A judge who found the complainant in the Hockey Canada trial to be untruthful in a ruling that acquitted five former junior players of sexual assault has come under strong criticism, after a judgment starkly at odds with a growing public emphasis on believing women.

But Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia is also being praised as brave for calling it as she saw it in her 91-page written decision on Thursday, despite a potentially hostile public reception.

The White House is pursuing heavy fines from Harvard and other universities as part of potential settlements to end investigations into campus antisemitism, using the deal it struck with Columbia University as a template, according to an administration official familiar with the matter.

Fines have become a staple of proposed deals in talks with Harvard and other schools, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

Born and raised in Montreal, Norman Marshall Villeneuve was taught to tap dance by his older brother. As a preteen he studied piano with the great instructor Daisy Peterson-Sweeney, sister of Oscar Peterson. Another legendary jazz pianist, Oliver Jones, was a cousin who, like Mr. Peterson, lived nearby.

The tutoring in the other disciplines notwithstanding, he instead became one of Canada’s greatest bebop drummers.

Jennifer Dunn’s already difficult job got a little bit harder this week, she said.

Ms. Dunn is the executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, an organization that provides counselling and support for women and girls in the region who have been abused, trafficked or sexually assaulted.

A former lawyer for the City of Ottawa who desecrated the National Holocaust Monument by splashing it with red paint and scrawling the words FEED ME in large red block letters, has pleaded guilty to mischief and been released on bail to his parents’ house.

Iain Aspenlieder, who is expected to be sentenced later this year, last month vandalized the memorial to six million Jews killed by the Nazi regime. His lawyer said Friday that the act was an attempt to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and was not motivated by hate.

A few hours after the verdict was handed down in the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team, a thunderstorm swept over London, Ont., soaking the streets and filling the darkening sky with bolts of lighting. But in the bar district a few blocks from the courthouse, the party continued. Groups of young men and young women trooped back and forth along Richmond Street, laughing, chatting and vaping as they went from bar to bar between bursts of rain.

Many had just learned that a judge had found the players not guilty, and the news was starting to sink in. The whole affair began on this strip at a place called Jack’s, where one of the players met the complainant in the case and took her back to a nearby hotel. What went on in that hotel room became the focus of a national conversation, raising questions about power dynamics, hockey culture and what constitutes sexual consent.

Israel’s ambassador in Ottawa has issued a statement rejecting Canada’s “condemnation” of humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza.

The statement from Ambassador Iddo Moed urges Canada to keep up pressure on Hamas to release hostages and support a comprehensive framework to end the war.

Hudson’s Bay Co. has reached deals to sell the leases of six store locations as legal wrangling continues on work to close a deal to sell up to 25 leases to B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu.

Legal filings show clothing retailer YM Inc., which owns brands such as Urban Planet, Bluenotes, West49 and Suzy Shier, has struck a deal to buy five leases for $5.03 million. The documents show it was unable to secure landlord approvals for three other locations.

A B.C. paramedic who went missing while in Banff National Park has been found safe and sound after a two-day search.

Chad Singer, 42, of Radium, B.C., started his hike on Wednesday near the Aurora Creek trail, east of Radium Hot Springs.

Ontario’s lower courts are introducing restrictions on who can attend proceedings virtually after what they describe as an escalation of interruptions, a move that law experts and observers say raises questions about transparency.

The Ontario Court of Justice released a new policy last week that would stop observers from accessing court proceedings online unless they receive authorization from the judge or justice of peace overseeing the case.

The NDP has released the official rules for its leadership race – and they’re telling candidates they must gather specific numbers of signatures from supporters in diverse regional, racial and LGBTQ+ groups.

Alberta NDP MP Heather McPherson said Friday she is “considering” entering the race.

The case against the father of a nine-year-old Montreal girl found dead in Upstate New York will move directly to the grand jury stage.

The court in Ticonderoga, N.Y., and the secretary for the district attorney who is prosecuting the case both confirmed that the felony hearing scheduled to take place Friday for Luciano Frattolin was cancelled.

Instead the case will move to a grand jury, where its members will assess the prosecution’s evidence to decide whether there is probable cause that Frattolin killed his daughter Melina and should stand trial.

The federal government posted a $6.5 billion deficit in the first two months of the fiscal year.

The result for the April-to-May period compared with a $3.8 billion deficit for the same stretch last year.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he may not reach a new trade deal with Canada and is suggesting he might instead impose more tariffs on the country unilaterally.

Mr. Trump’s warning follows signals from Prime Minister Mark Carney that the two sides may not be able to reach an agreement by a self-imposed deadline of Aug. 1 to end a trade war that’s nearing the five-month point.

Realtor Barry Lebow specializes in helping seniors downsize – moving out of the family homes they’ve lived in for decades to a smaller place that’s a better fit for their aging lifestyle.

From the outside, that might look like the natural progression: feeding a healthy bit of turnover into the housing supply as move-up buyers seek their own family home.

Good morning. A judge has acquitted all five players in the Hockey Canada sexual assault case, after a trial that became a national flashpoint — more on that below, along with price hikes for U.S. shoppers and Hulk Hogan’s wrestling legacy. But first:

Today’s headlines

• ‘A lot of work’ is still needed in trade talks, LeBlanc says after Washington meetings
• France will recognize Palestine as a state, President Macron says
• Algoma shareholder Barry Zekelman says that Ottawa is acting like a ‘loan shark’ over emergency funding
• Three workers trapped in a British Columbia mine have been rescued after more than 60 hours underground

Thomas Verny is a clinical psychiatrist, academic, award-winning author, public speaker, poet and podcaster. He is the author of eight books, including the global bestseller The Secret Life of the Unborn Child and 2021’sThe Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness and Our Bodies.

Joshua Bongard, professor of computer science at the University of Vermont, believes that as humans and animals evolved and adapted to their surroundings, so did their tissues and cells. “What we are is intelligent machines made of intelligent machines made of intelligent machines, all the way down,” he said, referring to cells. [1]

Three workers who were trapped in a remote northern British Columbia mine have been rescued after more than 60 hours underground.

Red Chris mine operator Newmont Corp. NGT-T said the three men were safely bought to the surface at about 10:40 p.m. on Thursday.

Canada should rethink its approach to prostate cancer screening, which uses a controversial blood test that an expert task force encouraged doctors to abandon more than a decade ago, according to a new paper led by a group of Toronto urologists and oncologists.

In an article published Friday in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, the authors argue for a population-wide trial that would offer the blood test, known as the prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA test, to men at elevated risk of prostate cancer, likely including Black men and those with a family history of the disease.

The five hockey players who were acquitted Thursday of sexual assault arrived at a courthouse in London, Ont., to a crowd of protesters holding signs and chanting slogans.

Most of the several dozen protesters were there to support the complainant in the case, known publicly as E.M. because of a publication ban. They held signs saying they believed E.M. and calling for justice, and someone had written “believe” in chalk in the sidewalk.

Advocates for survivors of sexual violence warn that Thursday’s verdict in the Hockey Canada case could discourage victims from going to police.

Five former junior hockey players were acquitted of sexual assault after a trial that included seven days of gruelling cross-examination of the complainant by different defence lawyers. In delivering her ruling, the judge said the woman was not credible.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling on Israel to give up control of aid delivery to Gaza as reports grow of mass starvation in the territory.

“Canada condemns the Israeli government’s failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza,” Mr. Carney said in a post on X Thursday.

Canada condemns the Israeli government’s failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Israel’s control of aid distribution must be replaced by comprehensive provision of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Many of these are…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 25, 2025

Canada on Thursday condemned the Israeli government for failing to prevent what Prime Minister Mark Carney called a humanitarian disaster in Gaza.

Carney also accused Israel of violating international law over the blocking of Canadian-funded aid delivery to civilians in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

The judge who acquitted the five men in the Hockey Canada sexual-assault case did not rely on two videos taken of the complainant on the night of her encounter with the accused players to determine whether the woman had consented to sex.

Instead, Justice Maria Carroccia used the videos to assess the woman’s relative sobriety and demeanour at the time they were shot. The judge did not make a major declaration on the the legal value of what are known as consent videos.

Two forensic psychiatrists have concluded their testimony at a hearing to determine if the man accused of killing 11 people at Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival is fit to stand trial.

Adam Kai-Ji Lo faces 11 counts of second-degree murder and for allegedly driving an SUV through a crowded street at the Filipino festival on April 26.

The key issue in the sexual-assault trial of five former members of Canada’s national junior hockey team, which ended in an acquittal on Thursday for all five men, was whether the complainant voluntarily consented to the sexual activity.

The Crown had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that E.M., as she was known to protect her identity, did not consent when she was with the five players in a hotel room in London, Ont., in June, 2018.

A man originally accused of the second-degree murder of a young woman from Abbotsford, B.C., has been found guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Twenty-two-year-old Chelsey Gauthier was reported missing to the Abbotsford Police Department in July 2017 and her body was found in August.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Gary Losch appeared in a B.C. Supreme Court in Abbotsford this week, where Justice Dev Dley found him not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

The five former Canadian world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual-assault charges may hope to return to their professional careers in North America after the conclusion of their criminal trial, but they still face some significant hurdles and the possibility of sanctions.

On Thursday, both the National Hockey League and Hockey Canada indicated that they were in no rush to welcome the players back into the fold.

An Alberta judge has found six people in contempt for not attending interviews as part of an investigation into alleged irregular political donations made to the United Conservative Party.

A Tuesday decision by Justice Peter Michalyshyn says for the past year the provincial elections commissioner has been investigating donations made to the party by people allegedly using money that wasn’t their own leading up to the 2023 provincial election.

The decision says the commissioner, Paula Hale, began investigating in the spring of last year after being made aware of the allegation, but it’s not clear if the individuals found in contempt were targets of the investigation.

At the fan festival leading up to WrestleMania X8, World Wrestling Federation chairman Vince McMahon wanted to get a sense of who the audience would be pulling for in the anticipated match between Hulk Hogan and Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson.

Hogan was still in his villainous “Hollywood” persona while The Rock was the promotion’s bankable baby face star heading into their March 17, 2002, showdown at Toronto’s SkyDome (now Rogers Centre).

Five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team have been acquitted of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada gala.

Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were cleared of all charges by Justice Maria Carroccia on Thursday.

Read Justice Carroccia’s full ruling below.

Bruce Fairweather was in bed Wednesday night when he says his wife heard what sounded like gunshots.

He went outside his home in Maple Ridge, B.C., and saw two vehicles on fire.

A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the federal public service could shed almost 60,000 jobs over the next four years as Ottawa looks to cut costs.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to multiple ministers asking them to cut program spending at their departments by 7.5 per cent next spring, 10 per cent the year after and 15 per cent in 2028-29.

Canada’s former measles hot spot is reporting no new cases for the first time since a spring surge.

Data released by Public Health Ontario shows no additional illnesses in the area covered by Southwestern Public Health, which in April accounted for 45 per cent of the province’s cases and the highest count in Canada.

The benchmark comes after the region reported just one new case for each of the previous three weeks, although there are nine new cases in the neighbouring health unit of Middlesex-London.

All five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team who were accused of sexually assaulting a woman after a 2018 Hockey Canada gala were acquitted in a London, Ont., courtroom Thursday.

Justice Maria Carroccia declared Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote not guilty of sexual assault. Mr. McLeod, who had faced a second charge of being a party to sexual assault, was acquitted on that count as well.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is forecasting a recession in Canada this year.

A new report from CFIB, released Thursday, shows it’s forecasting that growth declined 0.8 per cent in the second quarter and will contract by a further 0.8 per cent in the third quarter. The report said the contraction is reflective of “persistently low business confidence” stemming from trade tensions and weakness in the manufacturing industry.

Natural air is flowing to the area where three workers are trapped in a northern British Columbia mine, the operator’s safety chief said, adding that there appears to be a stable rescue route to them behind the massive rockfall that cut them off.

Bernard Wessels, global safety head for Newmont Corp., would not say how long he expected their rescue to take, but “from a timing perspective we are confident.”

OTTAWA - A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says the federal public service could shed almost 60,000 jobs over the next four years as Ottawa looks to cut costs.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne sent letters to multiple ministers asking them to cut program spending at their departments by 7.5 per cent next spring, 10 per cent the year after and 15 per cent in 2028-29.

The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a constitutional challenge of the criminal law on sex work, upholding the convictions of two men who argued its provisions are overly broad.

Mikhail Kloubakov and Hicham Moustaine were convicted of criminal offences in an Alberta court as a result of their employment in 2018 as paid drivers for an escort business.

A remote-controlled scoop has begun the work of removing a pile of debris 20 to 30 meters long and seven to eight metres high to gain access to three workers trapped at the Red Chris mine in northern British Columbia, a company statement says.

Newmont Corp. says in the statement issued Thursday that specialized drones have been sent in to assess the geotechnical conditions underground.

Statistics Canada says retail sales decreased 1.1 per cent to $69.2-billion in May, driven by sales declines at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

However, the agency said its preliminary figures for June point to an increase of 1.6 per cent for that month.

07/24/25 17:30

The upcoming federal by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot has Jennifer Fossen in unknown territory.

Fossen is the president of the Camrose & District Chamber of Commerce. In the April federal election, it held a candidate forum. Only one nominee showed up to speak to a half-empty room.

Professional interpreters are warning that the federal government’s plans to cut its procurement costs could compromise the public’s access to parliamentary, Supreme Court and other official proceedings in both official languages.

Jeremy Link, a spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada, said the department recently began a process to replace the federal government’s existing freelance interpretation contracts.

Good morning. All eyes are on the verdict in the Hockey Canada trial today. More on that below, along with the conclusion of the premiers’ meeting and the rising risk of starvation in Gaza, but first:

Today’s headlines

• A report shows that a Canadian man who died in ICE custody was previously flagged for health concerns
• Algoma Steel is seeking up to $600-million from Ottawa in emergency trade war relief
• From the Mastering It series: How this miniaturist made it big with her tiny creations

Saskatchewan is set to get help from Ottawa as dozens of wildfires burn in the province.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski says she has approved a request for federal assistance and that Armed Forces personnel and helicopters are being deployed.