Canada oh Canada

The executive director of Premier Danielle Smith’s office says that instead of criticizing her, First Nations chiefs should fix their own communities, describing them as entrenched in poverty, drugs and violence.

Bruce McAllister, in a post on social media Thursday, says the chiefs should focus on their own problems rather than having “the gall” to accuse the premier of treason over Alberta’s looming separation referendum.

McAllister accused the chiefs of engaging in “childish nonsense” and said their misaligned priorities make him wonder if they’re taking orders from someone else.

“People are sick and tired of hearing unrealistic demands from them,” McAllister writes.

“It might be tolerable if their communities were beacons of prosperity, safety, strong families and real accountability, but sadly, they’re anything but.”

He said they need to fix “heartbreaking” problems such as addictions and overdoses, housing, poverty, high unemployment, welfare, substandard schooling outcomes, high rates of children in care and domestic violence.

“Shouldn’t the priority be fixing these failures for their people?” said McAllister.

“I know we have a premier and government that care deeply about these serious issues and want to help fix them.”

McAllister acknowledged he was steering into controversy.

“I’ll probably take heat for saying these things but if we don’t, we continue to bury our heads in the sand and pretend they aren’t happening.”

The post comes after the Assembly of Treaty Chiefs, representing First Nations across Alberta, voted to ask RCMP to look into whether the Oct. 19 referendum amounts to criminal treason by Smith and her United Conservative Party.

The chiefs, earlier this week, said organizing the vote is an intentional treaty violation and that Smith’s government is ignoring serious risks to Canada’s sovereignty.

Smith responded to that Wednesday, telling reporters the chiefs should “check themselves” for such an inflammatory accusation.

Smith’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anne Many Heads, CEO for the Treaty 7 First Nations Chiefs’ Association, said in an email that the Stoney Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nation chiefs reserved comment when asked to respond to McAllister’s tweet. She said the chiefs support their earlier statement calling for Smith to be called to account for treason.

It’s not the first time accusations of treason have been thrown around in the separation debate.

In January, B.C. Premier David Eby said a meeting between an Alberta separatist group and the U.S. administration amounted to treason.

According to the Criminal Code, treason is narrowly defined. It includes sharing sensitive information “for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada” with another state, or the use of force or violence in order to overthrow a Canadian government.

Smith’s United Conservative government and the chiefs have been at odds in the separation debate, with First Nations winning a recent court decision to quash a separatist petition because the government neglected its duty to consult them.

On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote on whether to stay in Canada or whether it’s time to hold a second referendum on leaving Confederation.

Smith has championed the pro-Canada cause. She says she was obliged to call the vote in order to settle a debate reflected by hundreds of thousands of Albertans signing petitions for and against separation.

Critics call it a cynical tightrope walk by Smith to save her job by launching a referendum to assuage the separatist hardliners in her party while stumping for a united Canada in order to stay onside with the majority of voters.

McAllister has been the locus of controversy before.

Last fall, McAllister, while moderating a public meeting, urged a teen be spanked for demanding answers on a looming teachers strike. McAllister later apologized.

The BC RCMP Counter Human Trafficking Unit (CHTU) has started a new anti-human trafficking education and awareness campaign called “I Dare You to See.”

The program is designed to help the public and frontline employees recognize the signs of human trafficking and act to help protect vulnerable individuals.

“Human trafficking remains one of the most underreported and misunderstood crimes in Canada. Victims are often hidden in plain sight, making community awareness and early intervention critical tools in identifying and disrupting trafficking activities,” says a statement from BC RCMP CHTU.

“I Dare You to See” focuses on increasing awareness within the hospitality and service sectors such as hotels, restaurants, and transportation providers.

The campaign includes posters and billboards to bring awareness to the common signs of human trafficking.

Specialty training for hospitality and service industry employees.

“Human trafficking thrives in secrecy,” said Insp. Lyndsay O’Ruairc, Officer in Charge of the BC RCMP Behavioural Sciences Group “By increasing awareness and equipping people with the knowledge to recognize warning signs, we can help identify victims sooner and connect them with the support they need.”

Police say that traffickers target vulnerable individuals through manipulation, intimidation, and exploitation.

“The hospitality and service industries are uniquely positioned to help identify potential victims because their employees interact with thousands of people every day,” said Insp. O’Ruairc. “A single observation, when reported appropriately, can make a significant difference in protecting someone from ongoing exploitation.”

Members of the public can access educational resources and the campaign’s web-based learning platform at dareyoutosee.com.

Dare You to See | Human Trafficking Awareness Personal and corporate training modules to spot and report human trafficking

A British Columbia mining company has hired former U.S. secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in a strategic advisory role.

In an announcement Tuesday, Vancouver-based NovaRed Mining Inc. said Noem will support its mission of “acquiring and advancing critical mineral exploration opportunities through its artificial intelligence-enhanced technology platform.”

Noem served as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from January 2025 to March 2026. During that time, she came under fire for aggressive immigration crackdowns in U.S. cities and her handling of the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis.

After coming under scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans for a $220 million DHS advertisement campaign that heavily featured her, Noem was removed from the role and President Donald Trump appointed her as “Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas.”

In a news release, NovaRed touted the former South Dakota governor’s experience in economic development, infrastructure, energy, agriculture and national security.

“Kristi brings exceptional leadership experience and a deep understanding of the policy, regulatory, and economic factors that influence infrastructure investment, resource development, and long-term economic growth,” CEO Brian Goss said, in the release. “Her perspective and experience working across government and industry will be valuable as NovaRed advances its corporate development strategy and evaluates new opportunities.”

Noem is also quoted in the announcement, saying, “In an increasingly competitive global environment, secure and reliable access to critical minerals has become an important economic and national security priority.”

Earlier this month, NovaRed also appointed retired U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps. Colonel Mark A. Calabrese to its advisory board.

The company has a U.S. patent pending for its artificial intelligence-powered mining exploration platform. It says it has secured two properties near Princeton with potential for copper extraction.

With files from Reuters

An RCMP officer based in Quebec has been charged with uttering threats online toward U.S. President Donald Trump while he was deployed to oversee security operations at the G7 summit last year in Alberta.

According to the RCMP, the officer, 34-year-old Evenson Dumerlus of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., allegedly posted a video on his Snapchat account “in which he made threatening comments” toward the president.

Trump attended the summit, which was held June 15 to 17, 2025.

“Immediately, another one of the RCMP members, another one of his colleagues, saw the video and reported it right away, so the investigation started right there,” Guertin explained.

The accused officer was removed from duties and sent back home, she added, and he remains suspended. The RCMP’s Special Investigations Unit has since taken over the investigation.

“They are delicate investigations and complex investigations as well, so to make sure that the investigators have all their evidence that they need, that’s why it took a little bit of time before laying the charges,” the spokesperson said.

Dumerlus now faces one count of uttering threats and is scheduled to appear at the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu courthouse on July 30.

The RCMP said it takes threats seriously, whether they are online or offline, and is reminding the public that conduct online can lead to criminal charges.

“As police officers, and especially with the RCMP, we are brought to a certain standard that we have to act professionally in our personal life and our job, as well as their professional life, but especially on social media,” Guertin said.

“Just [be] mindful of what is posted on the internet, because a momentary slip can bring big consequences.”

People are urged to report this kind of activity to the RCMP by calling 514-939-8300/1-800-771-5401, the National Security Information Network (1-800-420-5805) or their local police department.

A south-end Barrie school replaced the Canadian flag for the Pride flag earlier this month, sparking a debate among many.
Under the education act in Ontario, all schools in the province must display the Canadian and provincial flags inside the building. Schools are, of course, also permitted to fly the Canadian flag on its poles outside.

However, a move to take the Canadian flag down and replace with a pride flag at a Barrie school has caught the eye of many.

Earlier this month, Trillium Woods Elementary School took down its Canadian flag and raised the pride flag instead - a move that’s receiving mixed reviews from parents.

“Never bring it down - add to it. Never bring down the Canadian flag. Too many people fought hard for the actual privilege to live here,” says Rob Cikoja, a Barrie resident.

As of Tuesday, the Canadian flag is back up on the pole outside the school sitting at half-staff.

The Simcoe County District School Board says upon the direction of the director of education or designate, a single flag other than the national flag of Canada may be raised for a specific time to recognize an event, occasion or period of significance.

The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board has a different stance, which chooses to never take down the Canadian Flag.

The following is a statement from the the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board:

“The Canadian flag flies on our flag poles. Our schools have been provided with Pride and Every Child Matters flags, which are displayed in prominent ways throughout our buildings. Flags are just one of many ways that we demonstrate to our students that our spaces are safe and welcoming.”

At the Barrie Legion, the Canadian military veteran’s unity flag was on display Tuesday where efforts are underway to get the flag accepted nationally as a symbol for all veterans. Members say they support the pride flags flying, but not at the cost of the Canadian Flag.

“I’m disappointed that the knowledge of the display of the Canadian flag - that’s what I’m disappointed in. It shouldn’t have happened. It simply shouldn’t have happened,” says Bob George, the Veterans Club of Barrie Executive. “Even the Veterans Club of Barrie - they could not put it up in place of the Canadian flag. No other flag replaces the national flag.”

“I would prefer that the Canadian flag be flown and remain up and that that flag be flown in addition to the Canadian flag,” says Bill Sargeant with the Barrie Legion.

Many parents picking their kids up from school Tuesday say they noticed the flag switch.

“Not having it up? It’s not called for, right? I think it’s the governments and everything else’s responsibility to ensure we have that Canadian flag up,” says John Doe, a Barrie Resident.

Many Canadian flags flying across the country are not in the best of condition, often old or torn, which some veterans consider disrespectful.

Members at the legion tell CTV News they would like people to drop off their old and unwanted flags so they can be discarded with respect and not just thrown out.

Leader Pierre Poilievre and Elgin—St. Thomas—London South MP Andrew Lawton say they are proposing to remove the federal sales tax on used vehicles as part of a broader affordability plan.

Lawton has introduced the measure as a private member’s bill, C-285, titled the Used Car Tax Cut Act. The proposal would amend the Excise Tax Act to remove the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the sale of used motor vehicles.

The Conservatives say the measure is intended to reduce costs for consumers amid rising prices. Data cited in the announcement indicate the average price of a used vehicle has increased in recent years, reaching about $36,700 in March, compared with roughly $18,900 in 2019.

Under the proposal, used cars would be “zero-rated,” similar to existing tax treatment for certain farm equipment and resale housing, meaning GST would not be charged on those purchases.

The party estimates the change would reduce federal revenues by about $900 million annually. It says eliminating the five per cent GST could lower the cost of an average used vehicle by approximately $1,800. Additional savings would depend on provincial governments choosing to remove their portion of sales tax.

Poilievre said the proposal is aimed at improving affordability for Canadians purchasing vehicles, while Lawton said access to a vehicle is essential for many people, particularly in rural areas.

OTTAWA — As Jocelyn Downie watched the Supreme Court of Canada strike down the laws criminalizing the act of helping someone end their life in 2015, she thought she’d better find something to do with the rest of her career.

The push to ensure Canadians could legally get help to end their own lives in cases of severe suffering seemed to be over with the unanimous decision in Carter v. Canada.

McPherson is vice-president of the Canadian Association of MAID Assessors and Providers, which developed a national curriculum for clinicians. That training is not widely available in medical schools across the country, something McPherson said must change.

She said polarization and disinformation get in the way of constructive discussions.

“From a political point of view, I think it’s a hot potato because I think the governments so far have always waited for the courts to make decisions and then reacted,” McPherson said.

The Carter ruling came 22 years after a split decision in the Supreme Court in a similar Charter challenge. The woman at the centre of that case, Sue Rodriguez, had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — Lou Gehrig’s disease — and given a handful of years to live.

John Major, a retired Supreme Court justice who sided with the majority in the 5-4 ruling, said he had sympathy for Rodriguez on a personal level but worried legalization would create the conditions for abuse.

“My fear was that it was opening the gates to something that might become a problem,” Major said in an interview.

Rodriguez died just months after the decision with the help of an anonymous physician.

One of the judges who wrote a dissenting opinion in 1993 was Beverley McLachlin. By 2015, when Carter came before the court, she was chief justice and the entire bench was on the same page.

Today, some provinces are charting their own paths.

Alberta has passed legislation to restrict MAID to people whose deaths are “likely to happen within 12 months,” among other changes.

Quebec, which has the highest rate of MAID in the world, allows people to sign advance requests so a doctor can carry out their wish to end their life once they lose capacity to consent.

Michel and Justice Minister Sean Fraser won’t say what the government plans to do about the expansion for mental illness in March. They’re waiting on the parliamentary committee to make its recommendations.

The committee’s chair, Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski, said the report will be presented to Parliament on Wednesday, precisely 10 years after legalization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2026.

The federal government says it is cracking down on what it calls a « low volume » of asylum claims made by foreigners arriving in Newfoundland and Labrador from a nearby territory of France.

St-Pierre-Miquelon, an archipelago 19 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland, is served by frequent ferry service.

On June 4, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced it would start requiring those arriving from the territory by boat to have an electronic travel authorization, a $7 permit required mostly for people flying to Canada.

St-Pierre-Miquelon: A piece of France in the Atlantic (new window)
The department wrote in an email that it has noticed an emerging trend of ineligible asylum claimants using this route but added the numbers are too small to publicly disclose for privacy reasons.

Canadian officials observed that some foreign nationals who would otherwise require an electronic travel authorization (eTA) to travel to Canada were attempting to bypass Canada's immigration and border screening processes, by travelling first to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and then seeking entry to Canada by boat, wrote department spokesman Anahita Beladi.

Her department would not specify how many claimants were arriving at Fortune, N.L., where a commercial ferry links Canada with the French territory.

St-Pierre-Miquelon and the Burin Peninsula: Bound together by history (new window)
Federal Court grants request to group constitutional challenges against new asylum law (new window)
Data on asylum claims specifically related to movement from Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon is not available for public release, as the low volume of cases could result in the identification of individuals, Beladi wrote.

To protect ongoing border security and enforcement efforts, we can’t provide additional details about the people involved or their nationalities.

The eTA is a permit is a pre-screening tool Ottawa uses to prevent criminals, people with active tuberculosis and some asylum claimants from reaching a border guard. Those who do get an eTA can board flights to Canada and be interviewed on arrival by the Canada Border Services Agency.

Canadians, permanent residents and Americans never need an eTA, and IRCC is exempting French citizens living on the archipelago, as well seafarers, fishers and cruise ship passengers.

The department says roughly 6,000 visa-exempt foreign nationals take the ferry between the territory and Fortune, N.L., each year.

The Canadian Press

Quebec has become the first jurisdiction in North America to restrict access to caffeinated energy drinks — to people under 16, in this case.

Bill 9, which imposed age-based restrictions on the purchase of energy drinks, was adopted in the National Assembly Thusday morning.

The new law will come into effect in six months.

It passed with the backing of 103 MNAs. Only the Independent MNA for Saint-Jérôme, Youri Chassin, voted against the bill, while Conservative Maïté Blanchette Vézina and Independent Sona Lakhoyan Olivier abstained.

Quebec Health Minister Sonia Bélanger told reporters on Thursday that the new legislation is a good start and helped open up discussions around issues like sugary drinks for teenagers.

What's important is that we were able to make a decision to protect youth under 16, Bélanger said.

Video (new window)
The bill defines energy drinks as beverages that contain 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre or more along with other additives such as taurine, vitamins or minerals.

Under the legislation, selling or giving an energy drink to anyone under 16 would be prohibited. It would also be illegal for someone 16 or older to purchase an energy drink on behalf of a person under 16.

Customers would have to show government-issued photo identification to buy the beverages. Online sales and sales through vending machines would also be prohibited. Inspectors would be authorized to conduct compliance checks.

A person under 16 who violates the law could face a $100 fine. Adults could be fined between $500 and $1,500.

For businesses, fines could reach $62,500. In all cases, penalties could be doubled for repeat offences.

CAQ's controversial Quebec constitution bill dies as parliamentary session ends (new window)
The bill, dubbed the Zachary Miron Act, came about after 15-year-old Miron died from drinking a can of Red Bull in combination with ADHD medication in 2024.

Quebec's legislature is currently in the process of passing a slew of bills before the parliamentary session ends on Friday. This is the last session before the provincial election scheduled for October.

Hesitant MNAs
Chassin, the MNA who voted against the bill, was initially opposed to supporting its fast-tracking — a process that requires unanimity across the board — but changed his mind on Wednesday.

He had previously said that although the bill is well-intended, he thought restricting the purchase of energy drinks wasn't necessarily the right approach and was even coercive.

For the Independent MNA for Abitibi-Est, Pierre Dufour, the bill initially went too far; he wanted to lower the age limit for purchasing energy drinks to 14.

He says he was convinced to support it through conversations with a cardiologist and hospital staff who told him energy drinks had become a problem. He would still like to continue building on the existing legislation and support it with prevention campaigns.

If we have that kind of project, we can do something better the next time so I able to say 'OK I'm going forward,' he said.

The body of a man who went missing on Friday evening at Verdun Beach has been recovered, Montreal police confirmed on Saturday.

Police say the discovery was made after an intensive search that began Friday evening involving officers and firefighters.

According to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), two young men were swimming together at around 7:20 p.m. and one of them made it back to shore under duress.

The other man was reported missing and police found his body overnight. They confirmed his death Saturday morning.

There is no evidence to suggest that this was a crime, SPVM spokesperson Manuel Couture said.

He stated that it was likely an accident and the coroner's office will investigate.

Montreal's Verdun borough vows to improve beach safety after series of drownings

As of Saturday morning, the victim, whose age has not been specified, had not been formally identified.

Three people drowned in the Verdun Beach area last year, prompting the borough of Verdun to implement new safety measures, including more signage. This month, the borough launched a water safety awareness campaign.

According to the borough's website, the beach officially opens on Saturday, though police said many people were there at the time of the incident.