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Former Mountie acknowledges tension between intelligence units within RCMP

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

OTTAWA — A former senior Mountie acknowledges there were tensions from time to time between an intelligence unit he led and one run by Cameron Jay Ortis, who is charged with breaching Canada’s secrets law.Warren Coons, now a retired chief superintendent, was responsible for the National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre, an RCMP unit that aimed to track emerging trends of interest to the force.At the time, Ortis was director of the RCMP’s Operations Research group, which had access to highly classified intelligence.Coons told the jury in Ortis’s Ontario Superior Court trial on Friday he wouldn’t necessarily describe the relationship between the two units as adversarial, but it was not a strong one.“In a high-stress working environment, that’s not uncommon,” Coons said under cross-examination by defence lawyer Mark Ertel.The Crown alleges that Ortis anonymously sent secret information in 2015 to people who were of investigative interest to th...

‘No place’ for championing violence: Canada’s justice and public safety ministers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

OTTAWA — The RCMP says it’s aware of social media posts threatening the Jewish community in Canada, calling it a time for “increased vigilance,” while public safety and justice ministers from across the country said no one should be pushing for violence or supporting terrorism.“Canadians have the right to feel safe to practise their faith and express their beliefs,” said a joint statement issued Thursday by federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for justice and public safety, who were gathered for a meeting in Bromont, Que.“There is no place for supporting terrorism or advocating for violence in Canada.”The statement was framed as a response to “calls for global protest and unrest” from Hamas, which Canada lists as a terrorist organization. Hamas militants launched a deadly attack last weekend that killed hundreds of people in Israel, including at an outdoor music festival. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes...

Rare eclipse due Saturday over western B.C., but clouds could block the show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

VANCOUVER — Western British Columbia will be the best place in Canada to view a rare annular solar eclipse on Saturday, but cloudy skies could obscure the phenomenon for many viewers.Gurveen Kaur, co-president of the University of B.C. Astronomy Club, said she was saddened, but not defeated, by the forecast. “I think everyone’s still hoping that they’ll still get at least a glimpse of the eclipse throughout that hour-and-a-half window,” she said in an interview Friday.An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and sun, and because it happens when the sun is at its farthest point from Earth, viewers are treated to a bright halo surrounding the black blot of the moon.Areas of North America that will see the total eclipse and fiery ring include a path from Oregon to Texas, but a statement from the University of B.C. said Metro Vancouver residents will be able to see nearly 75 per cent of the eclipse beginning at 8:08 a.m. Pacific time...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP to debate motion on gender pronouns in schools

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

EDMONTON — Members of Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party are set to debate a resolution surrounding gender pronouns in schools, but Premier Danielle Smith says her government won’t automatically follow what is decided.The resolution comes three weeks from now, at the UCP’s annual general meeting Nov. 3-4 in Calgary.It is the first get-together since Smith’s party won re-election in May.Resolution delegates will debate and vote on schools requiring written consent from parents or guardians for a child under 16 to use a different name or pronoun at school.The resolution, put forward by representatives for Edmonton’s West-Henday constituency, notes Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are implementing similar rules, and stated if parental consent is needed for field trips, it should be required for name changes.“Parents, not schools, are the legal guardians of their children,” states West-Henday in the motion as its rationale for introducing it.“Schools should not be in the busine...

New review of Riverdale consumption site begins after supervisor appointed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

Ontario’s Ministry of Health is appointing a supervisor for a Toronto consumption and treatment services site that has been the focus of increased scrutiny after a bystander was shot and killed nearby.The province says Jill Campbell, a former executive at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, will have full decision-making authority on any improvements to the operations and safety at the site that are recommended after a review is completed.Karolina Huebner-Makurat, a 44-year-old mother of two, was killed by a stray bullet in the summer near a consumption site at the South Riverdale Community Health Centre in Toronto’s east end following a physical altercation between three men.Some residents raised safety concerns around the site and Health Minister Sylvia Jones launched a “critical incident review,” which a spokesperson says involves consulting with public health, reviewing complaints against the site and developing a new incident reporting template.T...

Friends and families mourn the loss of Canadians killed by Hamas in Israel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Friends and family have confirmed that at least three Canadians were killed last weekend when Hamas militants conducted a series of brutal attacks in Israel.Two Canadian men were killed by Hamas gunmen who ambushed a music festival in southern Israel, according to their loved ones in Canada. And an Israeli Canadian mother of two was killed in her kibbutz, a communal farming settlement, an Ottawa Jewish group said.At least 2,800 people have been killed so far in the conflict sparked by the Hamas attacks, which has escalated throughout the week as Israel conducts retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip.Canada considers Hamas a terrorist group, and Canadian leaders have decried the violence it waged on the weekend. The federal government is organizing flights for Canadian citizens and permanent residents out of Tel Aviv, but it can do little to help some 100 Canadians trapped in Gaza amid Israel’s siege on the territory.  Here’s what we know about the three people th...

Hornets’ Miles Bridges turns himself in after arrest warrant issued over protection order

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges turned himself in on Friday after an arrest warrant was issued for an alleged protection order violation stemming from a domestic violence case last year.Bridges turned himself in early in the morning in Lincoln County, a suburb of Charlotte. He was accompanied by his attorney, according to Larry Seagle, the public information officer for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.Bridges appeared before a district court judge and was released on $1,000 bond.The 25-year-old Bridges had been in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night as the Hornets played the Wizards in a preseason game, according to a team spokesman. Bridges did not play because he is suspended by the league.The warrant had originally been issued on Jan. 2, but had not previously been served.Bridges “unlawfully” and “knowingly” violated the protection order, and “continually contacted the victim,” according to court documents made public Friday.Bridges is als...

Arizona tribe is protesting the decision not to prosecute Border Patrol agents for fatal shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

SELLS, Ariz. (AP) — The Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona on Friday blasted the decision by the U.S. Attorney’s Office not to prosecute Border Patrol agents who shot and killed a member of the tribe after they were summoned by tribal police. Body camera footage released in June by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that the agents who fatally shot Raymond Mattia were concerned the 58-year-old may have been carrying a handgun. But no firearm was found.The tribe’s executive office called the decision not to file charges “a travesty of justice.”“There are countless questions left unanswered by this decision. As a result, we cannot and will not accept the U.S. Attorney’s decision,” said a statement signed by Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman Verlon M. Jose and Vice Chairwoman Carla L. Johnson.The statement said the tribe may request Congressional inquiries into Mattia’s death. Mattia was killed the night of May 18 outside a home in the reservation’s Me...

Armed robbery at St. Louis Cardinals complex in Dominican Republic leaves players, staff ‘shaken’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Authorities are seeking at least five people in an armed robbery of the St. Louis Cardinals complex in the Dominican Republic on Friday. Dominican Republic police spokesman Diego Pesqueira told The Associated Press that the suspects bound and gagged a security guard and stole watches, rings, necklaces and other items from athletes and personnel. Pesqueira said the suspects used the guard’s shoelaces to tie his wrists and ankles together. No one was injured, and no shots were fired, he said.A statement from the St. Louis Cardinals said baseball equipment was also stolen. Players and staff at the complex were shaken, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “This was scary on many fronts,” Mozeliak said in the statement. The team will reassess its security at the complex immediately, he said. Pesqueira said he did not have details of all the items stolen or the total value because police are waiting for the baseball ...

Measles case identified in Cook County, a first in Illinois since 2019

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:11 GMT

COOK COUNTY, Ill. —The Illinois Department of Public Health said Friday that a positive test for measles was identified in Cook County.The confirmation is the first case of measles in Illinois since 2019.According to IDPH, on Tuesday, Oct. 10, the Cook County Department of Public Health reported a suspected case of measles to IDPH. The case involved an unvaccinated individual with exposure internationally. The IDPH laboratory confirmed the diagnosis on Wednesday, Oct. 11. What does the science say about the grass vs. turf debate in sports? Health officials believe the infectious period would have been between Oct. 5-13. Symptoms include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Symptoms can take seven to 21 days to appear. IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said Illinois' first case of measles in four years is a reminder that the disease could be prevented with up-to-date vaccination. “Two doses of measles vaccine are 97% effective in preventing measles," Vohra said....