In the news today: Convoy leaders to be sentenced, festival attack suspect in court
Sentencing begins for 'Freedom Convoy' leaders
The sentencing hearing for 'Freedom Convoy' leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber is set to begin Wednesday morning, months after the two were found guilty of mischief.
Two days have been set aside for the parties to present their sentencing submissions.
The Crown is seeking a prison sentence of seven years for Lich and eight years for Barber, who was also convicted of counselling others to disobey a court order.
Lich and Barber were key figures behind the convoy protest that occupied downtown Ottawa for three weeks beginning in late January 2022 to protest vaccine mandates and other pandemic measures.
Fitness hearing for festival attack suspect
The man accused of ramming an SUV into a crowd and killing 11 people at the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Day festival is set to appear in court today, with a judge determining if he's fit to stand trial.
RJ Aquino, the chair of festival organizer Filipino BC, says the court proceedings could prove 'traumatizing' for victims and members of the Filipino community.
He says many have expressed anger and frustration since the April 26 attack and still find it difficult to cope with the tragedy almost three months later.
Thirty-year-old Adam Kai-Ji Lo faces 11 charges of second-degree murder, after police announced on Tuesday that three additional charges had been approved.
The accusations against 5 hockey players on trial
An Ontario judge is set to deliver her ruling Thursday in the case of five hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room seven years ago.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in the June 2018 encounter, and McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
Prosecutors argue the woman did not voluntarily consent to any of the sexual acts that took place after several team members arrived in the room, nor did the accused players take reasonable steps to confirm that she did.
The defence argues the woman initiated and actively participated in the sexual activity, and at times taunted the players to do things with her.
Carney set to visit birthplace in N.W.T.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to stop today in the town where he was born as he travels across the Northwest Territories.
Carney also spent his early childhood in Fort Smith, located south of Yellowknife along the Alberta boundary, before he moved with his family to Edmonton.
He is scheduled to talk to locals in Fort Smith about affordability and food insecurity, and discuss wildfires with community leaders, before heading to Inuvik in the territory's northwest corner.
He is set to co-host the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee on Thursday with Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national organization representing Inuit.
Canada should copy U.K., lower voting age: senator
Now that the British government has vowed to lower its voting age to 16 by the next general election, one Canadian senator says it's past time for Canada to do the same.
The U.K. announced last week that it would lower its voting age from 18 to 16 in a bid to strengthen British democracy and restore trust in politics.
Sen. Marilou McPhedran said the issue has been her 'top parliamentary priority' since she joined the Red Chamber. She said lowering the voting age to 16 would be good for democracy and that the only arguments against it are 'based on stereotypes.'
McPhedran said decisions being made in Canada now will affect younger generations and that extending voting rights to younger people is 'logical' and 'about fairness.' She added that about a third of 16-year-olds in Canada have some form of employment and are already taxpayers.
Researchers create tool to remove AI watermarks
University of Waterloo researchers have built a tool that can quickly remove watermarks identifying content as artificially generated — and they say it proves that global efforts to combat deepfakes are most likely on the wrong track.
Academia and industry have focused on watermarking as the best way to fight deepfakes and 'basically abandoned all other approaches,' said Andre Kassis, a PhD candidate in computer science who led the research.
At a White House event in 2023, the leading AI companies — including OpenAI, Meta, Google and Amazon — pledged to implement mechanisms such as watermarking to clearly identify AI-generated content.
AI companies' systems embed a watermark, which is a hidden signature or pattern that isn't visible to a person but can be identified by another system, Kassis explained.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2025
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Philippine Supreme Court rules impeachment bid against vice president is unconstitutional
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Supreme Court ruled Friday that an impeachment case filed against Vice President Sara Duterte violated the country's constitution due to a technicality, a decision that would block her scheduled trial over a raft of criminal allegations including her threat to have the president assassinated. The House of Representatives, which impeached Duterte in February and sent the case to the Senate for trial, violated a rule that only one impeachment case could be processed by the lower chamber against an impeachable official in a single year, court spokesperson Camille Ting said. The House received at least four separate impeachment cases against Duterte between December and February but only one was transmitted to the Senate, which will serve as an impeachment tribunal. The ruling was 'immediately executory,' the court said in a decision that was not immediately made public. 'It is not our duty to favor any political result,' the court said in a statement, suggesting it did not pass judgement on the array of allegations. 'Ours is to ensure that politics are framed within the rule of just law.' Duterte, 47, became the first vice president of the Philippines to be impeached by the House in February over an array of alleged high crimes. The accusations were led by her threat during a November online news conference to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and cousin, then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez, killed by an assassin if she were killed herself during her high-profile disputes with them. The daughter of Marcos' controversial predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, she also has been accused of large-scale corruption, sedition, terrorism and failing to openly support Philippine government efforts to oppose and denounce China's aggressive actions against Filipino forces in the disputed South China Sea. Duterte allegedly backed her father's brutal crackdowns against illegal drugs that led to extrajudicial killings in their southern home city. Her impeachment trial was set to begin either next week or early next month by the 24-member Senate, which has convened to hear the case. If the Supreme Court ruling becomes final, the vice president's opponents could file another impeachment case after a year. Duterte ran as Marcos's running mate in 2022 on a campaign battle cry of unity in their deeply divided and poverty-stricken Southeast Asian country. Both were scions of strongmen accused of human rights violations, but their strong regional bases of political support combined to give them landslide victories. Their whirlwind political alliance, however, rapidly frayed when they took office. Duterte's father openly accused Marcos of being a weak leader and a drug addict even during the campaign, allegations the president denied. The vice president later resigned from her then-concurrent Cabinet post as educations secretary as the rifts between the two political families deepened. She later accused Marcos, his wife and Romualdez of corruption, weak leadership and attempting to muzzle her because of speculation she may seek the presidency in 2028 when Marcos's six-year term ends. Duterte made the comment about killing Marcos and his family members during a Nov. 23 news conference, a threat she warned wasn't a joke. Faced with the prospects of criminal lawsuits, Duterte later said she wasn't threatening him but was expressing concern for her own safety. Still, her statements set off a criminal investigation and national security concerns and prompted calls for her impeachment. Among the impeachment complaint signatories was the president's son, Rep. Sandro Marcos, and Romualdez. The petition urged the Senate to shift into an impeachment court to try the vice president, 'render a judgement of conviction,' remove her from office and ban her from holding public office. 'Duterte's conduct throughout her tenure clearly displays gross faithlessness against public trust and a tyrannical abuse of power that, taken together, showcases her gross unfitness to hold public office and her infidelity to the laws and the 1987 Constitution,' the complaint said. Last month, senators voted to send the raft of complaints back to the House due to legal questions, sparking street protests demanding Duterte's immediate trial. Then-Senate President Chiz Escudero said the move led by Duterte's allies in the Senate did not mean the impeachment complaint was being dismissed and issued a summons for Duterte to appear when the trial proceeds.
National Observer
3 hours ago
- National Observer
Convoy sentencing part of a fraught judicial history around protest
Tamara Lich emerged from the Ontario Court of Justice in downtown Ottawa on Thursday afternoon, walking past throngs of journalists, right wing media personalities and dedicated supporters brandishing signs. The two-day sentencing hearing for Lich and Chris Barber — two of the 'Freedom Convoy's' main organizers — saw their supporters from the Ottawa Valley and even as far as Alberta gather both outside and inside the courthouse to sing the praises of these controversial figures. Inside the courtroom, with roughly 60 observers and journalists on day one, the mood was mellow and restrained, save for a smattering of snickers when the Crown attorney said this case is not about political views. The spectacle provided an opportunity for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada to reaffirm their loyalty to the far-right segment of their base. 'The Crown wants 7 years prison time for the charge of mischief for Lich & Barber,' Poilievre posted on X, two days before the sentencing hearing began. 'How is this justice?' 'This is political vengeance, not actual justice,' wrote deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman. As Lich and Barber await their sentences, expected to be announced on Oct. 7, these statements and many more like them continue to ricochet through the conservative media ecosystem. Ezra Levant, founder of Rebel News, showed up at the Ottawa court to cover the two-day hearing; so did right-wing influencers like Right Blend and Dacey Media. Those who couldn't make it in person posted from afar. 'Canada is turning into a banana republic,' the Pleb Reporter posted from Montreal. 'The left are cheering for dictator style punishments for light dissent. A protest where no violence occurred. Please wake up Canada.' Canada's National Observer obtained an internal report by the CSIS spy agency on 'Climate Change and Terrorism.' The majority of the document — some 90 per cent of the text — focuses on threats posed by environmentalists. Transport Canada has estimated that the Convoy movement cost Canadians $3.9 billion in lost trade due to the convoy-affiliated border blockades that spread across the country in February 2022. The protests cost the city of Ottawa over $36 million, mostly on policing. That figure doesn't include the cost to businesses forced to close for weeks, or the harm done to some 12,000 residents of Ottawa's Centretown whose homes were bombarded by the noise of semi-trucks honking their horns in synchronized 10-minute blasts, loud and long enough to cause permanent hearing damage. 'It's really hard to describe how fucked up those horns were,' Paul Champ, the lawyer who filed the injunction that ultimately forced an end to the honking — but not the occupation — told Canada's National Observer. 'They had a schedule. Four hundred semi-trucks pulling down all together. It was dystopian.' Champ was initially reluctant to get involved. 'I believe really deeply in protest, and it doesn't matter what issue you're protesting. You should have the right to be out there. There's lots of reasonable reasons to disagree with certain COVID measures and given how significant the impact was on people's life, people should protest,' he said. He also felt protest leaders shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of a few bad actors, like those who defecated on residents' lawns or sent fireworks bouncing off apartment walls. But the damage done by the horns, along with the serial harassment of businesses and residents alike for wearing masks (at a time when mask-wearing was mandated for public indoor spaces to prevent COVID's spread), changed his mind. 'It's important to distinguish between the issues that the people were protesting and the manner in which they were protesting,' Champ said. 'They were honking those horns because they were trying to make living downtown extremely difficult. And they were doing that to put pressure on the government … they were kind of holding the people of downtown Ottawa hostage.' For the Conservative Party to become the movement's champion without acknowledging any of those harms spoke volumes, Champ added. Poilievre famously brought donuts to members of the Convoy during the blockades, and described them as 'bright, joyful, and peaceful Canadians championing freedom over fear.' 'Poilievre never spoke out about how miserable it was for the people who have young kids, for the elderly, people with disabilities, the shelters that are downtown, all the business people — he just didn't give a crap because he's exploiting it for political gain.' That strategy created an enormous new base for Poilievre in 2022, almost overnight. 'Pierre took a principled stance which hurt him politically when it mattered the most. This is how he earned my loyalty,' the Pleb Reporter posted on Monday. Courting the Convoy vote brought Poilievre within a hair of becoming prime minister, but ultimately backfired spectacularly. It cost him not only the election but also the parliamentary seat (Carleton, which abuts downtown Ottawa) he had held for 21 years. Judging by their engagement with this week's sentencing of Lich and Barber, however, Poilievre and the Conservatives still view their Convoy following as crucial to the party's future. In return, right-wing influencers such as The Pleb Reporter, Right Blend and others were quick to thank Poilievre for speaking up about the sentencing this week, marking the first time many of them have mentioned the Conservative leader since he lost the election. If any doubts remained about whether the two groups still feel they need each other, this week should put them to rest. Who does the state fear more? This chapter of the Freedom Convoy's legal travails also revives deeper questions about which protest groups are seen as threats by Canadian authorities, and which are not. Canada's National Observer obtained an internal report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) spy agency entitled ' Climate Change and Terrorism: From Threat Multiplication to Radicalization.' The report was produced in July 2024, two years after the Freedom Convoy. It includes a brief mention of 'the Freedom Movement' under a one-paragraph sidebar labeled 'Climate denialists and the Culture Wars.' Here, the report briefly acknowledges that climate denial is merging with other conspiracy theories to 'drive acts of serious violence or terrorism.' Among the hybrids identified are 'conspiracy theories about government attempts to restrict individual freedoms (e.g. 'climate lockdown').' But the majority of the document — some 90 per cent of the text — focuses on threats posed by environmentalists. 'In Canada, a significant increase in the frequency or severity of extreme weather is likely to drive radicalization to violence and increase the threat from environmentally focused terrorists in the medium to long term,' the report states. It further predicts the 'increased use of extreme weather events in propaganda by violent extremists to radicalize and recruit new supporters, notably by assigning blame for climate-driven disasters on specific groups (migrants, politicians, industries, etc.).' Headings that follow include 'Eco-terrorism,' 'Violent fringes of the environmental movement,' and 'Eco-Fascists.' CSIS did not reply to queries about this report from Canada's National Observer. Asked whether the organization views eco-radicals as a greater threat to national security than right-wing groups like the Freedom Convoy, a spokesperson wrote by email: 'CSIS's 2024 Public report — available online — provides a detailed overview of how CSIS views the current global threat environment.' That report, however, only mentions 'climate change' once in passing, without naming any specific related threats. It says nothing about eco-terrorism, climate denialism or the Freedom Convoy. James Turk, director for the Centre for Free Expression, reviewed the document. The CSIS Integrated Threat Assessment Centre is a specialized organization whose job is to look at the rise in terrorism and other threats, so it makes sense the report doesn't dwell on the 'culture wars' and climate denial, he said in an interview with Canada's National Observer. But viewing the environmental movement through the lens of terrorism creates an environment where the discussion shifts from how to limit radicalization rather than how to limit the damages of climate change, he said. 'Let's prevent the problem rather than figure out how we're going to police the outcome if we don't remedy the problem,' Turk said. Who's scarier, eco-terrorists or right-wing radicals? It's common for protesters from all ideological backgrounds to feel unjustly persecuted by police. But for all the complaints from Conservatives and Freedom Convoy members over their rough treatment at the end of their blockade, the Convoy's start was marked by an unusual level of police cooperation. 'The big question was why the police did not enforce any laws for that particular group,' said Joao Velloso, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa. When truckers started pulling into downtown Ottawa, he noted, police didn't even hand out tickets for illegal parking. 'It's quite scary that police can decide to not enforce any laws. That's quite dangerous for democracy.' Images of police officers shaking hands and taking selfies with protesters emerged not just from Ottawa, but also from other convoy blockades throughout the country, like the one in Coutts, Alberta, where some of the protesters were later found to have been stockpiling assault weapons. Each of these groups was blocking critical infrastructure, collectively inflicting billions of dollars of damage on the national economy. This paints a stark contrast to the treatment given to environmental and Indigenous protesters who target infrastructure. During the Fairy Creek protests against old growth logging on Vancouver Island in 2021, RCMP officers were filmed tearing the masks off protesters before spraying them point blank in the face with pepper spray — tactics a judge later declared illegal — for blocking a logging road. Two years before that, during the Wet'suwet'en protests against BC's Coastal GasLink pipeline, RCMP dispatched snipers ahead of a militarized arrest of Indigenous protesters and journalists, generating international headlines. It is hard to compare how various protest groups are treated because with all the different factions and protest methods it's rarely an apples to apples comparison. For example, the 'Freedom Convoy' protests were exceptional because the protesters utilized huge hard-to-remove trucks, which he says may have thrown a spanner in the police response in Ottawa. While Turk emphasized it's 'hard to generalize' which groups are perceived and treated as a bigger threat by the state, overall, 'people who see themselves as defenders of the environment have been treated more harshly than people who are promoting the exploitation of the environment,' Turk said. In Canada, property rights and trespass law 'are used to justify harsh treatment of many progressive protests' including ones that interfere with logging, pipelines and energy infrastructure or advocate for Palestinian solidarity, he said. Many environmental, climate and land defender movements go against the status quo — anchored by the political, economic, legal and corporate landscape in Canada — and are therefore likely to be perceived as a threat, Turk added, nodding to the immense power and influence of fossil fuel lobby groups both in Canada and the US. Powerful lobby groups influence the political agenda and seek to shape views on national threats, whether it pertains to war or climate change — and right now, it appears fossil fuel interests are shaping the narrative, Turk said. 'When we talk about who we're afraid of, we're afraid of the left,' said Meaghan Daniel, a Montreal lawyer who has defended activists and Indigenous protest movements across the country. Daniel has roots in activism herself, and was deeply involved in the left-wing G20 protests in Toronto in 2010, where 1,100 people were arrested in the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. The police chief in charge of that operation, Bill Blair, was later put in charge of CSIS and the RCMP as public safety minister. 'For a long time we've seen extensive surveillance and infiltration of far-left groups, but we didn't see that [with the Freedom Convoy],' Daniel said. ''We didn't even see the acknowledgement of far-right groups until about a decade after the G20.' That helps explain why authorities were caught 'flat-footed' by Convoy groups in 2022, when they seized critical infrastructure all across the nation with almost no effort to prevent them until it was too late. 'I think they were really surprised at the existence of far-right extremist organizing.' Even after all levels of government awoke to the scale of the threat, the way police finally ended the Convoy protests was far more peaceful than similar actions against major left-wing acts of civil disobedience. Almost no arrests were made, and in the end only three people were criminally charged. During the Wet'suwet'en protests, RCMP arrested 74 people in four separate raids. At Fairy Creek, the number of arrests once again surpassed 1,100 and many were prosecuted. 'If you look at all the mass incarceration events, they're almost entirely left-wing,' Daniel said. At the same time, Daniel agrees that the Crown's recommendation of 7 and 8 year jail terms for Lich and Barber, respectively, is far longer than typical for protest organizers. 'I don't want to see a huge, long jail sentence happening,' she said. 'Aggressive policing only ends up radicalizing people. Whenever forceful removal of a protester happens, usually that protester in turn doesn't become more compliant and trusting of the state. The opposite happens.'
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In the news today: Three miners rescued from B.C. mine
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed… Three miners rescued from B.C. mine Three miners 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. said the three men were safely bought to the surface at about 10:40 p.m. on Thursday. It said Kevin Coumbs, Darien Maduke and Jesse Chubaty — contractors for B.C.-based Hy-Tech Drilling — were in good health and spirits after being trapped underground by two rockfalls on Tuesday morning. Newmont said that the men had consistent access to food, water, and air in a refuge chamber of the gold and copper mine about 500 kilometres northwest of Terrace, B.C. It described an operation involving drones and a remote-controlled scoop that dug away a massive rockfall, estimated to be 20 to 30 metres long and seven to eight metres high. Here's what else we're watching… Hockey players' acquittal leaves mark in London, Ont. The acquittal of five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team who were accused of sexual assault continues to reverberate in the southwestern Ontario city where their high-profile trial played out. Dozens gathered outside the London, Ont., courthouse Thursday evening to show support for the complainant, while rallies earlier in the day saw a mix of supporters for the woman and the players. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote were all acquitted of sexual assault, and McLeod of a separate charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault, in a ruling the defence deemed a 'resounding vindication.' Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia found the complainant's testimony was not credible or reliable, and that there were 'troubling aspects' in how she delivered some of her evidence. Carroccia said she found there was 'consent not vitiated by fear,' noting the absence of physical force, violence or threats during the 2018 encounter. Canada condemns Israel over humanitarian crisis Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday accused the Israeli government of failing to prevent a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and of violating international law by denying aid. In a post on X, Carney said Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by 'comprehensive provision' of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Israel's parliament on Wednesday approved a symbolic motion to annex the West Bank. Annexation of the West Bank could make it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel, which is seen internationally as the only realistic way to resolve the conflict. Carney said Canada supports a two-state solution, with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand set to attend a UN conference next week in New York on the issue. The Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs said Hamas does not want a ceasefire agreement and wants to retain power at any cost. Montreal group pushes back on U.S. aid cuts A Montreal-based organization promoting democracy and digital rights is using a billboard in New York's iconic Times Square to urge Americans to resist cuts to U.S. foreign aid. 'A retreat by the United States will mean that the weight balances in favour of digital authoritarianism, and away from what are essentially Canadian values,' said Alex Dalessio, executive director of eQualitie. The organization works to advance digital security for civil society and media around the world, allowing people in oppressive states to circumvent censorship and surveillance to communicate securely. Dalessio's group has partnered with the American branch of Transparency International to post a 10-second message urging Americans to 'support foreign aid' on a video billboard in the heart of Manhattan over 90 days. Dalessio said the campaign isn't 'targeted' at the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and noted that European countries are also cutting back on foreign aid. Lack of seniors downsizing creates housing logjam 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. But the reality is a bit different when it comes time to sell, Lebow, who works in the Greater Toronto Area, said in an interview. Experts say it's a myth that seniors who own their homes are keen to downsize to fund their retirements, when the reality is they're largely staying put, in part because they don't like the downsizing options, making it harder for young prospective buyers to break into the housing market. Seniors are in fact the demographic that's least likely to move, according to data from the 2016 census. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
