Winnipeg Free Press

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But he still technically holds the title of duke, bestowed by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. And as the son of a monarch, he remains a prince. Andrew’s statement relinquishing some of his royal titles came after emails emerged showing he had remained in contact with Epstein longer than he previously admitted, and days before publication of a posthumous memoir by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged she had sex with Andrew when she was 17. Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, urged the king to go further and “remove the title of prince, too. “He shouldn’t be able to call himself one,” Rob- erts told The Times of London newspaper. Andrew, 65, has long denied Giuffre’s claims, but stepped down from royal duties after a dis- astrous November 2019 BBC interview in which he attempted to rebut her allegations. Many viewers saw an entitled prince who failed to show empathy for Epstein’s victims and offered unbelievable explanations for his friend- ship with the late sex offender. Andrew paid millions in an out-of-court settle- ment in 2022 after Giuffre filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he didn’t admit wrongdoing, he acknow- ledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking. Some opposition politicians said Andrew should formally be stripped of his dukedom through an act of Parliament. Scottish National Party lawmaker Stephen Flynn said the government should use legis- lation to remove titles from both Andrew and Peter Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords who was fired as British ambassador to Washington in September over his past friend- ship with Epstein. “The family of Virginia Giuffre, whose life was destroyed, are angry and aghast,” Flynn said. “The public across these isles are angry and aghast and they both deserve to know that some (members of Parliament) share their out- rage.” The government said it supported the palace’s decision over Andrew’s titles but should not act unilaterally. Under the U.K.’s constitutional monarchy, the crown does not interfere in pol- itics and politicians stay clear of issues related to the royal family. “Our thoughts have to be with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, those who suffered and con- tinue to suffer because of the abuse that they ex- perienced at his hands, but these are matters for the royal family,” Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told the BBC. Some also want Andrew evicted from Roy- al Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he lives alongside his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who will no longer be known as the Duchess of York. Questions have been raised about how Andrew pays for the house, which he rents on a long lease from the Crown Estate, a portfolio of properties that is nominally owned, but not controlled, by the monarch. The palace is bracing for more embarrassing revelations, just as the king prepares for a state visit to the Vatican this week where he is due to pray beside Pope Leo XIV. Giuffre’s book, Nobody’s Girl, is published to- day and details three alleged sexual encounters with Andrew. She died by suicide in April at the age of 41. In an extract published in advance, Giuffre says the prince acted as if he believed “having sex with me was his birthright.” Giuffre also claims in the book that Andrew’s team tried “to hire internet trolls to hassle me.” She said that Andrew insisted the lawsuit settle- ment include a one-year gag order to prevent allegations from tarnishing the late queen’s Plat- inum Jubilee in 2022. Meanwhile, London’s Metropolitan Police force says it is “actively looking into” media re- ports that Andrew in 2011 sought information to smear Giuffre by asking one of his police body- guards to find out whether she had a criminal record. — The Associated Press O TTAWA — The federal gov- ernment still has not issued specific criteria to define the “national interest” under its new major projects law, despite calls from MPs to do so. The Building Canada Act allows the government to identify projects in the “national interest” for faster approval processes, which could include exemptions from certain environmental laws. As the government rushed the bill through the House of Com- mons in June, MPs studying it at the committee stage amended it to suggest that the government offer its criteria for determining which projects are in the national inter- est, and to require it to issue a time- line for when that might happen. The amendment was moved by the Conservatives and narrowly passed on a 5-4 vote, with the Lib- erals opposing it. In response, Privy Council Presi- dent Dominic LeBlanc tabled a re- port in the House on Sept. 26 say- ing the government had not defined “national interest.” The report did not say when, or if, the government would offer a definition. “The Government has not made an order to prescribe the definition of national interest, and this report fulfils the legislative reporting re- quirement,” the brief report says. The Building Canada Act does list five criteria the government can consider in deciding which pro- jects get the fast-track treatment — but the government isn’t bound to them. Those criteria include whether a project provides economic benefits to Canada, advances the interests of Indigenous peoples, or contrib- utes to Canada’s climate change goals. Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs pushed forward the amend- ment at the committee stage. In an interview on Monday she said the intent was to give investors clarity about how the government defines national interest. “The government must clearly define what measures they use to declare what is in the national in- terest,” Stubbs told The Canadian Press. “It’s important because the na- tional interest designation is the final step that the cabinet makes when it approves or rejects a rec- ommendation from the regulator.” Asked for her thoughts on the government’s response to MPs calling for a definition of “nation- al interest,” Stubbs said its actions speaks louder than its words. “Canadians and proponents of major projects are right then to say they need to provide this clarity and certainty for investors,” she said. Bloc Québécois MP Xavier Bar- salou-Duval, who supported the Conservative amendment, said the law as written is too vague. “The fact that there isn’t a real definition for what constitutes a project of national interest opens the door for all sorts of abuse, given that the law is already problematic since it can skirt pretty much any law in Canada,” he said. “What we wanted was binding criteria.” A spokesperson for the Bloc said the party is reviewing the report, specifically whether the govern- ment breached the act by not pro- viding the required timeline in it. The Canadian Press asked Le- Blanc’s office whether the govern- ment intends to define “national interest” under the act and why the report to Parliament didn’t include a timeline. His spokesperson deferred ques- tions to the Privy Council Office. In a statement, a PCO spokes- person said the requirement to define “national interest” was “dis- cretionary,” and that the govern- ment had no obligation to define it beyond the five factors outlined in the bill. Pierre-Alain Bujold said if the government had decided to further define the term more than 15 days after the bill became law, then it would have needed to explain the delay. “Because the government has de- cided not to further refine the term in an order, this report fulfills the legislative reporting requirement,” he said. — The Canadian Press NEWS I CANADA / WORLD TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2025 Calls for ‘national interest’ clarity NICK MURRAY Criteria yet to be defined for major projects law SEAN KILPATRICK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Privy Council President Dominic LeBlanc tabled a report last month saying the government had not defined ‘national interest.’ Senate bill sets guidelines for use of notwithstanding clause in federal laws MONTREAL — A bill introduced in the Sen- ate seeks to set rules on how the federal gov- ernment can adopt laws that override certain parts of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Sen. Peter Harder’s bill would amend the Canadian Constitution Act and create a frame- work for how Ottawa can use Section 33, the so- called notwithstanding clause, which shields legislation from some Charter challenges. The bill would permit legislation that invokes the notwithstanding clause to be introduced in Parliament only after the Supreme Court has declared that the proposed law violates one or more Charter rights. Harder’s bill, tabled earlier this year, would also require the minister who introduces legis- lation invoking the notwithstanding clause to include a justification for its use. As well, any bill with Section 33 would need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons and with the support of at least two parties. Harder told a news conference he hopes the bill can provide a template for other jurisdic- tions in Canada on how to use the notwithstand- ing clause, which is the subject of a pending Supreme Court hearing. — The Canadian Press B.C. proposes new power rules for AI, data centres VICTORIA — British Columbia’s government is proposing changes to its energy rules that would force companies from certain indus- tries to fight for access to a set amount of power. Rather than the current first-come, first-service structure, the government says the new policy would prioritize natural re- source and manufacturing projects, while artificial intelligence, data centres and hy- drogen-for-export projects would have to bid for their power. The changes tabled by Energy Minister Ad- rian Dix would also make the current ban on cryptocurrency connections permanent. The competitive process for AI and data centres is expected to be launched in January with 300 megawatts of power for AI and 100 megawatts for data centres available every two years. — The Canadian Press Royals, U.K. government face pressure to formally strip Prince Andrew of titles JILL LAWLESS ;