News briefs for Monday, May 19, 2025
A collection of breaking news briefs filed on Monday, May 19, 2025
9:39 AM
Two men and one woman are facing charges after a police investigation this month into drug trafficking and firearms in the St. Matthews neighbourhood.
A number of items were seized, including two replica air pistols, a magazine for SKS ammunition, a large quantity of assorted rounds of ammunition, approximately 131 grams of fentanyl with an estimated street value of $13,100, approximately 0.5 gram of crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $40, approximately $600 in Canadian currency, drug trafficking materials and packaging, and scales.
On May 17, with the assistance of the Tactical Support Team, the Guns and Gangs Unit, the Canine Unit, the East District Community Support Unit, the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems/Drone Unit, and Central District General Patrol officers, investigators executed two warrants on an apartment suite in the 400 block of Toronto Street.
Two adult males and one adult female were taken into custody without incident. They each face charges related to drug possession, trafficking, and firearms possession. The woman was released on two undertakings. The men were detained in custody.
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Canada Standard
4 hours ago
- Canada Standard
"Canadian politicians must distance themselves from extremists": Journalist Mocha Bezirgan alleges assault by Khalistanis at Vancouver rally
Vancouver [Canada], June 8 (ANI): An independant Canadian investigative journalist on Sunday alleged that he was physically assaulted and 'threatened' by a group of Khalistan supporters and had his phone snatched while reporting their rally in Vancouver. The journalist, Mocha Bezirgan, who posted his ordeal on social media platform X said that the Khalistani extremist movement in Canada has raised serious security concerns and strained ties between India and Canada. 'It just happened two hours ago and I'm still shaking,' Bezirgan told ANI in a phone interview. 'They acted like thugs - crowding in on me, grabbing my phone, trying to stop me recording.' The incident occurred while Bezirgan was in Vancouver city to cover a rally organised by Khalistan supporters. The Canadian journalist described the attack as 'thuggery' and said he was targeted for his editorial independence and past coverage of Khalistan-related protests. Earlier he took to X to post, 'I've been surrounded by a group of Khalistanis who grabbed my phone out of my hand and threatened me. Naturally I'm a bit shaken, but not deterred.' Bezirgan further said that the pro-Khalistan movement has led to acts of vandalism, intimidation, and violent rhetoric, despite not being widespread within the Sikh community. On being asked about Khalistani extremism, the Canadian investigative journalist said, 'This is a movement headed by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). They are the ones organising it, and most of the time, it's the same people attending these protests, whether it be in Ontario, British Columbia, US, UK, New Zealand. They mobilise people to come from local Gurudwaras to create a little bit of crowd, but there are bigger political organizations like the World Sikh Organization which is based in Canada and they are they have a troubled history and they do the political cover in Canada. He highlighted that larger political organizations such as the World Sikh Organization, based in Canada, provide political cover for the movement. 'Their executives include current and former MPs and ministers, who have spread influence across Canadian institutions,' said the Canadian journalist. Bezirgan also expressed concern over the reluctance of Canadian politicians to condemn these extremist groups. 'Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, the NDP, and some Liberal MPs recently attended a Nagar Kirtan in Surrey, BC, which had significant Khalistani influence. They shared the stage with Santokh Singh Kelha, a convicted Sikh Canadian who conspired to bomb an airplane,' Bezirgan said. Bezirgan condemned the glorification of violence by these groups, who the journalist said speak openly about plans to ambush and kill India's current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. '...Because of the tensions between Canada and India, it's a very highly political subject, but I feel like we are disregarding what's happening underground. What these people are saying, how they are exercising their free speech while they are celebrating the assassins of Indira Gandhi and saying that they are going to ambush and kill India's Prime Minister, Modi's politics at the G7. I asked them Are you going to kill his politics the same way you killed Indira Gandhi's politics? Because they refer to the assassins as their forefathers. They say we are the descendants of the killers of Indira Gandhi, and they are glorifying these acts of violence...' 'It is disturbing that Canadian politicians continue to associate with such extremists, despite their violent history and inflammatory rhetoric,' Bezirgan said. He warned that lack of media coverage and public awareness in Canada allows such events and political participation to go unchecked. Bezirgan called for greater accountability and awareness to prevent normalization of extremism. 'As a citizen, I expect my representatives to distance themselves from extremists and those with violent pasts.' The investigative journalist emphasized that ignoring these issues would embolden extremist groups and escalate tensions between India and Canada. 'Today's thuggery I was subjected to was not the first time,' said the journalist who posted visuals on his social media platform X about an event from March 2024 when 'Khalistan supporters, armed with daggers, swords, and spears, gathered in Edmonton, Alberta to protest against India's high commissioner to Canada.' Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed on June 6 that he will represent India at the upcoming G-7 summit in Canada next week, after he was invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during a telephone call. (ANI)
Montreal Gazette
6 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
‘Complicit with a totalitarian regime': Canada's border rules are landing asylum seekers in ICE detention
News By Canadian authorities have returned more than 1,600 asylum seekers to the United States in 2025 without hearing their case for refugee protection, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Many have landed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The removals are a product of the longstanding Safe Third Country Agreement, which requires anyone seeking refugee protection in Canada or the U.S. to claim asylum in the first of the two countries they reach. This means many asylum seekers who attempt to enter Canada through the U.S. are turned back at the border. The agreement is based on the assumption both the U.S. and Canada have sufficiently robust refugee protection systems. But with the U.S. asylum system now suspended and amid reports of refugee claimants facing deportation without so much as an interview, Canadian advocates say the U.S. is no longer safe for those fleeing persecution. Canadian authorities must stop the removals, they say, and allow refugee claimants to plead their cases on this side of the border. CBSA data shared with The Gazette show authorities sent a total of 1,624 asylum seekers back to the U.S. between Jan. 1 and June 2, 2025. Though the deportation data isn't broken down by location, just over 40 per cent of all asylum seekers in 2025 — deported or not — made their claims at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing, south of Montreal, CBSA data shows. Unless they have legal status in the U.S., all asylum seekers returned from Canada are transferred into ICE custody, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement. Canadian authorities 'are complicit with an increasingly totalitarian regime,' said Wendy Ayotte, a member of Bridges Not Borders, a grassroots organization of people living near the now shuttered Roxham Road crossing. Ayotte called Canadian authorities 'cruel' for sending asylum seekers into the hands of the same immigration authorities who deported more than 100 Venezuelan men to a high-security El Salvador prison and reportedly removed U.S. citizens from their own country. Her organization maintains a web page with information for asylum seekers planning to cross into Canada, which Ayotte said sees a steady flow of web traffic. 'A lot of people are totally ignorant' of the Safe Third Country Agreement, Ayotte said, including of how to assert exemptions that allow certain groups of people to claim asylum when crossing from the U.S. One exemption is for those with family members in Canada. But some asylum seekers with legitimate connections are struggling to prove it, according to Jenn McIntyre, coordinator of the Canada-U.S. Border Rights Clinic, which provides legal assistance to migrants seeking protection in Canada. 'We do see people who approach the border and should be found eligible under the Safe Third Country Agreement because they have family members in Canada, but they don't necessarily have all of the information' needed to assert their eligibility, she said. 'They don't always have all the correct documentation on hand. 'And so we do see people turned back from the border even though they have families in Canada. The consequences of getting turned back are very severe.' Most people are being detained upon return to the U.S., she said, which could eventually see them deported to the very country they fled. 'When a person makes a claim for refugee protection at a port of entry, a CBSA border service officer will determine if, on a balance of probabilities, evidence shows that the refugee claimant is subject to the Safe Third Country Agreement,' CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said in an email. The onus to prove the right to seek protection is on the asylum seeker, Purdy said. But that isn't always easy for someone fleeing persecution, according to Ayotte. 'Imagine someone without any prior preparation or knowledge presenting themselves at the border and, all of a sudden, they're going through an interview. But they don't understand the purpose of the interview,' she said. Some of those seeking asylum at the border are Haitian, said Abdulla Daoud, executive director of the Refugee Centre in Montreal. In February, U.S. President Donald Trump removed deportation protections for Haitians facing continuing gang violence that has seen more than a million people in the country become homeless. Many Haitians have family in Canada, Daoud said, making them eligible to claim asylum. Daoud said he, too, had heard of people turned away despite a family connection. Others are truly ineligible, he said, but have come to the border without understanding the rules. 'They are typically the most vulnerable of the vulnerable,' he said. By turning them away, Canadian officials 'are doing ICE's job for them.' Most people claiming asylum in Canada have a legitimate fear of persecution or even death, Daoud said. In 2024, nearly 80 per cent of asylum seekers who made their case to an immigration judge were granted refugee status (excluding claims that were withdrawn or abandoned). Daoud said this proves most claims are legitimate. If eight out of 10 asylum seekers have a legitimate claim and those returned to the U.S. are facing increasing odds of deportation 'what is the statistical probability that we're sending people to their death?' The contested agreement has been challenged in the courts. In 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld it, but sent a question over its constitutionality back to a lower court. Though especially concerning now, the Safe Third Country Agreement, first signed in 2002, has never been acceptable, said Adam Sadinsky, advocacy co-chair at the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, which is participating in the continuing legal challenge. 'The way that refugees and asylum seekers are treated in the United States has always been problematic,' Sadinsky said. But he said the system has only become worse under Trump. 'What's clear in the United States now is that the asylum process is not being respected,' Sadinsky said. In an emailed statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson Julie Lafortune said the U.S. 'continues to meet the criteria ... to be a designated safe third country.' She said Ottawa continues to monitor developments in the U.S. to 'ensure that the conditions that led to the designation as a safe third country continue to be met.' Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab's office declined The Gazette's request for an interview. The Liberal government has since tabled Bill C-2, which, among other measures, would further restrict migrants' ability to claim asylum.
Vancouver Sun
a day ago
- Vancouver Sun
American father wanted for allegedly killing his three daughters may be trying to flee to Canada
An American military veteran accused of kidnapping and killing his three young daughters near Leavenworth, Washington, is still at large, possibly near the Canadian border in Washington state. Travis Decker's connection to Canada focuses on apparent plans to flee to this country in the days leading up to the deaths of his three daughters. According to court documents and a U.S. Marshals Service affidavit, Decker conducted several Google searches on May 26, 2025, such as 'how does a person move to Canada,' 'how to relocate to Canada,' and 'jobs Canada.' He also visited the official Canadian government job website, 'Find a job – This site provides resources for finding employment and information about working in Canada , suggesting he was looking for practical steps to secure work as part of a relocation plan. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. While specific details of every site he visited are not public, his search terms and the official nature of the websites accessed align with typical pre-arrival research steps . These include understanding immigration pathways and requirements, exploring job markets and employment resources, gathering information about settling in Canada, such as housing and health care. These searches occurred just days before Decker's daughters were reported missing and subsequently found dead, indicating an intent to leave the United States for Canada around the time of the alleged crimes . The bodies of Decker's daughters were discovered near a campground in Chelan County, Washington, relatively close to the Canadian border and approximately 11 miles from the Pacific Crest Trail, a well-known route that leads directly into Canada. Authorities believe Decker may have been planning to use his military survival and navigation skills to escape into Canada undetected, possibly via remote terrain, such as the Pacific Crest Trail. His training included land navigation, survival, long-distance movement, and operating in woodland and mountainous terrain — skills that would be critical for traversing remote areas near the Canadian border . Both law enforcement and family members have noted Decker's ability to live off grid for extended periods, reportedly up to 2.5 months, using his survival knowledge to remain hidden for an extended period. This has shaped their search strategy, focusing on wilderness areas and trails that require advanced survival abilities. The U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement agencies have expanded their search to areas near the Canadian border , and they are considering the possibility that Decker may have attempted to cross into Canada to evade prosecution. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
