Survivor of Banff rockfall says friend who died saved him
A survivor of a rockfall last week in Banff National Park says his 33-year-old roommate Hamza Benhilal, who didn't make it out alive from under the rubble, warned him of the falling rocks and saved his life. Khaled Elgamal, 28, of Surrey, B.C., remembered his friend's last moments at Bow Glacier Falls, about 200 kilometres northwest of Calgary.
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CTV News
43 minutes ago
- CTV News
Crime bill with tougher bail, sentencing provisions coming in fall: justice minister
Minister of Justice Sean Fraser responds to a question in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Thursday, June 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle OTTAWA — The Liberal government will table a bill this fall introducing stricter bail conditions and sentencing for some crimes, particularly those involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and car theft, Justice Minister Sean Fraser said in an interview. 'It's perhaps obvious, given the tenor around the criminal justice system, that reforms are in order,' Fraser told The Canadian Press. The government will consider including additional reforms but 'at minimum' will implement the crime policies the Liberals promised during the spring federal election, Fraser said. Fraser was named justice minister by Prime Minister Mark Carney in May, following an election campaign which saw Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blame the Liberals for a wave of violent crime. In their campaign platform, the Liberals in turn promised to make bail more difficult to get for some offences, including car thefts involving violence or organized crime, home invasions, and some human trafficking and smuggling offences. They also promised tougher sentencing guidelines for repeat car thieves and violent and organized crime, and to allow for consecutive sentencing for some cases of car theft and for serious and violent offences. Fraser said some parts of the country have seen an increase in certain kinds of criminal activity. 'Auto thefts, though they may be down in the GTA this year compared to last, we have seen a trend where it was becoming a bigger problem,' he noted, adding some of that was driven by organized crime. The changes to the law will establish a stronger deterrent, Fraser said. 'It's not just a reaction to something you read about in a headline,' he said. 'It's meant to send a signal to deter problematic behavior that you want to address, to help people feel safe.' Fraser said the government will consult on its plans and he's open to suggestions based on expertise and evidence. This bail reform plan comes two years after the Liberals introduced other bail-reform legislation in 2023. That came after calls from provincial leaders and many police chiefs to make bail more difficult to access for repeat violent offenders. The bill, which took effect in January 2024, made changes to bail for some firearms and weapons offences, and some circumstances in which the alleged crime involves intimate partner violence. The plan to introduce tougher measures comes after years of Conservatives accusing the Liberals of taking a 'soft' approach to crime. Asked whether the coming legislation amounts to an admission the Conservatives had a point, Fraser said he views it 'differently.' 'We hear from Canadians more broadly that there is a challenge with the criminal justice system,' he said. 'There is a challenge with the bail system.' Fraser said that while he takes issue with what he called the Conservatives' 'simplistic' slogans, Canadians across the country have 'real concerns' that can't be dismissed 'just because it's being raised in the House of Commons in a way that some may find inconvenient.' He said that while there are areas where the federal government can do more, provincial governments — some of which have called for federal bail reform — have a big role to play. That role includes making sure judges and justices of the peace who make bail decisions have proper training, and detention centres have enough capacity, Fraser said. 'We want to come into this conversation knowing that we've taken care of the challenges that fall within the federal government's purview, but we also want to enter a conversation with provinces and territories to say that we are not the only cook in the kitchen,' he said. Fraser added the federal government also wants to bring provinces and territories together to work on gathering the data needed to address crime and justice issues at the local level. 'The circumstances in rural Nova Scotia may not reflect the circumstances in downtown Toronto or in Canada's North,' he noted. The federal government wants to take a wider approach to crime prevention that also addresses mental health, addictions, youth employment and affordable housing, Fraser said. 'We also want to make sure that we go upstream and prevent fewer people from falling into a criminal lifestyle,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025. Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
National Post
44 minutes ago
- National Post
Canadian conman flees U.S. sentencing after learning how long his prison term might be
A Toronto-area conman skipped his sentencing hearing in a U.S. court, for helping swindle more than $21 million from hundreds of victims, after prosecutors alleged he kept scamming people even after his arrest and guilty plea. Article content Antonio Palazzolo, 67, did not appear in U.S. federal court in Cleveland on May 8, when he was expected to be sentenced for the large, sophisticated investment swindle pulled by a gang of Toronto-based conmen. Article content Article content Article content What was supposed to be his long-delayed sentencing hearing after his guilty plea in 2022 turned into an abrupt five-minute session when Palazzolo failed to join Judge J. Philip Calabrese, two U.S. prosecutors and his own lawyer in court. Article content Article content If Palazzolo had shown up, he would have heard prosecutors tell the judge that the U.S. government no longer supports a reduced sentence because 'he has continued to engage in similar fraudulent conduct since pleading guilty in this case,' according to a government memo filed in court a week before the hearing. Article content Prosecutors said Palazzolo kept pulling an almost identical fraud as the one he pleaded guilty to while he remained free in Canada on an unsecured US$20,000 bond while awaiting his sentencing. Article content As his hearing approached, three victims contacted U.S. authorities, two claiming he had ripped them off for big bucks and another that Palazzolo was trying to defraud him as recently as late April, the judge was told. Article content Article content One victim showed the government an invoice from Palazzolo for US$10,000 for a pink diamond dated April 24, according to court records. That's just two weeks before his scheduled court date. Article content Article content Palazzolo's sentencing in Ohio was scheduled after his wire fraud conspiracy conviction from his time as a crooked salesman with Paragon International Wealth Management, Inc., a Toronto firm where he went by the alias John Carson. He and other conmen duped victims in Canada and the United States into buy coloured diamonds for much more than they were worth.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Woman wants to return to India after vicious attack by strangers in Osborne Village
A Winnipeg woman is recovering in hospital after being brutally attacked by strangers on her way home from an evening shift. CBC is only identifying the 23-year-old by her first name as she fears for her safety. The attack happened on June 22 around midnight. Tanpreet had gotten off of her bus and was walking to her apartment in Osborne Village just like she has done for the past two years. "I was almost in front of my apartment across the street, and then I just heard like running footsteps.… When I looked … back, they just pushed me and I was on the ground." She says the two attackers beat her and stabbed her multiple times, in her back, stomach, legs, and left eye. They then took her phone, credit cards, and IDs. Tanpreet says she was knocked unconscious and does not know how long the attack lasted, but when she woke up in the ambulance she didn't think she would make it. "I was just thinking like I will die. I can't live anymore," she said. Since then, she's had multiple surgeries, including one to repair the damage to her left eye. She says the attack has left her traumatized, and she no longer feels safe in Winnipeg. She says she would like to go back home to India where most of her family, including her mother and father, live. Ramandeep is Tanpreet's sister-in-law, whom CBC is identifying by only her last name to protect Tanpreet's identity. "She doesn't deserve this," Ramandeep said. "She came here for a better future and not for this." With Tanpreet's brother visiting family in India, Ramandeep has become a source of support. While she is trying to remain strong for Tanpreet, she says the attack has left her shaken. "I can't sleep like from two days … when I close my eyes I can see … how badly she got stabbed," Ramandeep said. She wants justice for her sister-in-law, and more done to make sure the streets of Winnipeg are safe. "We need accountability and we need action so no one else has to live through such a horrible situation," she said. For now, she says she's doing all she can to help Tanpreet recover, hoping to see her back to her normal self soon, but expects it will be a long road to recovery. Winnipeg police say the major crimes unit has taken over the investigation and no arrests have been made so far.
