville East, posted on X soon after taking oath.
Sidhu, 41, also took to X after swearing-in and said, it is an “honour of a lifetime” to be appointed as Canada’s International Trade Minister.
“I’m grateful to Prime Minister @MarkJCarney for the confidence he’s placed in me to diversify trade, support Canadian businesses in reaching new global markets, and help create good-paying jobs across Canada,” he said.
“I’m proud to stand alongside my colleagues as we work together to build the fastest-growing economy in the G7,” he added in the post on X.
Sidhu's appointment as the Minister for International Trade comes at a time when Canada is battling the Trump administration's aggression towards Canada on tariffs.
Anand, who was a front-runner in the race to be the next prime minister to replace Trudeau, had in January declared that she is backing out from the race and also that she would not be seeking re-election. However, she had reversed the decision on March 1 saying, “Canada is facing a crucial moment in our nation’s history.”
Born and raised in rural Nova Scotia, Anand moved to Ontario in 1985.
The Prime Minister of Canada's website mentions that Anand was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Oakville in 2019 and previously served as President of the Treasury Board, as Minister of National Defence, and as Minister of Public Services and Procurement.
“Anand has worked as a scholar, lawyer, and researcher. She has been a legal academic, including as a Professor of Law at the University of Toronto, where she held the J R Kimber Chair in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance,” it said and listed her other academic achievements too.
According to Sidhu's website, the entrepreneur has been an MP from Brampton East since 2019 and for over four years, he has also been a Parliamentary Secretary at Global Affairs Canada “helping to strengthen diplomatic relations, promoting international trade, and supporting international development.”
The Canadian prime minister's new cabinet has 28 ministers and they would be supported by 10 secretaries of State who will provide “dedicated leadership on key issues and priorities within their minister’s portfolio,” a statement said Tuesday.
Among the secretaries – basically junior ministers – is Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development). He is a member of parliament from Surrey Centre.
“Canada, meet your new Cabinet. This is a team that is empowered and expected to lead. Together, we will create a new economic and security relationship with the United States and build a stronger economy — the strongest economy in the G7,” Carney said in a post on X as he shared a small video of the team together.
Soon after, Carney shared another post on X where he shared a photo of the new cabinet team members standing behind him as he addressed the media and said: “Canada has a new government. No matter how you voted, we are in your service. Together, we will build a stronger, more united Canada.”
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
