Notable Canadian cases where an accused was found not criminally responsible
A judge has ruled that Pierre Ny St-Amand, 53, was not criminally responsible for the 2023 bus attack on a Laval, Que., daycare that killed two small children and injured six others. Superior Court Justice Éric Downs concluded Ny St-Amand was experiencing psychosis and could not discern right from wrong. He has been ordered detained in a psychiatric hospital.
Here's a look at some other high-profile Canadian cases in which there was a not criminally responsible finding:
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Global News
28 minutes ago
- Global News
Nova Scotia strike that turned deadly a century ago a milestone for workers' rights
During Nova Scotia's storied 300-year history of coal mining, one deadly riot in 1925 proved to be pivotal for workers' rights in Canada. One hundred years ago today, William Davis — a 37-year-old Cape Breton coal miner and father of nine — was shot to death by a special constable hired by the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO) — a monopoly mine owner that had repeatedly turned to violence to end strikes over poor wages and unsafe working conditions. 'William Davis's story highlights the many sacrifices that those unionized workers made when they stood up against oppression,' says Danny Cavanagh, president of the 70,000-member Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. 'It serves as a reminder of a historic struggle that workers faced to secure their rights.' Davis's death on the outskirts of New Waterford, N.S., commemorated every year in Nova Scotia on June 11, was the painful culmination of a long series of strikes and chaotic skirmishes. Story continues below advertisement During that time, the lives of mine workers and their families were tied to the fortunes of the corporation, which supplied them with homes and offered them credit at company stores that provided food, clothing and supplies few could afford on subsistence wages. Most miners were left deeply indebted, their hopes for higher wages frequently dashed. On July 1, 1923, a strike at the BESCO steel plant in Sydney, N.S., saw hundreds of soldiers and provincial police on horseback harassing and beating strikers and uninvolved citizens. A local publication described the resulting melee as a 'reign of terror.' In Cape Breton, the event is still known as 'Bloody Sunday.' 'That strike was crushed but there's a number of those moments in the lead-up to 1925 as the pressure ratchetted up again and again,' said Lachlan MacKinnon, Canadian research chair in post-industrial communities at Cape Breton University in Sydney. In early 1925, the miners were stunned to learn BESCO would again cut their wages. In response, District 26 of the United Mine Workers of America decided to go on strike. About 12,000 miners walked off the job. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Some unionized miners were thrown out of their company homes. And the corporation eventually withdrew credit from the company stores, making it difficult for miners to keep their families fed. 'People hunted for rabbits and deer and whatever else they could get,' MacKinnon said in an interview. 'And so hunger was really setting in by the end of that winter.' Story continues below advertisement At one point, BESCO vice-president J.E. McClurg taunted the miners, saying: 'We hold the cards. Things are getting better every day they stay out. Let them stay out two months or six months, it matters not. Eventually, they will have to come to us.' The dispute came to a head when the water and electricity supplied to the miners' homes was cut off. The miners decided to head to a company-controlled power plant and pumping station at Waterford Lake, where they planned to cut off power to the mine in New Waterford. According to Nova Scotia's Museum of Industry, between 700 and 3,000 miners, their relatives and neighbours walked to the plant where they were met by scores of special constables, many of them on horseback, armed with pistols and batons. The company police opened fire as the crowd closed in. What happened next is subject to dispute. One account suggests Davis was shot as he grabbed the reins of a constable's horse. Another version tells of the miner being hit by random gunfire. Up to four other people were wounded. Many others were badly beaten or trampled. 'After that, the miners overwhelmed the company constables and they brought them back to a (New Waterford) park,' MacKinnon said. 'There was concern, especially among the clergy, that the special constables would be lynched.' Story continues below advertisement Instead they were thrown in jail and eventually sent to Halifax. Meanwhile, there was immediate retaliation against BESCO as all of its company stores were looted and burned. The era of the company store was over. Davis was given the largest funeral the town of New Waterford had ever seen. And at a union convention later that year, June 11 was declared Davis Day. Miners across the region were given the day off. 'Ultimately, the British Empire Steel Corporation … collapsed and was reformulated under new ownership,' said MacKinnon. 'And the idea of using special constables was widely repudiated …. The government of Canada launched an inquiry.' Nova Scotia's Trade Union Act was adopted in 1937. Bobby Burchell, a former miner and union executive, said Davis and his fellow miners made a huge contribution to the advancement of workers' rights. 'Those guys back in the '20s, they made a big difference in the laws, not only for Nova Scotia but … for all of Canada,' said Burchell, who worked in the coal mine at Lingan, N.S., for six years before serving in senior union roles for the next 34 years. 'They were tired of living under company rules, with company stores and company doctors. They wanted some independence. They wanted some safety in the mines. They wanted better wages. They decided to fight for those benefits …. And laws were enacted to make the mines safer.' Story continues below advertisement Cavanagh said Davis's sacrifice remains a key milestone in the province's labour history. 'Reflecting on this story, we encourage people to think more critically about the ongoing challenges we face today,' he said. 'In 2025, we're still struggling to get paid sick days and making sure that workers have a living wage. Even though we've come a long way, there's still much work to do around occupational health and safety laws.' As for Burchell, his father, uncles and brothers all worked in the mines. And for the past 25 years, he has served as the master of ceremonies at the annual Davis Day commemoration at Davis Square in New Waterford. That's where he'll be on Wednesday, along with some of Davis's relatives and Bea Bruske, president of the 3.3-million-member Canadian Labour Congress. Over the years, Davis Day has come to mean more than just a tribute to the fallen miner and his fight for fair wages. The event, also known as Miners' Memorial Day, has become a day of remembrance for the more than 2,500 miners who have died as a result of accidents or disasters since 1838. Ceremonies will take place in many former coal mining towns across Nova Scotia, which has only one underground coal mine left at Donkin, N.S., where operations have been suspended since 2023.
Global News
28 minutes ago
- Global News
Pakistani national from Ontario extradited to U.S. on terror charges
A Pakistani national from Ontario wanted by the U.S. on terror-related charges for allegedly targeting Jewish institutions in New York City has been extradited. The extradition Tuesday came four months after Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, consented during a Superior Court hearing in Montreal to be sent to the U.S. to stand trial. He had been jailed since his arrest on Sept. 4, 2024, in Ormstown, Que., at the behest of U.S. authorities. 'The foreign terrorist organization ISIS remains a clear and present danger to the American people, and our Jewish citizens are especially targeted by evil groups like these,' U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. 'The Department of Justice is proud to help secure this extradition, and we will prosecute this man to the fullest extent of the law.' Story continues below advertisement 1:54 How did ISIS suspect gain entry to Canada? U.S. officials have charged Khan with one count of attempting to provide material support and resources to a terrorist organization, and one count of attempting to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy If convicted, Khan faces a maximum life sentence, with a federal judge determining any sentence after considering U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Authorities have alleged Khan, prior to his arrest, was on his way to carry out a mass shooting at a Brooklyn Jewish centre around Oct. 7 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel that occurred in 2023. Khan was provisionally arrested in Canada on Sept. 4, 2024, based on a complaint filed in the Southern District of New York, according to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice. Story continues below advertisement The department says on or about Sept. 4, Khan attempted to reach the U.S.-Canada border in connection with the allegedly planned attack. 'To do so, Khan used three separate cars to travel across Canada towards the United States, before he was stopped by Canadian authorities in or around Ormstown, Canada, approximately 12 miles (19 kilometres) from the U.S.-Canada border,' the release reads. The FBI's New York, Chicago and Los Angeles field offices are investigating the case. —with files from The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Nova Scotia strike that turned deadly a century ago a milestone for workers' rights
HALIFAX – During Nova Scotia's storied 300-year history of coal mining, one deadly riot in 1925 proved to be pivotal for workers' rights in Canada. One hundred years ago today, William Davis — a 37-year-old Cape Breton coal miner and father of nine — was shot to death by a special constable hired by the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO) — a monopoly mine owner that had repeatedly turned to violence to end strikes over poor wages and unsafe working conditions. 'William Davis's story highlights the many sacrifices that those unionized workers made when they stood up against oppression,' says Danny Cavanaugh, president of the 70,000-member Nova Scotia Federation of Labour. 'It serves as a reminder of a historic struggle that workers faced to secure their rights.' Davis's death on the outskirts of New Waterford, N.S., commemorated every year in Nova Scotia on June 11, was the painful culmination of a long series of strikes and chaotic skirmishes. During that time, the lives of mine workers and their families were tied to the fortunes of the corporation, which supplied them with homes and offered them credit at company stores that provided food, clothing and supplies few could afford on subsistence wages. Most miners were left deeply indebted, their hopes for higher wages frequently dashed. On July 1, 1923, a strike at the BESCO steel plant in Sydney, N.S., saw hundreds of soldiers and provincial police on horseback harassing and beating strikers and uninvolved citizens. A local publication described the resulting melee as a 'reign of terror.' In Cape Breton, the event is still known as 'Bloody Sunday.' 'That strike was crushed but there's a number of those moments in the lead-up to 1925 as the pressure ratchetted up again and again,' said Lachlan MacKinnon, Canadian research chair in post-industrial communities at Cape Breton University in Sydney. In early 1925, the miners were stunned to learn BESCO would again cut their wages. In response, District 26 of the United Mine Workers of America decided to go on strike. About 12,000 miners walked off the job. Some unionized miners were thrown out of their company homes. And the corporation eventually withdrew credit from the company stores, making it difficult for miners to keep their families fed. 'People hunted for rabbits and deer and whatever else they could get,' MacKinnon said in an interview. 'And so hunger was really setting in by the end of that winter.' At one point, BESCO vice-president J.E. McClurg taunted the miners, saying: 'We hold the cards. Things are getting better every day they stay out. Let them stay out two months or six months, it matters not. Eventually, they will have to come to us.' The dispute came to a head when the water and electricity supplied to the miners' homes was cut off. The miners decided to head to a company-controlled power plant and pumping station at Waterford Lake, where they planned to cut off power to the mine in New Waterford. According to Nova Scotia's Museum of Industry, between 700 and 3,000 miners, their relatives and neighbours walked to the plant where they were met by scores of special constables, many of them on horseback, armed with pistols and batons. The company police opened fire as the crowd closed in. What happened next is subject to dispute. One account suggests Davis was shot as he grabbed the reins of a constable's horse. Another version tells of the miner being hit by random gunfire. Up to four other people were wounded. Many others were badly beaten or trampled. 'After that, the miners overwhelmed the company constables and they brought them back to a (New Waterford) park,' MacKinnon said. 'There was concern, especially among the clergy, that the special constables would be lynched.' Instead they were thrown in jail and eventually sent to Halifax. Meanwhile, there was immediate retaliation against BESCO as all of its company stores were looted and burned. The era of the company store was over. Davis was given the largest funeral the town of New Waterford had ever seen. And at a union convention later that year, June 11 was declared Davis Day. Miners across the region were given the day off. 'Ultimately, the British Empire Steel Corporation … collapsed and was reformulated under new ownership,' said MacKinnon. 'And the idea of using special constables was widely repudiated …. The government of Canada launched an inquiry.' Nova Scotia's Trade Union Act was adopted in 1937. Bobby Burchell, a former miner and union executive, said Davis and his fellow miners made a huge contribution to the advancement of workers' rights. 'Those guys back in the '20s, they made a big difference in the laws, not only for Nova Scotia but … for all of Canada,' said Burchell, who worked in the coal mine at Lingan, N.S., for six years before serving in senior union roles for the next 34 years. 'They were tired of living under company rules, with company stores and company doctors. They wanted some independence. They wanted some safety in the mines. They wanted better wages. They decided to fight for those benefits …. And laws were enacted to make the mines safer.' Cavanaugh said Davis's sacrifice remains a key milestone in the province's labour history. 'Reflecting on this story, we encourage people to think more critically about the ongoing challenges we face today,' he said. 'In 2025, we're still struggling to get paid sick days and making sure that workers have a living wage. Even though we've come a long way, there's still much work to do around occupational health and safety laws.' As for Burchell, his father, uncles and brothers all worked in the mines. And for the past 25 years, he has served as the master of ceremonies at the annual Davis Day commemoration at Davis Square in New Waterford. That's where he'll be on Wednesday, along with some of Davis's relatives and Bea Bruske, president of the 3.3-million-member Canadian Labour Congress. Over the years, Davis Day has come to mean more than just a tribute to the fallen miner and his fight for fair wages. The event, also known as Miners' Memorial Day, has become a day of remembrance for the more than 2,500 miners who have died as a result of accidents or disasters since 1838. Ceremonies will take place in many former coal mining towns across Nova Scotia, which has only one underground coal mine left at Donkin, N.S., where operations have been suspended since 2023. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
