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Former City of Ottawa lawyer who defaced Holocaust memorial pleads guilty to mischief, gets bail

Iain Aspenlieder's lawyer said the act was an attempt to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and was not motivated by hate.

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.

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At the bars lining London’s streets, the Hockey Canada verdict hits close to home

Twenty-six-year-old criminology student Lana Allan outside a bar on Richmond Street in London, Ont., a few hundred metres from the courthouse where the Hockey Canada verdict was read on Thursday.

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.

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Hudson’s Bay reaches more lease deals across Canada for its locations

Hudson’s Bay put its leases up for sale earlier this year, after it filed for creditor protection and closed its 80 stores and 16 under its sister Saks banners.

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.

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'Goosebumps,' euphoria after trapped miners freed from B.C.'s Red Chris mine

Three workers who were trapped in a mine in a remote area of northwestern British Columbia were brought to safety after more than 60 hours underground. Bernard Wessels, the global safety chief for the mine's operator, Newmont Corp., says there were "goosebumps and happiness" when the contractors emerged from the Red Chris mine, about 500 kilometres northwest of Terrace, B.C. (July 25, 2025)

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Ontario adds virtual courtroom restrictions, law experts raise questions over transparency

Virtual court hearings on Zoom were first adopted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic so court processes could continue amid government-mandated physical distancing rules.

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.

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Murder case against father of Montreal girl moves to a grand jury

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.

Luciano Frattolin is charged with murder and concealing of a corpse in the death of his daughter, Melina Frattolin.
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Trump says trade deal with Canada may not be reached

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs the White House on Thursday. He is traveling to his Balmedie golf courses in Scotland this week.

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.

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Seniors don’t like downsizing, leaving fewer options for first-time buyers – here’s what could help

Data from CMHC indicates the proportion of Canadians older than 75 who are cashing out of their homes fell steadily between 1991 and 2021.

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.

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Morning Update: Hockey Canada trial ends in acquittals

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

© Sammy Kogan

Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham speaks after the verdict yesterday.
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Cells are the smallest, most basic unit of life. Do they also hold memories?

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]

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Prostate cancer screening should focus on those with elevated risks, experts say

Rensford De Haan heard about the free PSA testing clinic and took a blood test in 2023, which showed his PSA level was elevated. A biopsy later revealed he had prostate cancer.

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.

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Protesters express support for complainant in Hockey Canada sexual-assault case outside courthouse

Protesters were at the courthouse in London, Ont., to support the complainant ahead of the verdict. The five hockey players accused of sexual assault were found not guilty.

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.

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Advocates describe ‘heartbreaking’ verdict in Hockey Canada trial

Demonstrators in support of E.M., the complainant in the Hockey Canada trial, before the verdict at a London, Ont., courthouse on Thursday.

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.

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Carney condemns Israel over ‘humanitarian disaster’ in Gaza

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.

© DARRYL DYCK

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks to reporters before attending a meeting of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, in Inuvik, N.W.T., on Thursday, July 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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Judge did not use videos to determine whether woman had consented

A courtroom sketch of Justice Maria Carroccia delivering her ruling in the sexual-assault trial of five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team in London, Ont., on Thursday.

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.

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Psychiatrists testify on fitness of accused in Vancouver festival attack to stand trial

Debris is scattered on East 43rd Avenue in Vancouver, where a vehicle drove into crowd at a Lapu Lapu Day festival.

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.

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The key legal issues at the heart of the Hockey Canada verdict

Justice Maria Carroccia found five members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team not guilty of sexual assault.

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.

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Man who killed 22-year-old woman convicted of manslaughter, homicide team says

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.

© DARRYL DYCK

An Abbotsford police shoulder patch is seen during a press conference in New Westminster, B.C., Feb. 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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NHLPA says players should get opportunity to ‘return to work’ at the league

The courtroom is shown in this sketch from London, Ont., as Justice Maria Carroccia delivers her ruling in the Hockey Canada sexual-assault trial, on Thursday.

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.

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Six people found in contempt in irregular UCP donations probe, Alberta judge finds

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.

© Jeff McIntosh

Voters leave a polling station after casting ballots in an Alberta byelection for the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding, in Cremona, Alta., Monday, June 23, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
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Hulk Hogan’s wrestling career had no shortage of made-in-Canada moments

Toronto City Mayor Rob Ford (left) celebrates after beating Hulk Hogan in an arm-wrestling match to promote Fan Expo in Toronto on Friday August 23, 2013.

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).

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Number of federal public service jobs could drop by almost 60,000, report predicts

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has sent letters to multiple ministers asking them to cut program spending by 15 per cent come 2028-29.

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.

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No new measles cases in former Ontario hot spot for first time since spring

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.

© Geoff Robins

A dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination awaits the next patient during a vaccine clinic in St. Thomas, Ont., on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins
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Judge acquits players, finds complainant’s testimony not ‘reliable’

Former members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team, from left to right, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart leave the courthouse in London, Ont., on Thursday.

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.

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CFIB forecasts recession as business confidence remains ‘persistently low’

The CFIB report says the contraction in the economy is reflective of 'persistently low business confidence' stemming from trade tensions and weakness in the manufacturing industry. 

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.

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Rescue under way for three miners trapped behind pile of debris in B.C.’s Red Chris mine

The workers were trapped after two rockfalls, and Newmont says they have enough air, food and water for an extended stay in refuge stations equipped for 16 people.

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.”

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Number of federal public service jobs could drop by almost 60,000, report predicts

Minister of Finance and National Revenue François-Philippe Champagne speaks to reporters as he arrives at a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

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.

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Supreme Court of Canada dismisses constitutional challenge of sex-work law

The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a constitutional challenge of a sex-work law.

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.

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Newmont says three trapped miners in northern B.C. stuck behind 30 metres of debris

The company says the refuge chamber where the workers are staying

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.

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Parliamentary interpreters warn about Ottawa’s plans to cut procurement costs

The L'Esplanade Laurier building in Ottawa is operated by Public Services and Procurement Canada, which has started a process to replace the federal government’s existing freelance interpretation contracts.

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.

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Morning Update: Preparing for today’s Hockey Canada verdict

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

© Alexandra Newbould

Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alexandar Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are shown in court in this courtroom sketch made in London, Ont., on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alexandra Newbould
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B.C. police investigate ‘suspicious’ death of care home patient in Abbotsford

Police say they are investigating the “suspicious” death of a patient who had been living in a care home in Abbotsford, B.C.

The Abbotsford Police Department says the local hospital called police about two patients who had been transferred from Menno Home while experiencing “medical emergencies that raised concerns due to their suspicious nature.”

A statement from police says they were called on July 6 and one of the patients died on July 10.

© Graeme Roy

Police tape is shown in Toronto, Tuesday, May 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
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Canada calls for immediate resumption of UN-led aid in Gaza

1/3 Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable. Civilians, incl. aid workers, must be protected.

— Foreign Policy CAN (@CanadaFP) July 23, 2025

The Canadian government said on Wednesday that Israeli military operations against civilians and aid workers in Gaza were unacceptable, and called for the immediate resumption of U.N.-led aid distribution in the war-torn enclave.

“Israeli military operations against WHO staff and facilities, World Food Programme aid convoys, & the ongoing killing of Palestinians seeking urgently needed food and water are unacceptable,” the Canadian foreign ministry said on X.

© JACK GUEZ

This picture taken from a position at Israel's border with the Gaza Strip on July 23, 2025 shows smoke billowing during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
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Hockey Canada sexual-assault verdict to be delivered after years of challenges, missteps in case

From left to right: Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube and Carter Hart. The five hockey players face sexual-assault charges, with the verdict to be announced on Thursday.

It was Jan. 11, 2024, and police in London, Ont., were preparing to lay sexual-assault charges against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team.

The men – all of whom were now playing professional hockey, four of them in the NHL – were accused of attacking a woman in a hotel room in June, 2018, after a Hockey Canada gala.

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