Reem Sultan’s uncle was killed in Gaza last December, her aunt died of malnutrition in January. Her cousin’s family of six, including children, perished when their home was bombed in May. Another cousin who went to retrieve and bury their bodies died in an air strike, killed while grieving the dead.

In all, the resident of London, Ont., has lost 15 close relatives in the Middle East conflict, but a tally of extended family members reaches closer to 100. So while Ms. Sultan welcomes the news that Canada intends to recognize the state of Palestine, she says more is needed than just words.

Toronto has spent more than half the summer so far under heat warnings, according to data from Environment Canada, which show the area has already surpassed the number of extremely hot days in each of the past two years.

Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder said the city has been under a heat warning for 21 days so far this summer, with the fifth such warning issued on Monday.

Some sexual-assault survivors and legal experts say that restorative justice could be an alternative for complainants to find closure and accountability, in the wake of the Hockey Canada verdict that left many advocates reeling.

Justice Maria Carroccia acquitted five former junior hockey players of sexual assault on Thursday after a trial that had the complainant, known publicly as E.M., spend seven days under cross-examination by the defendants’ lawyers.

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.

The 17-year-old accused of the attack in Quadeville, Ont., of an eight-year-old girl, whose injuries were initially believed to have been caused by an animal, made a brief appearance in a Pembroke court on Thursday.

The accused, whose identity is protected under Ontario’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with attempted murder and sexual assault with a weapon on a person under 16 years old.

The mayor of Brampton, Ont., says a threat against him and his family that prompted police protection and triggered an arrest was allegedly sent in an e-mail from an international server.

“They just said, ‘We’re going to come and kill you and your wife and your son,’” Mayor Patrick Brown told The Globe and Mail.

Wildfire smoke in several parts of the country is forcing summer camp providers whose communities are under air quality warnings to shift activities indoors or make other changes to keep campers safe.

Environment Canada issued special air quality statements or warnings on Monday for much of Central Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan owing to smoke from wildfires in northern Ontario and the Prairies, while smoke also drifted into Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

Up until two days ago, the residents of the tiny Ontario community of Quadeville had been on high alert. Some children were kept indoors, and parents were on the lookout for a possibly violent and unpredictable creature.

The fear stemmed from the discovery of a missing eight-year-old girl on June 24 who had been so savagely attacked, investigators warned residents that they believed it must have been an animal.

The man charged by police in the late-night sexual assault of a 62-year-old woman in one of Toronto’s most popular parks was on probation at the time of the incident.

Earlier this week, Toronto police announced that they have laid charges in connection with a sexual assault that took place in High Park on June 4 – an attack that has left the surrounding community on alert. Cortny Henry, 35, was charged with multiple offences, including sexual assault with bodily harm.

For the past six summers, High Level, Alta., a northern town of 4,000 that straddles the only road into the province from the Northwest Territories, has converted its arena into a makeshift wildfire evacuation centre.

Municipal staff have been diverted from regular duties such as working at the pool or running summer programs to haul up to 350 cots, purchased by the town to accommodate evacuees, from a storage container into the arena. They have sometimes worked up to 17 hours a day to make sure everyone was fed and children were entertained.

The Ontario government has taken control of four school boards including in Toronto and Ottawa, a move the province says stems from concerns over large deficits, depleting reserves and widespread mismanagement.

Education Minister Paul Calandra announced Friday the appointment of supervisors at the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, following investigations earlier this year.