In the news today: Carney to meet with Modi, Zelenskyy at G7 today
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…
Carney to meet with Modi, Zelenskyy at G7 today
Prime Minister Mark Carney is to hold bilateral talks with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta today.
The G7 will continue for its second and final day without U.S. President Donald Trump who left the talks ahead of schedule on Monday.
Trump said he left due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, and he is missing the day Carney had scheduled to focus on foreign policy.
Carney will meet privately with Zelenskyy, who is set to join a G7 leaders working breakfast session on ending Russia's invasion.
Modi will meet with Carney late this afternoon after attending various meetings today, including a discussion on energy sovereignty with peers from Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.
Here's what else we're watching…
In Banff, G7 summit felt rather than seen
In her hometown of Banff, Alta., Monica Dominguez's experience of the G7 leaders' summit has been defined by the sound of helicopter blades humming from above.
'You never hear helicopters here,' Dominguez, manager at Magpie & Stump Mexican Restaurant and Bar, said Monday inside the restaurant on Caribou Street. 'When you hear helicopters, it's because it's an emergency.'
Though some of the world's most powerful leaders have been just a few mountain passes away in the resort village of Kananaskis since Sunday, locals in Banff say the summit has been a spectacle felt rather than seen.
For the past week, aircraft have hovered overhead in preparation for the leaders' arrivals, and police from other cities and towns have roamed the streets.
On Monday, small groups of international media were seen broadcasting curbside around the Rocky Mountain tourist town. Just outside the town's main strip, hundreds of reporters, photographers and broadcasters from around the world are being housed at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Bill aims to establish a national livestock brand
Outgoing Conservative MP Damien Kurek is looking to leave his mark in Parliament by pushing for the adoption of a national livestock brand as one of Canada's symbols.
Kurek introduced a bill in the last Parliament to create the new brand but that bill didn't pass before the election was called, meaning it now has to start over.
But Kurek may resign his seat as early as Tuesday to make way for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to run in a byelection in Battle River— Crowfoot and attempt re-enter the House of Commons.
So Saskatchewan Conservative MP Steven Bonk reintroduced the bill to establish a national livestock brand on Kurek's behalf last week.
The proposed design is a Maple Leaf on top of what looks like a small arch, which Kurek described as an inverted quarter circle in 'brand lingo.'
No impact to Toronto's green standard: city report
A newly released report from city staff says Toronto still has the authority to mandate new buildings meet certain climate and sustainability targets, despite concerns those powers could be undercut by a recent Ontario law.
The report set to go before the city's executive committee today says there's 'no impact' to the city's ability to apply its green standard to new development under the recently passed Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act.
Several environmental and industry groups have suggested the law may prevent municipalities from setting standards beyond what's already required in the provincial building code.
Among other things, it requires new builds to retain stormwater to prevent flooding during extreme rainfall and have enough tree canopy to help stave off extreme heat. It also requires buildings to meet annual emissions targets, pushing developers to consider low-carbon heating options such as heat pumps over natural gas, and install parking spots for bikes and electric vehicles.
A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack did not directly say whether the bill would impact Toronto's ability to enforce the standard, but she did say it was adding to building costs and slowing down construction.
Small gathering lays ashes of Glen Assoun to rest
In a quiet grove at the edge of a Halifax cemetery, the family of a wrongfully convicted man laid his remains to rest, and said his fight for justice lives on.
Glen Assoun died June 14, 2023, but the family postponed interring his ashes until a gathering Monday, presided over by Rev. David Watt, a Baptist minister who stood by his friend over the years.
In March 2019, a Nova Scotia court acquitted Assoun in the 1995 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Lee Way.
During 17 years in prison and five years under strict bail conditions, Assoun developed heart illnesses and suffered from mental illnesses. He only received a compensation settlement from the federal and provincial governments about two years before he died at the age of 67.
Almost five years ago, the province requested the police oversight body begin a formal probe into whether officers broke the law when they destroyed evidence relevant to Assoun's case. In March 2021, the Nova Scotia police watchdog announced that to ensure transparency, its counterpart in British Columbia had agreed to be on the investigation.
But on Nov. 30, 2023, Nova Scotia's agency announced the B.C. watchdog had dropped the case due to a heavy workload. Since then, the agency has reached out to multiple police oversight bodies and has struggled to find one that will take the case.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
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Kurek tries to leave mark on Canada with bill to add a new national symbol
Outgoing Conservative MP Damien Kurek is looking to leave his mark in Parliament by pushing for the adoption of a national livestock brand as one of Canada's symbols. Kurek introduced a bill in the last Parliament to create the new brand but that bill didn't pass before the election was called, meaning it now has to start over. But Kurek may resign his seat as early as Tuesday to make way for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre to run in a byelection in Battle River— Crowfoot and attempt re-enter the House of Commons. So Saskatchewan Conservative MP Steven Bonk reintroduced the bill to establish a national livestock brand on Kurek's behalf last week. The proposed design is a Maple Leaf on top of what looks like a small arch, which Kurek described as an inverted quarter circle in "brand lingo." "In the midst of everything that represents the best of what Canada is, conspicuously absent in the inventory of symbols was something that specifically acknowledges that Western and frontier history that was so fundamental in building, not just Western Canada, but the entirety of our nation," Kurek said in an interview. Shortly after the election, when Poilievre failed to win his own seat of Carleton in Ottawa, Kurek agreed that as soon as the rules allowed he would step aside to allow Poilievre to run there. Under the rules Tuesday is the first day Kurek can do that. Prime Minister Mark Carney previously said he would call a byelection for the riding as soon as he is able. In its new iteration, the legislation includes a reference to the new national symbol being able to "promote national unity." That comes a separatist sentiment is on the rise in Alberta, and that province heads toward a potential referendum on the issue next year. "At a time when I hear often that people feel like our national unity is in fact at risk, to be able to showcase in a practical way through symbolism, to say, 'look, Western Canada, it matters,'" Kurek said. "And then the key part of that is it can't simply stay at symbolism." Kurek said that includes making sure Alberta has the ability to get its resources, like oil, to market. Alisson Lévesque, Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault 's communications director, said in an emailed statement that the bill is being reviewed and "we will have more to say when it reaches second reading in the House." If the bill is passed, the livestock brand would join the list of national symbols like the flag, coat of arms, beaver, hockey, the maple tree and even the national horse. Like the coat of arms, Kurek said the livestock brand is similarly used in agricultural families as a "heraldic symbol." Kurek said his family no longer farms cattle, but his great-grandfather registered a J K quarter circle brand that's continued to be passed down through his family. Kurek's father, Jay Kurek, died at the age of 54 last year. As Kurek prepares to trade his seat in Parliament for the cab of a tractor, he said that his family's brand is symbol that connects him to his family history, a common view in farm families. "It speaks to something bigger than oneself and that's why even though I won't be the one that has the opportunity to shepherd this, hopefully, through Parliament - it's the fact that it means something to, I hope, so many Canadians is why I'm excited that conversation can in fact keep moving forward," Kurek said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 17, 2025.
