ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Jamaica PM tells royals island nation wants to be independent

Share
KINGSTON -

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Wednesday told Prince William and his wife Kate that his country wants to be "independent" and to address "unresolved" issues, a day after protesters called on the United Kingdom to pay reparations for slavery.

The royal couple arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday as part of a week-long tour of former British Caribbean colonies that coincides with Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne, but have faced public questioning of the British Empire's legacy.

Their trip comes after Barbados became a republic nearly four months ago by removing the Queen as the sovereign head of state, a move Jamaica has begun to study and other former British colonies may also pursue.

"There are issues here which as you would know are unresolved," Holness said during a photo opportunity with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

"But Jamaica is as you would see a country that is very proud ... and we're moving on. And we intend ... to fulfill our true ambition of being an independent, fully developed and prosperous country."

Dozens of people gathered on Tuesday outside the British High Commission in Kingston, singing traditional Rastafarian songs and holding banners with the phrase "seh yuh sorry" - a local patois phrase that urged Britain to apologize.

Jamaican officials have said the government is studying the process of reforming the constitution to become a republic. Experts say the process could take years and would require a referendum.

Barbados was able to become a republic relatively quickly because its constitution only requires a decision by parliament.

Jamaica's government last year said it will ask Britain for compensation for forcibly transporting an estimated 600,000 Africans to work on sugar cane and banana plantations that created fortunes for British slave holders.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.