Morneau addresses North Korean money-laundering fears
Sidhu says when the girl turned to confront him, he ran away.
Toronto District School Board spokesman Ryan Bird says staff contacted police and the girl’s parents shortly after she arrived at school. Police say the girl was not physically injured.
Bird said the school board is offering support to the affected student and her family.
“We are shocked to learn of this assault and we will be working closely with police to offer any assistance that we can,” he said.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne called the incident “a cowardly act of hatred.”
“This does not represent who we are,” Wynne wrote in a tweet. “We must stand firm in our support of this young girl who was assaulted simply for wearing a hijab.”
Canadian financial institutions have been ordered to treat what few transactions they conduct with North Korea with even greater diligence as the federal government tries to increase pressure on the nuclear-armed nation.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau quietly issued the directive last month following concerns that the North Korean government was skirting international sanctions through money-laundering and other illicit means.
Financial transactions between Canada and North Korea are already extremely limited because of those sanctions, which the federal government imposed in August 2011. But financial institutions will now have to treat even those few that are allowed, which include remittances worth less than $1,000 and humanitarian aid, as potential cases of money-laundering and report them to the government.
The move comes as Canada prepares for a meeting with allies in Vancouver next week, where the main topic will be finding ways to further squeeze the North Korean government and get it to
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Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne
give up its nuclear program.
The discussions will put a heavy emphasis on stopping North Korean money-laundering as well as smuggling by sea, which U.S. officials have suggested could involve taking action against North Korean shipping.