Canada

A provincial court judge has found a Prince George RCMP officer guilty of obstructing justice for ordering a bystander to the aftermath of a violent police takedown to delete video of the incident from his phone.

Const. Arthur Dalman was one of two officers charged in the case — which stemmed from the arrest of a Wet'suwet'en and Gitxsan man who later died in custody.

In a verdict delivered over three hours Thursday, Judge Adrian Brooks found Dalman guilty but acquitted co-accused Staff Sgt. Bayani (Jon) Eusebio Cruz.

The verdicts are the latest chapter in a case that dates back seven years to a night when RCMP pursued and arrested Dale Culver — a 35-year-old who died about half an hour after he was taken into custody following a fight with multiple police officers.

Postmedia has entered an agreement to purchase SaltWire, Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper chain, according to a news release issued Friday.

SaltWire has been under creditor protection since March. It publishes more than 20 papers in Atlantic Canada, including The Chronicle Herald in Halifax, The Guardian in Charlottetown, and The Telegram in St. John's, along with associated websites.

In the release, the Canadian news media company said the potential acquisition aligns with Postmedia's commitment to preserving local journalism and supporting communities.

"If the transaction can be completed, Postmedia intends to provide the necessary back office resources and operational infrastructure to ensure there continues to be reliable and high-quality local news provided to the affected communities," said Postmedia president and CEO Andrew MacLeod.

An Ontario megachurch has been forced to pause programming as its insurer won't renew abuse liability insurance in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against a former pastor.

In a statement on its website, The Meeting House said it was unable to secure parts of the insurance coverage it needs to continue normal operations beyond June 30. Specifically, it said it has been unable to find options for abuse liability or employment practices liability coverage.

"It's really hard for us to be able to get together, at least for our in-person gatherings," said pastor Chris Chase in a YouTube video from June 23.

"It's really hard to be able to do that because we can't guarantee protection for staff, we can't guarantee protection for volunteers, vulnerable people, including children and youth. We can't do that. And so in light of that, our leadership team has felt led to pause our normal ministry activity," he said.

After operating in the Okanagan Valley for nearly nine decades, the B.C. Tree Fruits co-operative announced to growers on Friday it is dissolving and seeking court direction to liquidate its assets.

The co-operative, which is made up of more than 230 farming families, is perhaps best known to consumers for its green leaf logo that has adorned fruit packaging and apple stickers for decades as a sign of B.C.-grown quality.

Members have been informed by email that as of Friday, the co-operative would no longer be receiving fruit at its packing facilities and advised growers to "immediately search for another alternative to market your fruit for the balance of the 2024 season."

In a written statement, the company cited "extremely low estimated fruit volumes, weather effects and difficult market and financial conditions" as the reasons for dissolving the co-operative.

The vote has prompted increased scrutiny of links between the majority ABC party and the natural gas industry. In a Wednesday thread on X/Twitter, Mihai Cirstea, a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia noted that Montague had a half-hour meeting in December with FortisBC lobbyist Gurpreet Vinning. Vinning is also listed as attending mayor Sim's inauguration, Cirstea noted.

"Montague does nothing – barely works, doesn't attend events, doesn't write motions, doesn't live in Vancouver – but suddenly found it a very high priority to make sure we can re-introduce gas heating in new builds," he wrote.

At least one of the councillors who voted for the amendments to reverse the city's ban, Mike Klassen, holds investments in Fortis, according to his financial disclosure records. ABC councillor Lisa Dominato also holds investments in gas utilities Fortis and Enbridge; however, she broke ranks with her party and voted against the amendments.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/25784823

An “egregious” refusal by successive Canadian governments to honor a key treaty signed with Indigenous nations made a “mockery” of the deal and deprived generations of fair compensation for their resources, Canada’s top court has ruled.

But while the closely watched decision will likely yield billions in payouts, First Nation chiefs say the ruling adds yet another hurdle in the multi-decade battle for justice.

In a scathing and unanimous decision released on Friday, Canada’s supreme court sharply criticized both the federal and Ontario governments for their “dishonourable” conduct around a 174-year-old agreement, which left First Nations people to struggle in poverty while surrounding communities, industry and government exploited the abundant natural resources in order to enrich themselves.

“For almost a century and a half, the Anishinaabe have been left with an empty shell of a treaty promise,” the court wrote in the landmark ruling.

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/1679

Unanimous decision says Crown violated revenue-sharing agreements, but does not award settlement

The Liberal government has promised to “solve” the country’s housing woes. But critics say it continues to offer major incentives to for-profit developers, including tax breaks and cheap financing, while steering clear of regulating the housing market.

Ricardo Tranjan, a political economist and senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said it “isn’t surprising” to see developers gain this level of access.

“It’s power politics, and the industry has more influence,” Tranjan said. “While the minister has never bothered to sit down with and listen to the many tenants on rent strikes, he is winning and dining with corporate landlords.”

In fact, a new bill introduced by the Liberal government will end the public disclosure of such events before they happen, and afterward will only name their city and province and not their venue name and postal code—thus ending media exposés of such “cash for access” fundraisers.

I am not actively following Canadian politics, but recently Reddit swarms me with media/videos about Canada, with the kind of rhetoric I know from right winged people in Germany (AfD, CDU).

They are blaming Trudeau and immigration for everything that happens in Canada currently. Calling immigrants terrorists etc.

I always had to imagine in my head, that Canadians are friendly, open-minded people, but the media suggest otherwise.

So dear people, enlighten me with your opinion please!

Facebook (sorry) post is public so you should be able to close the popup to view.

Post makes me feel really emotional.

There’s another shoe that needs to drop before the United Conservative Party’s embarrassing skybox scandal goes quiet and Alberta can go back to sleep as Premier Danielle Smith and her political advisors doubtless profoundly wish we would.

To wit: Did UCP ministers or political staffers avail themselves of corporate flights to NHL playoff games in Vancouver and perhaps in Sunrise, Florida? And if so, who paid?

Thanks to the reporting of the Globe and Mail’s Carrie Tait, we already know who bought skybox tickets — at least some of them — for well-connected members and employees of Smith’s government.

Tait’s July 18 report confirmed some of the rumours heard on social media and in political circles about cabinet members and senior staffers accepting corporate skybox tickets during the playoffs.

But if the Calgary Stampede rumour mill, at least, had it right, the skies over B.C.’s Lower Mainland and perhaps around Miami International Airport too were a free-flight zone during the Stanley Cup finals.

So inquiring minds want to know: Who was on those corporate jets? What did they pay, if anything? And if passengers didn’t pay, who did?

Smith, it would seem, is just as determined that it’s none of our business. Which, naturally, raises suspicions that some well-connected folk didn’t take WestJet and pay for their flight themselves, as Smith told reporters she did.