Category Archives: Canada

Canada police renew effort to arrest ‘devil priest’ for alleged abuse of Inuit children

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Royal Canadian Mounted Police say an arrest warrant was issued last month for Johannes Rivoire, who currently lives in France

Police in Canada have laid a new charge against a “devil priest” hiding in France amid allegations he sexually abused multiple Inuit children.

The case against Johannes Rivoire, who victims say has evaded justice for decades, received renewed focus this week when Canada’s Inuit leader requested the pope personally intervene during a visit to the Vatican by a delegation of Indigenous groups.

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Police at Canada mass shooting nearly fired on wrong man in chaotic response

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RCMP officers chased man whose brother had just been killed into woodland during shooter’s rampage at Portapique, Nova Scotia

Police responding to one of Canada’s worst mass shootings nearly shot the wrong man, officers have said during a public inquiry examining the attack and authorities’ chaotic response.

Testifying on Monday at a public inquiry into the 2020 attack in the town of Portapique, Nova Scotia, which left 22 dead, three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers said the scene resembled a “war zone” and that they were unprepared for the number of casualties.

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Pope meets Canada Indigenous groups seeking apology for abuse of children

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Apology sought after over 1,300 unmarked graves discovered since last May at church-run schools attended by Indigenous children

Pope Francis has heard first-hand the horrors of abuse committed at church-run residential schools in Canada, as Indigenous delegations pressed him for an apology.

Indigenous survivors are visiting the Vatican this week for meetings with the pope about the scandal that has rocked the Catholic church.

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Canada: key Conservative says party risks takeover by far-right ‘lunatics’

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Jason Kenney warns a far-right element could seize control in the coming weeks as United Conservatives hold leadership review

Alberta’s premier has called fellow Conservatives “lunatics” who are “trying to take over the asylum” as a populist mutiny in his party foreshadows a bitter fight for the future of Canada’s Conservative movement.

In a leaked recording of a meeting with caucus staff on Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney warned a far-right element – skeptical of coronavirus measures and wedded to conspiracy theories – could seize control of the party in the coming weeks as the United Conservatives hold a leadership review.

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Canada bars its soldiers from joining Ukraine’s foreign legion

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Military authorities fear any captured service members could be used as propaganda tool by Russia

Canada has barred its soldiers from joining Ukraine’s “international brigade” of foreign fighters, amid growing concern that captured troops could be used as a Russian propaganda tool.

Speaking to Canadian parliament’s defence committee on Wednesday, Lt Gen Frances Allen, the vice-chief of the defence staff, said top brass had issued an order preventing full-time service members and part-time reservists from travelling to join Ukraine’s newly formed foreign legion.

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Speeding driver on wrong side of road was 11-year-old boy, Canada police say

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Police initially believed they had intercepted a drunk driver as they chased car traveling at 93mph on the wrong side of the road

When police in Canada responded to reports of a car travelling at 150km per hour (93mph) on the wrong side of the road, they initially believed they had intercepted a drunk driver.

So officers were surprised to discover that the driver was in fact an 11-year-old boy.

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Justin Trudeau strikes power-sharing deal with leftwing New Democrats

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Confidence and supply agreement will keep Trudeau in office until 2025 in return for action on pharmaceutical and dental programs

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has struck a deal with a political rival that would keep in him power until 2025. In exchange for support from the New Democratic party on key votes, Trudeau’s Liberals have pledged progress on national pharmaceutical and dental care programs.

“With so much instability around us, Canadians need stability,” said the prime minister as he announced the deal with the NDP on Tuesday morning.

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End of an era as Canada’s oldest ‘prairie castle’ to be dismantled

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Grain elevator built in 1897 that towered over Elva in Manitoba symbolic of western Canada’s history and heritage

For nearly 125 years, a wooden grain elevator towered over the town of Elva, visible from miles away and distinguishing the community as an economic hub in the Canadian Prairies.

The structure endured frigid cold, beating rains and harsh sun, but after decades of neglect, its owner has announced plans to dismantle the country’s oldest “prairie castle”, closing a chapter in the region’s history.

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Toronto mosque worshippers tackle man ‘brandishing a hatchet’

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Man attacked people with bear spray during morning prayer before being subdued, police say

Worshippers at a mosque in Toronto subdued an allegedly axe-wielding man who police say attacked people with bear spray during a dawn prayer service.

Police said the 24-year-old man walked into the Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic centre in the suburb of Mississauga and allegedly “discharged bear spray towards people in the mosque while brandishing a hatchet” just before 7am on Saturday.

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Ottawa truck convoy cost the city more than C$36m – mainly in police expenses

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The costs were more than twice the amount the city budgeted for affordable and supportive housing

The truck convoy that paralyzed much of downtown Ottawa for nearly a month cost the city more than C$36m, officials have said, and the figure is expected to rise in the coming weeks.

A memo released by the city on Friday said policing costs accounted for the vast majority of the $36.3m bill.

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Canada and US announce Arctic military exercises amid Russia tensions

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Drills will test response to aircraft and cruise missiles in vast and thinly defended northern region

Canada and the US have issued a rare public notice over planned military exercises in the Arctic amid growing concern over Russian aggression.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said on Tuesday that it would hold air defence exercises throughout the Canadian Arctic, adding that the drills were meant to test the ability to “respond to both aircraft and cruise missiles” threatening the continent.

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Delays hamper Canada’s bid to resettle Ukrainians fleeing war

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Bureaucratic issues in Ottawa mean new arrivals will likely have to rely on Canadians’ generosity to get settled

Canada has promised to resettle an “unlimited” number of displaced Ukrainians, and officials in country’s Prairie region want to be the first choice for those fleeing Russia’s invasion. But despite strong public support, bureaucratic delays at the federal level have highlighted the challenge of quickly resettling those fleeing war.

The United Nations estimates more than two and a half million people have escaped Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in late February, creating the worst refugee crisis on the European continent since the upheaval of the second world war.

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Canada: sloppy police work and racism marred inquiries into Indigenous deaths

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Independent Canadian investigators call for reinvestigation of 14 deaths of Indigenous people in northern Ontario

A group of independent investigators have called for the reinvestigation of the sudden deaths of 14 Indigenous people in a north Ontario city, after finding that the original inquiries were hampered by sloppy police work and a legacy of institutional racism.

The team have examined hundreds of deaths between 2003 and 2017 in Thunder Bay, the largest city in the northern reaches of the province – and one where the police force has long faced allegations of racism within its ranks.

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Canada’s wild pigs threaten ‘absolute destruction’ if left unchecked

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Expert says pigs are ‘worst invasive wild mammal on the planet’, carrying diseases, destroying crops and contaminating water

The Canadian city of Edmonton may soon be hogtied with a problem that it won’t be able to barbecue its way out of.

Wild pigs have been spreading across central Alberta’s prairies and if left unchecked, could soon find themselves in the river valley of Edmonton. According to Ryan Brook, a University of Saskatchewan professor studying the pigs, the creatures are an “ecological trainwreck” and would cause “absolute destruction” if they make their way to the river valley, which is abundant in water and forest cover.

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Poutine not Putin: classic Quebec dish off the menu in France and Canada

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French restaurant threatened for selling fries, cheese and gravy snack that sounds like the Russian leader

Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has prompted demonstrations around the world, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to condemn the war.

But anger towards the Russian leader has also ensnared an unlikely casualty: a French-Canadian delicacy of potato fries, cheese curds and gravy.

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Tens of thousands join rallies around the world in support of Ukraine

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Demonstrators gathered in cities across Europe, the US and South America to demand an end to Russia’s invasion

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in cities including Santiago, Vancouver Paris and New York in support of Ukraine, demanding an end to Russia’s invasion.

The protesters rallied on Saturday against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s attack, which began on 24 February and appeared to be entering a new phase with escalating bombardment.

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US hunter fined after trophy photo proves he shot sheep in Canada

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Donald Lee claimed he killed a Fannin bighorn sheep in Alaska but an online sleuth and Yukon conservation officers proved he didn’t

When an Alaskan hunter ventured out into the rugged mountains and dropped his target with a single rifle shot, it seemed like the perfect crime.

The only witness lay dead on the rocky landscape.

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Russia’s NHL hero Alex Ovechkin has a rare chance to hit Putin where it hurts

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The Washington Capitals star is popular among Russians who may not usually question their leader. And he has debated the need for war

In 2017, Alexander Ovechkin, inarguably the best Russian hockey player alive or dead and the country’s most famous male athlete, started something called PutinTeam.

“I have never hidden my attitude towards our president, always supporting him,” the Muscovite and captain of the NHL’s Washington Capitals wrote, three years after Russia annexed Crimea. “I am confident that there are many of us, supporting Vladimir Putin. So let’s unite and show everyone a united and strong Russia!”

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Possible case of deer-to human Covid infection identified in Canada

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Researchers say its unlikely that the variant found in deer could bypass vaccines, but urge better monitoring of Covid in animals

Canadian researchers believe they have found the first-ever instance of a deer passing the coronavirus to a human, warning that broader surveillance of wildlife is needed to prevent further mutations from developing and spreading undetected.

In a paper published last week, but not yet peer reviewed, scientists say at least one case of Covid-19 in humans can be traced to a strain of the virus found in hunted deer.

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Victims dismayed as Canadian inquiry finds mystery syndrome does not exist

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New Brunswick officials say baffling disorder that causes memory loss and cognitive decline is from known neurological condition

After warning medical professionals to be on the lookout for a baffling neurological condition that produced memory loss, muscle wasting and severe cognitive decline, authorities in the Canadian province of New Brunswick have concluded that no such illness exists, a finding that has prompted skepticism and disbelief as families search for answers.

New Brunswick officials last year flagged a possible “cluster” of residents suffering from an unknown neurological syndrome, similar to those of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Symptoms were varied and dramatic: some patients started drooling, and others felt as though bugs were crawling on their skin.

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