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Rap group Kneecap banned from Canada for allegedly supporting Hezbollah and Hamas

Liam Og O Hannaidh, second right, a member of Kneecap, speaks to supporters as he departs Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Aug. 20. In May, British police charged Og O Hannaidh with a terrorism offence for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a 2024 concert. The rapper denied the offence.

The Carney government is barring the Belfast rap group Kneecap from entering Canada, saying the group has endorsed political violence and terrorism.

Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, parliamentary secretary for combatting crime, made an announcement in a video posted Friday morning to social media. He said Kneecap has “publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas” and said that goes beyond artistic expression.

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Impresario Harvey Glatt brought fabled musical artists to Ottawa

Ottawa music impresario Harvey Glatt, who died on Aug. 20, at age 91, played an oversized role in turning the country’s sleepy capital city from a cultural desert into a musically vibrant place.

As a retailer, concert promoter, artist manager, label owner, record distributor and patron of the arts, Harvey Glatt enlivened Ottawa's music scene for decades.

The son of scrap metal merchants, he was a music fanatic who began reading music trade journals as a 13-year-old. In 1957, he co-founded the Treble Clef record store, a retail outlet devoted solely to music at a time when vinyl was typically sold in department stores or distributed by mail through record clubs. The initial shop grew to a chain of 15 locations, earning Mr. Glatt the unofficial title of Sam The Record Man of the Ottawa Valley.

Arnold Gosewich (left) and Harvey Glatt. Credit: Bill King Photography
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