The federal government has topped up assistance for Ukraine with a $650-million deal to supply 50 armoured vehicles over three years. The announcement coincided with a commitment to send personnel to train Ukrainian fighter pilots, an updated trade deal, more funding for Ukrainian mental health programs, and extended Russian sanctions. [node:read-more:link]
An Ontario man accused of selling potentially lethal sodium nitrite to persons at risk of self-harm in 40 countries faces 12 new charges flowing from a joint investigation by 11 police forces. Kenneth Law of Mississauga is alleged to have use websites to market and sell the preservative and other harmful items and police said today that the new charges are linked to deaths in Ontario. [node:read-more:link]
Two days ahead of an expected federal cabinet shuffle, four ministers confirmed July 24 that they would be stepping down. They include Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, Public Services & Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett, all from Toronto ridings, and Fisheries & Oceans Minister Joyce Murray of Vancouver, who also is responsible for the Canadian Coast Guard. [node:read-more:link]
If recommendations in a report prepared for an upcoming City of Ottawa committee meeting are heeded, police officers who respond to mental health and substance use-related calls could be replaced by professionals and outreach workers. It would be part of a three-year pilot project which likely will be watched across the country. [node:read-more:link]
Toronto resident Kenneth Law has been charged with two counts of counselling and aiding suicides in Canada, Britain and the U.S. He is alleged to have marketed sodium nitrite, a common food preservative which is safe in small amounts but lethal in larger quantities, to buyers in possibly as many as 40 countries. [node:read-more:link]
Two Edmonton Police Service officers were killed today when responding to a domestic violence call. A male suspect is reported to have committed suicide and a related female is listed in stable condition but with life-threatening injuries. [node:read-more:link]
Implementation of nearly two-year-old federal legislation to permit medical assistance in dying for mental health reasons would be postponed until at least 2024 through an amendment introduced in the House of Commons today. next year. “It is clear more time is needed to get this right,” explained Justice Minister David Lametti. [node:read-more:link]
Forty-one suicides in Ontario’s correctional facilities in 2021, nearly double the previous year, have prompted calls for Solicitor General Michael Kerzner to set up a “dedicated independent oversight body.” Some 40 advocacy and other groups say in a letter it would “ensure timely reporting on deaths in custody and assist in taking urgent action.” [node:read-more:link]
A Nova Scotia court has banished a U.S.-Canadian citizen from Canada in what the presiding judge acknowledges is an “extremely extraordinary” sentencing. Allen Desrosiers, 64, whose only tie to Canada is through his mother, served 23 years in Massachusetts for a range of sexual offences. Shortly after arriving in Nova Scotia last fall, he was charged with criminal harassment for stalking a woman. He told the judge he would not return to Canada if he was sent back to the U.S., where he has spent most of his life. [node:read-more:link]
Coordinated investigations by 27 Ontario police services have resulted in 428 child exploitation and pornography charges being laid against 109 persons. The Ontario Provincial Police said November 30 that the charges laid in October through Project Maverick, which is ongoing, are a “snapshot” of efforts to protect children from Internet-based sexual abuse and exploitation. “Because the Internet can cross jurisdictional boundaries, this project highlights the collaborative working happening with police services all over,” the OPP said. [node:read-more:link]
A Saskatchewan man has been ordered by a Court of Queen’s Bench judge to pay $160,000 in damages for posting nude images of a woman on Internet pornography sites. In setting the penalty, the largest of its kind in Canada to date, Justice Krista Zerr found that Daylan Heidel's “flagrant and outrageous” behaviour had “unleashed a torrent of degrading, humiliating and frightening content” directed at his victim. Heidel’s lawyer has said his client likely would petition for bankruptcy because “you can’t squeeze blood out of a stone.” [node:read-more:link]
Manitoba resident Corey Hurren, a military veteran who rammed his truck into a gate at Rideau Hall in Ottawa in July 2020 in an attempt to confront Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has been granted day parole under strict conditions. Hurren, who had told police he wanted to arrest Trudeau to make a statement about federal coronavirus restrictions and the government’s ban on “assault style” firearms, had been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to weapons offences and public mischief. [node:read-more:link]
Two days after being sworn in as Premier of British Columbia, David Eby announced a package of plans November 20 he said are designed to address growing concerns about public safety. They include proposals expanded emergency mental health resources and the formation of “repeat violent offender response teams” to address what’s been criticized as a “catch and release” justice system. [node:read-more:link]
A new physician payment model will be rolled out by the B.C. government in February in a bid to recruit and retain more family physicians. At least 20 per cent of the province’s residents do not have access to family doctors and Health Minister Adrian Dix said October 31 that the new model will consider an array of factors involved in patient consultations rather than a single fee for all visits. [node:read-more:link]
One of two Canadian women repatriated last week after marrying Islamic State fighters and spending years in detention in Syria has been released on bail pending a hearing to determine whether should she be subject to a “terrorism peace bond.” She also has been ordered to wear an electronic tracker and get counselling. The other woman has been detained to face terrorism charges. [node:read-more:link]
