
More Than $1 Million Worth of Cannabis Seized at Calgary Airport Over Past Year, Border Agency Says
The drugs' street value was estimated at $1.2 million, CBSA said, adding most of the cannabis seized was heading out of the country.

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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Canadian tourist killed in Costa Rica home invasion: police
A Canadian man was shot to death while on vacation with his partner in Costa Rica. A 40-year-old Canadian man, identified as Dier, was fatally shot during a home invasion robbery at a home in the Los Jobos area of Tamarindo, in Costa Rica on July 11, Santa Cruz police told CBC News in a statement in Spanish. Dier was allegedly inside the property when a male suspect entered the place to rob the pair, police said. Police said Dier's partner allegedly began to scream when she saw the male suspect. Dier then went to the hallway, meeting the suspect, who fired shots at his head, chest, and back. Dier was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He was believed to be from the Greater Toronto Area, according to social media posts. Police said the investigation is ongoing and they are still looking for the suspect. In a statement to CBC, Global Affairs Canada said it is aware of the death of the Canadian citizen in Costa Rica. "We express our sincere condolences to the family and friends. Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather more information," said spokesperson Dina Destin.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sask. judge stays immigration fraud convictions after 'systemic collapse' during border agency investigation
A man found guilty for his role in an immigration fraud scheme has had the charges stayed because a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) agent working on the case was accused of intimidating witnesses, then allowed to investigate and clear himself. Saskatoon Court of King's Bench Justice Naheed Bardai's 106-page decision, issued on July 23, found that even though it is "quite probable" the allegations of intimidation were false, the self-investigation violated the accused's Section 7 Charter rights to life, liberty, and security of the person. The ruling is the latest in a legal process that began in 2018, when Gurpreet Singh was arrested as part of an investigation by CBSA. Singh would eventually face 12 charges, all of which were related to his preparation of false letters of employment promising foreign nationals jobs as religious workers at Gurdwars, houses of worship for members of the Sikh faith. Bardai oversaw Singh's 2022 trial and convicted Singh on 10 of the 12 charges, but before sentencing could take place, Singh's defence lawyers brought an application for a mistrial. They alleged that the Crown failed to fully disclose information about the CBSA and Crown being accused of intimidating witnesses, and that the nature of the relationship between the Crown and the CBSA resulted in a loss of objectivity and independence. The defence argued this was grounds for the conviction to be revisited, the charges to be stayed, or the trial to be reopened or declared a mistrial. The Crown disagreed, saying Singh received a fair trial. 'Serious lapse of judgement' Bardai found there had been problems with disclosure, but they were inadvertent and didn't affect the outcome of the trial. He also ruled that he not satisfied "that the evidence establishes any sort of actual intimidation." The issue was that Toban Tisdale, the lead CBSA investigator on Singh's case, was accused of intimidating witnesses, then allowed to investigate those allegations himself. "The decision of Officer Toban to involve himself in an investigation that concerned his own behaviour represents a serious lapse in judgment," Bardai wrote in his decision. Bardai said we cannot simply trust the findings of an investigation conducted by the person accused of wrongdoing. "The problems with this sort of abuse of power and self-investigation are obvious," the decision said. "This type of conduct undermines the integrity of the justice system." The judge concluded that "there is now way to turn back the clock to address this problem," since many of the witnesses that testified at the trial had now been tainted by Toban's inquiries about the alleged intimidation. Bardai ruled that he was therefore not prepared to rule on Singh's innocence. Instead, he said this was the "clearest of cases" in which a stay had to be issued. A stay is a "remedy of last resort" and halts the legal process, but doesn't determine guilt or innocence. Tavengwa Runyowa was part of Singh's legal team and agreed the stay was the correct decision. "A police officer and an agency cannot investigate and and exonerate itself for wrongdoing," Runyowa said. 'This was not a single lapse in judgment' Bardai spent part of the decision taking the CBSA to task over allowing Toban to investigate himself. He said the Crown could have stopped Toban, other officers at the CBSA office in Regina could have stepped in, or senior CBSA managers could have directed Toban to remove himself. None chose to do so, Bardai said. "This was not a single lapse in judgment by a single individual. This was a systemic collapse," Bardai wrote. Runyowa said his client is elated about Bardai's decision. He said this is not just a single officer's mistake, but a system that is so dysfunctional that people within it "don't recognize that it is broken." "That should trouble the public, that an organization as large and powerful as the CBSA, which deals with all sorts of issues, national security, border security, immigration enforcement, can have such a faulty and defective structure that it could allow something like this to happen," Runyowa said. The CBSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Hamilton Spectator
17 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
B.C. sea cucumber poacher gets six-year sentence for ‘ravaging the ocean'
A British Columbia judge has sentenced a man with the longest record of Fisheries Act violations in Canadian history to six years in prison for 'ravaging the ocean and flouting the law.' Scott Steer and his co-accused corporation faced eight charges including fishing in a closed area without a licence, selling more than $1 million worth of illegally harvested sea cucumbers and breaching an earlier order forbidding him from possessing fishing vessels. Steer's co-accused in the case was a numbered company owned by his wife, Melissa Steer, but the company was found to be a 'sham.' B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crerar in Nanaimo said in his ruling that Steer has a 'remarkably long record' of fisheries violations and other offences dating back more than a decade, and short stints in jail have 'wholly failed to deter or rehabilitate' him. The ruling notes that Steer, who was convicted of all eight charges had 34 prior convictions from 13 cases dating back to 2008. They include illegally harvesting more than 1,000 pounds of crabs from Vancouver's harbour, defrauding a vessel owner, breaching conditions in a case of intimate-partner violence and various probation violations. Steer was banned from fishing for 10 years in 2013, when his wife told the court her husband's actions were 'uncharacteristic' and regrettable. He sought a more lenient sentence by claiming he'd be rehabilitated. 'The Steers' actions and ongoing breaches since that date indicate that their statements to the court were cynical self-serving falsehoods,' Crerar's ruling in the new case says. Crerar's ruling says Steer and his wife continued their illegal fishing operations even while his trial was taking place. Steer's persistent 'knowing and mocking flouting of the law' indicates the 'unlikelihood of remorse or rehabilitation, now or in future.' The ruling says Steer told a witness during the trial that it was 'pointless' and a 'waste of time,' and that he gave evidence in court that was 'clearly and deliberately false.' 'The offenders' misconduct in this regard was not limited to the trial on this matter. It spanned the entirety of this prosecution,' Crerar's ruling says. The judge found Steer's long record and repeated Fisheries Act violations 'highly aggravating' in sentencing. 'The Crown understands Mr Steer's record to be the longest record of Fisheries Act violations in Canadian history. Warnings, fines, prohibitions, and multiple incarceration sentences of various lengths have all failed to deter or reform Mr. Steer,' the ruling says. The judge said Steer breached four prohibition orders in his latest list of offences, which 'further illustrates his contempt for the court process, as well as the futility of protecting the public and marine resources through further prohibitions or less intrusive means reliant on his voluntary compliance and reform.' The judge found Steer's operation was 'complex' and involved multiple co-conspirators, and the 'scale and sophistication' of it was illustrated by the more than $1 million in illegal sea cucumber sales at the heart of the case. The sales were made in 2019, while the illegal fishing charges involved more than 24,000 pounds of sea cucumbers that year. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says sea cucumbers are considered a medicinal food in Asia, with China being the biggest export market. It is a 'limited entry fishery' in B.C., restricted to a few dozen commercial licence holders who can only harvest by hand for eight weeks a year. Judge Crerar's ruling says Steer sought leniency based on the needs of his family, including his four children with his wife and another child from her previous relationship. The ruling says other judges had warned Steer in past cases about consequences for his family due to him being sent to jail. 'Steer continued in his illegal fishing operations with eyes wide open to the likely consequences of his illegal activities on his family life,' Crerar's ruling says. 'It is through his voluntary actions that he is separated from his family.' The ruling says Steer believes himself 'unbound by laws' and that short stints in jail as punishments are 'literally a joke.' Crerar gave Steer six years in prison and also fined him and his company $1.1 million 'specifically to condemn the Steers' deliberate, destructive, and dishonest actions.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .