SHAPE OF THE Peter Howell’s take on

who will win, who could

— and who should on
OVER 100 YEARS IN
Hollywood’s big night, E1 MATTRESS EXPERIENCE

WEATHER HIGH 3 C | CLOUDY AND BREEZY | MAP S8 FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018

Party activist
TRUMP STOKES who exposed
TRADE WAR FEAR PC problems
gets apology
Jim Karahalios lost membership,
U.S. president announces plan to slap tariffs faced lawsuit after challenging
on steel and aluminum. Canada calls the move Brown over nominations, policy
‘absolutely unacceptable’ and promises ROBERT BENZIE
QUEEN’S PARK BUREAU CHIEF

to retaliate if it does not get an exemption Progressive Conservative interim leader

“People have no idea
how badly our country
has been treated by
other countries, by
people representing us
that didn’t have a clue.
Or if they did, then they
should be ashamed of
themselves because
they’ve destroyed the
steel industry, they’ve
destroyed the aluminum
industry . . .”
Donald Trump
DANIEL DALE
WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF
WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald
Trump said Thursday that he is going to
put tariffs on steel and aluminum from
every other country, an act that could
cause significant harm to Canadian pro-
ducers, raise prices for U.S. consumers
and prompt an escalating round of in-
ternational retaliation.
The retaliation threats began immedi-
ately. Calling the tariffs “absolutely unac-
ceptable,” Foreign Affairs Minister
Chrystia Freeland promised “responsive
measures” if Canada does not get a last-
minute exemption. The European Union
Bob Bratina, the Liberal MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, said tariffs could have a major impact
on his region, where ArcelorMittal Dofasco, above, and Stelco have facilities.
said it would propose “countermeasures”
this week.
Trump’s move fulfils the protectionist
trade rhetoric of his campaign, and it may
prove popular in Rust Belt states key to
his victory.
But it is opposed by most business
groups, senior Republican legislators,
and many of his own top advisers.
Trump said the steel tariff will be 25 per
cent, the aluminum tariff 10 per cent. He
said he will impose the tariffs “next
week,” that they will last “for a long peri-
od of time,” and that they will bring back
jobs stolen by countries that have acted
unfairly.
LUCAS OLENIUK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
“People have no idea how badly our
country has been treated by other coun-
tries, by people representing us that
didn’t have a clue. Or if they did, then they
should be ashamed of themselves be-
cause they’ve destroyed the steel indus-
try, they’ve destroyed the aluminum in-
dustry, and other industries, frankly,” he
said at the White House.
U.S. steel and aluminum producers ap-
plauded. But companies that rely on steel
and aluminum, which employ many
more people than the producers, warned
of price increases and job losses.
TRUMP continued on A10
Vic Fedeli has formally apologized to a
party activist who was targeted for his
opposition to discredited former chief
Patrick Brown.
Jim Karahalios, head of the “Axe the
Carbon Tax” and “Take Back Our PC
Party” campaigns, led the grassroots
charge against Brown’s leadership.
Karahalios was in-
strumental in expos-
ing problems at Tory
candidate nomina-
tion elections, as well
as the policy-making
process and other
abuses of the party
constitution. Jim Karahalios,
In response, the To- head of the
ries filed an expensive “Axe the
legal action against Carbon Tax”
him that a judge ruled and “Take Back
was a SLAPP, a “stra- Our PC Party.”
tegic lawsuit against
public participation” to stifle dissent.
Yet under Brown, the party planned to
appeal that decision.
Things changed after he was forced to
resign on Jan. 25 amid allegations of sex-
25% ual impropriety.
Fedeli, who has vowed to clean up the
Trump’s
proposed tariff Brown-era “rot” in the party, said Kara-
on steel. halios had been unfairly treated and
praised him for his “hard work to ensure
85% that our party constitution is upheld.”
Percentage “No PC party activist conducting grass-
of Canadian roots campaigns in accordance with our
steel exports, party’s constitution should ever have to
worth about go through what Mr. Karahalios went
$6 billion through: barring him from our party’s
annually, convention; revoking his membership;
that go to and forcing him to defend against a frivo-
the U.S. lous and vexatious lawsuit.
TORY APOLOGY continued on A4

Patriotism in bulk: Feds call for Halton Catholic board under fire
3.5 million more Maple Leaf pins for charity ban over religious values
Heritage department has ordered
almost 15 million since 2013
ALEX BALLINGALL
OTTAWA BUREAU
OTTAWA— How many Canadi-
an flag lapel pins could the
government possibly need?
Try 14.6 million.
That, according to the De-
partment of Canadian Heri-
tage, is how many little Maple
Leaf clasps the government will have pur-
chased since 2013, after it fulfils its most
recent order for another 3.5 million brass
and polystyrene pins.
Such a quantity could supply four in 10
Canadians with their own special flag pin.
Each member of the federal public ser-
vice — numbering 263,000 last year —
could wear 55 of them at the same time.
And visiting dignitaries could snatch
them up and lose them in junk drawers
for many years to come.
Natalie Huneault, spokesperson for the
heritage department, said in an
email that the government
spent $792,940 to buy 11.1
million lapel pins from 2013
to 2017.
The cost of the latest
batch will depend on who
gets the supply contract,
she said. A tender notice
published Thursday states the govern-
ment will give the latest lapel pin contract
to the lowest bidder.
Huneault explained that the pins are
used for “notable celebrations” like Na-
tional Flag Day every Feb. 15, as well as
other events like Canada Day. They are
also distributed to parliamentarians, she
said.
PINS continued on A3
Thousands have signed petition
to repeal controversial motion
TAMAR HARRIS AND VJOSA ISAI
STAFF REPORTERS
An Ontario Catholic school board’s ban
on donations to charities that aren’t in
line with its values has outraged some
“It is always parents and students, with more than
the right time 12,000 signing a petition to repeal it.
to do the The Halton Catholic District School
Board won’t provide or facilitate any fi-
right thing.” nancial donations to organizations that
HELENA “publicly support, either directly or in-
KARABELA directly,” abortion, contraception, steril-
HALTON ization, euthanasia or embryonic stem
TRUSTEE WHO cell research.
INTRODUCED The controversial motion was first in-
MOTION troduced in January and moved by Oak-
ville trustee Helena Karabela. The mo-
tion was upheld at a meeting last week.
“With this motion to ban donations to
charities that support abortion, we are
making sure the Catholic schools are
walking the talk,” Karabela said in a state-
ment to the Star. “The church teaches
that abortion is the killing of an unborn
human being.”
The list of organizations that receive fi-
nancial donations from schools “is cur-
rently under review to ensure compliance
with the motion,” a Halton school board
spokesperson told the Star in an email.
David Harvey, a father of three, said he
felt the board acted “as a matter of princi-
ple” rather than looking at which chari-
ties would be affected.
HALTON continued on A3
áFULL INDEX FOR
FRIDAY, A2
ON0

GOODBYE
SLOW AS A SNOWPLOUGH
S WHY DON’T
YOU TAKE
TM
Trademark owned by VIA Rail Canada Inc. THE TRAIN?
A4⎮TORONTO STAR FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2018
>> NEWS
RCAF
makes
surprise
drop-in
Six-seater inflatable raft
falls from rescue helicopter
through roof of Florida home
CARLI TEPROFF
AND HOWARD COHEN
MIAMI HERALD
MIAMI—Luce Rameau was lying in
bed and talking to a friend on her
cellphone when she heard what she
thought was a bomb.
Then she was covered in wood and
dust from her roof.
“I kept screaming, ‘What hap-
pened? What happened?”’ she said.
“I was shocked.”
Turns out what sounded like a
bomb was actually a 36-kilogram in-
flatable raft crashing through the
roof of her home in Miami’s Ives Es-
tates neighbourhood.
And where did the raft come from?
Police say the yellow raft fell from a
Royal Canadian Air Force search-
and-rescue helicopter on its way
back to Miami-Opa Locka Executive
Airport.
The Canadian Air Force had been
conducting an offshore training ex-
ercise and somehow the raft “sep-
arated from the helicopter,” a police
spokesperson said.
David Lavallee, a Royal Canadian
Air Force spokesperson, said
Wednesday night that crews were in
South Florida for a few weeks “taking
advantage of the warm weather” to
train for water search-and-rescue
missions.
The military’s director of flight safe-
ty is now investigating how and why
the raft detached from the CH-146
Griffon helicopter, which is normally
based at Canadian Forces Base Tren-
ton.
Lavallee added that the Air Force
intends to help “the resident with
Follow us on:
For more information, please contact: India Tourism Toronto Email: info@indiatourismcanada.ca
PEDRO PORTAL PHOTOS/TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
A raft dropped from an RCAF helicopter caused extensive damage to a
home in Florida after crashing through the roof. Homeowner Luce Rameau
escaped from the incident unhurt, but says she remains “shaken up.”
accommodations and other sup-
port.”
According to Miami-Dade Fire,
crews responded to a call that some-
thing fell through the roof. When
they arrived, they found the unin-
flated six-seat raft, less than one me-
tre by one metre in size, in the bed-
room of the home.
Miami-Dade Police spokesperson
Det. Lee Cowart said the area where
the incident took place is located on a
common flight path between the
/incredibleindia @incredibleindia
ocean and a U.S. Coast Guard station.
Cowart said police were able to
make immediate contact with the
Canadian Air Force officials, whom
he described as being “really up front
with us” and having sent someone to
the scene.
While the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration, which is responsible for
flight safety in the U.S., was aware of
the incident, a spokesperson
couldn’t immediately say whether it
would launch its own investigation.
Brown blasted for
abusing his power
TORY APOLOGY from A1
“Our focus should be on unity and
winning elections, not hopeless law-
suits against loyal conservatives,”
Fedeli added.
“When hardworking Ontario fami-
lies donate to the PC party, their sup-
port is intended to help us win elec-
tion campaigns, not fight lawsuits.
“This is why, after becoming inter-
im leader, I asked for a review of
party spending, which included lim-
iting our party’s future legal expens-
es.”
Fedeli blasted “the previous leader”
for continuing the court fight.
“It is regrettable that the PC party
even commenced this lawsuit; it
should not have been pursued in the
first place,” he said.
Karahalios, who had been seeking
more than $140,000 in damages and
legal costs from the party, thanked
Fedeli “for his work in leading our
party out of this dark period in its
history.”
Terms of any settlement were not
disclosed.
“During their tenure leading the
Ontario PC party, reports have sug-
gested that Patrick Brown and (for-
mer president) Rick Dykstra abused
their power to collude and allow PC
candidates to be selected through il-
legitimate and undemocratic
means,” Karahalios said.
“The Brown-Dykstra era was a dis-
grace to our party, and shall serve as a
black mark on the PC party’s histo-
ry.”
Dykstra resigned as party president
Jan. 28 after being accused of sexual
assault.
Both he and Brown have denied any
wrongdoing.
“The numerous individuals who
were robbed of PC nominations, ei-
ther by being disqualified without
due process, as a result of voting ir-
regularities, or as a result of some
other deceit, suffered a gross injus-
tice that should never be permitted
in our democracy,” said Karahalios.
In December, Superior Court Jus-
tice Paul Perell tossed the case the
Tories filed against Karahalios with a
www.incredibleindia.org
ON ON0
Interim Ontario PC Leader Vic
Fedeli called for the party to focus
on “unity and winning elections.”
scathing written decision.
“The application is precisely the
kind of application for which the an-
ti-SLAPP provisions were intro-
duced to counter,” wrote Perell, re-
ferring to a 2015 Ontario law de-
signed to stop such nuisance law-
suits and lambasting the
Conservatives for questionable “le-
gal theory.”
“Its articulation of the basis of its
claims against Mr. Karahalios is
fuzzy,” the judge ruled.
Karahalios, a Cambridge corporate
lawyer, has emerged as a conscience
of the PC party. His crusade against
Brown’s embrace of a carbon tax has
been embraced by all the leadership
hopefuls in the March 10 PC leader-
ship contest.
Former MPP Christine Elliott, for-
mer Toronto city councillor Doug
Ford, rookie PC candidate Caroline
Mulroney and social conservative
activist Tanya Granic Allen all op-
pose the measure.
In their suit that was thrown out,
the Tories claimed Karahalios broke
the law by supposedly using the par-
ty’s membership list to contact peo-
ple for his grassroots campaigns.
At the November PC convention in
Toronto, Karahalios had his party
membership revoked and he was
banned from entering the one-day
conference at the Toronto Congress
Centre.