In the News

The suspected remains of 751 people, believed to be mainly indigenous children, have been found at the site of a former church-run residential school in Saskatchewan. Confirmed by an indigenous group June 23, the latest development adds to a growing national and international debate sparked by the earlier find of 215 children’s remains at a similar school in British Columbia.

A provincial court judge in Sarnia, Ont., has sentenced a U.S. resident 75 days in jail for speeding across the border from Michigan and giving the finger to officers before an hours-long police pursuit in May. In sentencing Benjamin Fleece, the judge noted that he had already been sentenced in London to 30 days plus three years probation.

The government wants the Federal Court to prohibit disclosure of documents related to the dismissal of two researchers from the country’s Level 4 virology laboratory in Winnipeg. The Public Health Agency of Canada has refused to heed a Conservative demand for the documents, resulting in the agency’s president being formally censured by the House of Commons. In seeking the court’s cooperation, the government is challenging a long-held principle that the House has unfettered power to demand the documents regardless of security or privacy concerns.

Despite opposition by the government, a Federal Court judge gave a green light today to a class-action lawsuit which alleges that the RCMP in Northern Canada systematically brutalized indigenous peoples. Justice Glennys McVeigh explained that “the claims do not ask if an RCMP officer illegally assaulted a class member, but rather whether the operations of the RCMP create a system where illegal assaults happen.”

Thirty-three Internet domains linked to Iran’s state media have been “seized” by the U.S. Justice Department in what it said June 22 is an attempt counter Iranian propaganda and disinformation. Several domains already stated that their sites had been shut down in the U.S. but they remained operational in other countries.

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced, effective 7 July 2021, that the Government is expanding mandatory firearms licence background checks to cover the lifetime of an applicant. The plan also reinstates the requirement to seek Authorization to Transport for restricted and prohibited firearms to most locations.

U.S. Army scientists working primarily on COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics are warning that that an even deadlier pandemic is a distinct possibility. “If we try to chase the viruses after they emerge, we’re always going to be behind,” says Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, head of the Walter Reed infectious diseases program. The approach being taken now involves nanoparticles through which ”we can place parts of different coronaviruses on to the same vaccine to educate the immune system about different coronaviruses all at the same time.”

Efforts by the Canada Revenue Agency to counter tax evasion by the wealthy have resulted in no charges being laid. Responding to an opposition MP’s questions, the CRA says that more than 6,770 audits of wealthy Canadians over six years resulted in 44 criminal investigations but no charges were laid in the two cases sent for prosecution.

More than $61 million worth of cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana were seized June 22 in what Toronto’s police service says is its largest “international drug takedown.” Twenty persons are facing charges after a six-month investigation in cooperation with other services, including the Ontario Provincial Police and Canada Border Services Agency.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened the arrest of citizens who refuse COVID-19 vaccinations. “There is a crisis being faced in this country,” he said June 21. “If you don't want to get vaccinated, I'll have you arrested and I'll inject the vaccine in your butt.” With a population of some 108 million, the country has reported more than 1.3 million confirmed cases and at least 23,749 deaths.

Public Health Agency of Canada President Iain Stewart appeared before the bar just inside the House of Commons today, having been summoned in a rare procedural move for failing to turn over documents about the firing of two scientists at Canada’s highest security lab. Haines, who insists that he is prevented by law from releasing the documents, stood silently for some 30 minutes before being permitted to leave, leaving MPs to continue a political squabble over the issue.

Quarantine restrictions are to be eased, beginning, July 5 for fully-vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents returning to Canada as long as they test negative for COVID-19. Announcing the relaxation today, the government said that with few exceptions, vaccinated foreigners still would be quarantined.

Deaths in Brazil attributed to COVID-19 topped 500,000 on the weekend, second only to more than 601,000 in the U.S., as experts warned that the situation will continue to deteriorate due to delayed vaccinations and the government’s refusal to back social distancing measures. President Jair Bolsonaro has insisted from the outset that concerns were overblown.

When Donald Trump arbitrarily withdrew the U.S. from a multinational nuclear accord with Iran in 2018 and imposed crushing economic sanctions, there were suggestions that it would backfire, entrenching conservative hard-liners in Tehran for years to come. Their concerns evidently were justified.

Madam Justice Rosalie Abella, retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada at the mandatory age of 75, has been considered as the country’s foremost activist judge. While not the first jurist to so categorized, she definitely has pushed the court-knows-best doctrine when it comes to shaping social policy in an era when legislatures are widely seen as mishandling that portfolio.

Canada’s border with the U.S. will remain closed to non-essential travel until July 21and restrictions on visitors from other countries also are being extended by an additional month. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair used social media today to confirm the government’s decision, adding that more details would be forthcoming June 21 on easing restrictions for fully vaccinated Canadians and others currently unable to return to or visit Canada.

A House of Commons committee is suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic has disclosed flaws in the unemployment insurance system, saying in a June 17 report that EI “no longer reflects the realities of today's labour market.” The committee chairman says that when the pandemic erupted, “the system didn't have a chance of covering off the people that were thrown out of work through no fault of their own.”

The World Economic Forum says putting a price on carbon-based fuels is an effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global pollution. Moreover, it says carbon taxation can generate significant revenues which then can be used to address the economic harm from fossil fuels. It cites, among others, British Columbia’s implementation of a tax in 2008 as “a textbook example” of how to tackle the issue.

The federal government is expected to begin issuing COVID-19 vaccination verification documents next month. The initial focus would be on visitors and the app, ArriveCan, evidently will enable travellers to take a photo or upload a shot of their vaccination documentation before going through customs.

An all-party House of Commons committee says the government should give more weight to national security than costs of information technology and security hardware procurements. In its report to Parliament, the committee expressed concerns about Chinese state-owned enterprises and recommended more rigorous screening of contractors who install and maintain equipment in sensitive facilities such as embassies.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated an Ontario appellate court judge, Mahmud Jamal, to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Rosalie Abella. The Kenyan-born judge was educated at Christian schools but raised at home as a Muslim and family immigrated to Canada in 1981. A veteran litigator before his appointment to the Ontario court two years ago, he also was involved in dozens of appeals heard by the SCOC.

A federal government bill designed to bring Canadian law into line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples now needs only Royal Assent to take effect. Bill C-15 had been resisted by Conservatives in the House of Commons and Senate who shared the concerns of six provincial premiers about the implications for their jurisdictions.

Two Vancouver residents who sneaked into a small Yukon community, flouting quarantine and posing as local motel workers to get early COVID-19 vaccinations have been fined a total of $2,300 after pleading guilty. “There was harm, but the harm wasn't anyone catching COVID,” Territorial Court Judge Michael Cozens said in sentencing Rod and Ekaterina Baker. “It was certainly psychological.”

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Novak, said today that a European Union plan to impose carbon emissions costs on imports is a potential breach of global trading rules and threat to energy security. “Artificial restrictive measures of the traditional fuel and energy sectors may reduce the profitability and investment attractiveness of the sector, and as the result, the threat to the safety of energy supplies will emerge,” the former energy minister added.

China’s mission to the European Union has denounced as “slander” a NATO declaration that it is a “constant security challenge.” Instead, the mission states, the alliance’s position is “a misjudgment of the international situation and its own role, and a continuation of the Cold War mentality.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation is trying to fine Air Canada $25.5 million for failing to give thousands of customers “timely refunds” for bookings on cross-border flights cancelled due to COVID-19.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended their first in-person meeting today with broad claims of good will but clearly were deeply divided on a range of issues. Putin said their talks “took place in a constructive spirit” while Biden called the overall tone “positive.” That said, Putin denied his country has been involved in cyberattacks against the U.S., insisting that the U.S. is the main offender.

Only weeks before the European Union is expected to impose globally-unprecedented carbon dioxide emissions costs on some imports, including ferrous metals, aluminum and fertilizers, Canada and the other G7 countries agreed June 13 to work together to address the risk that some countries’ climate policies could compel companies to relocate. “We need to address carbon leakage to create (a) global level playing field,” European Council President Charles Michel explained.

Nicaraguan police arrested and jailed five prominent opponents of President Daniel Ortega over the weekend, including former allies who denounced the detentions as an assault on democracy. The arrests, following on the heels of earlier detections, come as Ortega seeks to extend his 14 years as president in an election set for November.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that he and U.S. President Joe Biden have discussed lifting pandemic-related border restrictions but that no real breakthrough was imminent. The two were in Cornwall, England, for the latest G7 Summit.

A defamation lawsuit has been filed against Ottawa Life Magazine, its publisher and a Carleton University criminologist by Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly, who is seeking $150,000 in damages. An article by the criminologist, Darryl Davies, contains unsubstantiated claims of corruption and calls the Chief incompetent and a liar. The defendants are claiming the right to free expression.

The three-member Green Party caucus in the House of Commons was reduced by one member June 10 when New Brunswick MP Jenica Atwin, first elected in 2019, crossed the floor to join the Liberals. Having openly challenged Green Leader Annamie Paul on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Atwin explained that she fundamentally had arrived at a “crossroads” with the party.

Responding to the deaths of two dogs on Wednesday and one person being hospitalized after being in Grand Lake, the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change is testing water samples taken from Grand Lake and Fish Lake, near the Wellington and Enfield areas, for two types of toxins produced by blue-green algae.

The RCMP's use of U.S. facial recognition software “to search through massive repositories of Canadians who are innocent of any suspicion of crime presents a serious violation of privacy,” says Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien. In a report to Parliament today, he said that by using third-party software, the RCMP violated the Privacy Act rule that no personal information can be collected by a government institution “unless it relates directly to an operating program or activity.”