Rui is a 13-year-old Congo African Grey living on the island of Gozo in Europe. Watch as he athletically hangs upside down from the shower. Awesome!
An Ontario woman who nearly lost her chance at justice after being sexually assaulted by an official in the Dominican Republic government more than four years ago says she's relieved he was found guilty this week. Joanna Kocsis, a University of Toronto PhD student, watched via video as Odalis Ledesma, a former deputy minister in the Caribbean country's Ministry of Youth, was found guilty of raping her in a Dominican court and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Under the Criminal Code of Canada, the offence would be referred to as sexual assault, but in the Dominican Republic it is referred to in Spanish as "violación sexual" or rape. Asked how she reacted when the guilty verdict came, Kocsis said:,"We just cried a lot," said Kocsis. "I felt really proud because it's been so much labour," the 37-year-old said in an interview outside her family's home in Beamsville, Ont. Odalis Ledesma, a former deputy minister in the Dominican Republic, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after an appeal court there found him guilty of sexually assaulting Canadian PhD student Joanna Kocsis.(Facebook) CBC News first covered this case in 2018, when Kocsis and her lawyers had already filed legal paperwork, but worried that officials may not lay charges before a tight deadline. An investigative news program in that country had covered the case, suggesting documents were being hidden. The assault happened in April, 2017, two days after she'd arrived in the Dominican Republic for her field research. Ledesma was a contact who had also arranged an apartment for her to rent from one of his family members. She said he arrived at the apartment with a bottle of tequila, insisting they have a drink, which she said was drugged. She woke up with him on top of her, assaulting her. She called the Canadian consulate, quickly flew back to Canada and had a rape kit done at a Toronto hospital. She said evidence, including from the rape kit, arrived with around 12 hours to spare before the deadline for the case to expire. "So we've been on the edge of our seats and fighting the whole time." Then, she said the initial trial, delayed until October 2020 because of the pandemic, found Ledesma not guilty, with the three judges ruling two to one in his favour. Kocsis took photos of her bruises as evidence. She says she took this one almost a week after the assault.(Submitted by Joanna Kocsis) She said during the appeal hearing, Ledesma's words clearly showed her he was guilty, after one of the judges questioned whether he believed everything that happened was consensual. "And [Ledesma] said, 'Well, as we all know, there are nos that mean no and there are nos that are more of a formality,'" Kocsis recalled. She's still struggling to come up with the words for how she's feeling. 'It's not my fault' "Happy does not seem like the appropriate word, because something terrible happened and it's damaged all of our lives," she said, referring to herself, her husband and their nine-year-old daughter. "Relief that I don't have to be in constant fight mode anymore because it's been over four years. My daughter's nine and it's been pretty much half her life that I've been fighting this battle." Kocsis hopes to finish her PhD later this fall. It was delayed due to both her involvement with the case and the pandemic, but she doesn't shy away from talking about what happened to her when she teaches students. She feels it's important to "normalize that this is something that happens to women a lot... and not making it feel like some kind of dirty secret. It's not my fault."
Chris Samson and Kian Zhao spend many of their days holding their breath and scouring the ocean floor. Harvesting crab has long been a hobby of theirs, but they say the crustaceans have been harder to come by lately along the B.C. coast. On Monday, they saw first-hand what has been threatening local crab populations. The pair was free diving with a small group near Jericho Beach in Vancouver when they came across a mysterious line in the water. "Towards the end of the dive, I decided to pull on it to see where it led me, and it led me to one trap, which led me to another trap, and so on," said Samson. "I knew immediately what I was looking at." The traps didn't have the legally required identifiers or locator floats. Right away, Samson reported the finding to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). These illegal crab traps were seized earlier this year during a five-day, joint operation in Boundary Bay involving the Canadian Coast Guard and DFO. (DFO) Over the next few days, fisheries officers dragged the sea floor and seized more than 250 illegal crab traps. "That's a lot," said Arthur Demsky, a DFO detachment commander. "The gear is all illegal. It's not marked. There's no floats attached." WATCH | Chris Samson uncovers illegal traps Illegal crab fishing is a widespread problem along the B.C. coastline, where poachers set long lines of unmarked traps, often retrieving them at night using GPS coordinates. The crabs are then sold on the black market, or laundered into the commercial marketplace. As many as 30 traps were attached to one of the lines crews recovered in English Bay. Demsky says the traps appeared to be commercial grade, and did not include rot chord — a legally required cable that will degrade over time, allowing crabs to escape should a trap become lost. "It's not only crabs that go into these traps, it's all sorts of fish that go into these traps," said Demsky. "I'm sure they get killed, and are captured and sold with the crab." Kian Zhao and Chris Samson are free divers and hobby crab harvesters.(Jon Hernandez/CBC) "Over the long term, that can be devastating to [the ecosystem]," he said. Poachers pose a major conservation concern by taking undersized crab, or females that haven't had a chance to reproduce. An investigation is ongoing, but officials admit it can be a challenge to find the perpetrators. Full extent of issue unknown Earlier this year, DFO pulled 337 illegal crab traps from Boundary Bay in a five-day operation with the Canadian Coast Guard. The annual blitz has yielded more than 1,000 illegal traps over the past few years, but the full extent of the issue along the coast is unknown. For hobby harvesters like Samson, uncovering an illegal trap is infuriating. "Anger, disgust, frustration — we're out in the ocean all the time looking for crab and we can't find legally sized ones, and it's no wonder because these illegal operations are poaching them all," he said. This illegal crab trap was seized earlier this year during a five-day, joint operation in Boundary Bay involving the Canadian Coast Guard and DFO. (DFO) The finding was a first for Samson, who dives regularly across the region. He says he's thankful crews were able to uncover such a large network of traps. "It hurts the commercial guys doing it legally, it hurts us who go out into the ocean trying to bring some food home. These people are hurting our economy and destroying our ocean," he said. As for poachers, he has some words of warning. "There's people out there like me, watching." Poachers can face jail time and fines up to $100,000. Anyone who witnesses the illegal activity or has any information is asked to contact the DFO's Observe, Record, Report line.
Friday's Saskatchewan COVID-19 case numbers illustrate the unpredictability of the province's pandemic curve. Just a day before, on Thursday, health officials reported 156 new cases of COVID-19 — the lowest daily bump in nearly a month and a half. But the numbers surged on Friday, with the Ministry of Health reporting 295 new cases based on 3,652 tests — the highest single-day increase since 294 new cases were reported on April 15. One new death was reported: a person their 70s from the southwest region. Saskatoon leads in new cases Saskatoon surpassed Regina as the region reporting the highest new daily crop of cases for the third time in the last week and a half. Saskatoon led all areas with 98 new cases Friday, with the Regina area coming in second with 68 new cases. The rest of the new cases were found in the following regions: far northwest (two), far northeast (five), northwest (33), north central (17), northeast (nine), central west (one), central east (10), southwest (nine), south central (seven) and southeast (32). Two regions, the central east and northeast, reported their first cases of the highly transmissible P1 variant. (Government of Saskatchewan) Saskatchewan's seven-day average of daily new cases stands at 221, or 18.0 new cases per 100,000 people. There are 174 infected people in hospital provincewide, including 38 people under intensive care. Vaccine deliveries continue to happen at a strong pace, with 10,530 doses administered on Thursday. Saskachewan is getting closer to its first threshold for beginning to relax or lift COVID-19 public health measures. As of Friday, 69 per cent of residents aged 40 and above have received one dose of vaccine. That's just one percentage shy of the province's Step One reopening target of 70 per cent of people 40 and over receiving a single dose. However, three weeks need to elapse after that threshold is met and vaccine eligibility must be lowered to people aged 18 and over by that time for Step One to be initiated. (Government of Saskatchewan) Currently, only residents in the general population aged 35 and over can book an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine. On Friday, the province announced that age requirement will be lowered to 32 starting on Saturday. In a scrum with reporters, Health Minister Paul Merriman was asked whether slower first-dose vaccine uptake among people in the 50-to-59 and 60-to-69 age brackets has him concerned about vaccine hesitancy. As of Thursday, 65 per cent and 79 per cent of people in those age groups, respectively, had been inoculated once. One week earlier, on April 29, the percentages stood at 59 per cent and 76 per cent. Meanwhile, despite being eligible for vaccination for a shorter period of time, 47 per cent of people aged 40 to 49 had received one dose by Thursday, up from 28 per cent the previous week. "No, I don't think there's that much vaccine hesitancy out there," Merriman said. "I think some people were waiting and seeing and I respect that. But now that their neighbours or their family members have been vaccinated, we're seeing people in that higher age range that are coming in for the first time." (Government of Saskatchewan)
A man from the North Battleford area has been charged in connection with a death of Damian Moosomin about a year ago. Denver Roy, 36, is charged with indecent interference with a dead body and accessory after the fact to homicide. Roy is from Sweetgrass First Nation, about 30 kilometres west of North Battleford. Moosomin, 20, was found dead in the backyard of a North Battleford home on May 16, 2020, five days after he was reported missing. A second person who was recently charged was under 18 at the time of the offence and cannot be named in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act. As of May 7, 2021, six people in total have been charged in connection to Moosomin's death. The other four people, charged in April after the Saskatchewan RCMP's 11-month investigation, were: Tye Partridge, 23, from Moosomin First Nation is charged with first-degree murder. Jannay Blackbird, 32, from Saulteaux First Nation is charged with second-degree murder. Stormy Wapass-Semaganis, 23, from Edmonton, Alberta is charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Melissa Semaganis, 41, from Poundmaker Cree Nation is charged with accessory after the fact to murder. The RCMP didn't say when the two most recently charged people are scheduled to appear in court.
The call came in earlier this week, first thing in the morning. It was from Northwest Territories public health officials, and they said it was urgent. "So I call public health and they let me know that my eldest son tested positive for COVID," said Ravan Bedingfield. "Then my heart just sunk." Bedingfield is one of innumerable parents caught in the frightening web of the COVID-19 outbreak at N.J. Macpherson School in Yellowknife. Her 11-year-old son is a student there, ground zero for a cluster of cases reported at the start of the week that has since ballooned into the dozens. As of Thursday, there were 47 COVID-19 cases in Yellowknife. For Bedingfield, the situation has been "heartbreaking," "frustrating" and "mentally exhausting." Thankfully, she said, her two other children — eight and two — tested negative, as did she and her partner, who are vaccinated. But working from home while safely caring for an ill child, homeschooling, constantly disinfecting, and keeping a toddler entertained has been — well, you can imagine. "I don't think I've ever been more furious in my life over this whole situation," said Bedingfield. "But I think it's amazing what you can do when you know you're not alone, like there's other families who are in the same boat." 'He is pretty anxious about the whole thing' Right how, her son has mild symptoms, she said. "So he's feeling kind of crummy, physically, but mentally, he is pretty anxious about the whole thing, and he feels responsible," she said, for possibly passing the virus onto his friends. "It's so hard to explain to a child, 'It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong,' but they can't help but take it to heart because they're hurting, and they see their friends hurting, and everybody is nervous and scared." It's also hard easing his worries from two metres away. "You want to be there to, like, even physically comfort your child, you know, but you have to maintain your distance," said Bedingfield. Community spirit shines In this period of fear and uncertainty, though, Yellowknife's community spirit has shone. A Facebook group has popped up offering the pickup and delivery of essential items to isolating residents. Bedingfield said people have been inundating her with messages of support. A friend is doing a huge grocery run that will help feed the family until they're out of isolation. And public health, she said, has been "nothing but helpful." One nurse offered her personal cell phone number so Bedingfield can call if her son's symptoms worsen. "It's incredible the amount of support everybody is giving each other." But Bedingfield also said not everyone isolating right now has the support network — or the employment benefits — she does. "I'm a government employee, so I'm happy that I have those benefits, but my husband doesn't," she said. "I'm sure there are many, many other people who don't have any kind of benefits, and they must be like — I can't imagine how they're feeling." Though it's been just a few days since her son's diagnosis, Bedingfield said one thing she's taken away so far is to take help if it's offered. "I get it. I'm a proud person and I'm often way too proud to accept help," she said. But in cases like this outbreak, she added, saying yes to support can help keep your family fed, and the bills paid. Bedingfield also implored residents to follow public health orders, for the safety and wellbeing of the whole community. "It's all about people," she said. "It's people being responsible and taking care of each other."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a recent attack ad from Ontario Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives blaming the federal Liberals for COVID-19 variants crossing the border. Trudeau says political leaders are under a certain amount of stress and some may choose to point fingers, lay blame and engage in personal attacks.
The defendant in a first-degree murder trial in central Newfoundland has fired his legal aid lawyers — the day before jury selection was to get underway. Kirk Keeping's move in Supreme Court on Friday morning means his murder trial is now delayed indefinitely. Keeping is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Chantel John, a 28-year-old woman from the Miawpukek First Nation in Conne River in January 2019. He is accused of killing John in her family home, and is also charged with the attempted murder of her biological mother. In a written statement, Chantel John's adoptive mother, Jennifer John, said the delay has inflicted more pain on the family. "It's really frustrating having to deal with this every day," Jennifer John wrote. "We want justice for Chantel, we are reliving this nightmare over and over, our lives will never be the same again." Until Friday morning, Keeping was represented by Derek Hogan and Derek Ford, experienced legal aid lawyers. But Keeping told Justice Glen Noel he did not have confidence in either of them just minutes before a jury pre-screening process was set to begin Friday. Keeping told the court he did not know what his lawyer's strategy was, did not receive a list of witnesses and evidence, and could not meet with his lawyers enough while he was being held at Her Majesty's Penitentiary in St. John's. "I am charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder and facing life in jail," he told Noel. "My lawyers have spent two or three hours with me in 28 months." Hogan told Noel he disputed those comments and had only heard about Keeping's desire to ditch his lawyers 15 minutes before the court hearing had begun. Noel accepted that Keeping's lawyers could no longer represent him if Keeping had no confidence in them, but told Keeping he should have made his intentions clear well before the trial was set to start. He concluded that the trial could not continue while Keeping had no lawyer, something Crown attorney Karen O'Reilly agreed with. Noel said Keeping has put the court in an unfortunate and difficult condition, and warned him that a delay would not be granted again. Keeping is charged with the first-degree murder of Chantel John.(Facebook) Keeping, who will now return to Her Majesty's Penitentiary, must report to the court next month to update the justice on his search for new lawyers. Similar delay in high-profile 2018 murder trial There was similar last-minute delay in a recent high-profile murder trial, also involving lawyer Derek Hogan, albeit in a different way. Trent Butt was accused of the first-degree murder of his five-year-old daughter, Quinn, and then setting his house on fire back in 2016. In 2018, one week before his trial was set to begin, Butt fired his lawyers. Hogan ultimately became Butt's lawyer. . Butt's trial was delayed a year. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2019. Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
After a couple of days dipping below the 3,000 mark earlier this week, Ontario reported 3,166 new COVID-19 cases Friday along with 23 more deaths. That brings the official death toll of people with the illness to 8,236. The province is reporting 876 new cases in Toronto, 817 in Peel, 300 in York, 205 in Durham and 148 in Hamilton. The seven-day average for cases, which smoothes out peaks and valleys in the data, dropped slightly to 3,266. Today's case count may actually be higher than what is being reported. The province says it is dealing with a technical issue with the laboratory data feed, so numbers may be underreported for the Central East, Central West, and Toronto regions. The numbers come with 51,338 tests completed — well below Ontario's capacity. It also puts the daily positivity rate for the province at seven per cent. Ontario is also reporting 3,875 resolved cases. After weeks of steady rises, some health system indicators improved in Ontario for the second straight day. 'Superhuman effort' The number of people hospitalized dropped by 40 to 1,924, and the number of people in intensive care dropped by 19 to 858. The number of patients on a ventilator rose by 11, however, up to 611. Anthony Dale, president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, told CBC News that it appears the third wave of the virus is cresting. "The worst does appear to be behind us, but make no mistake, the hospital system has only been able to deal with this challenge through superhuman effort," Dale said. As of 8 p.m. Thursday, 5,885,485 doses of vaccine had been administered, Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a tweet. That's an increase of 144,724 vaccinations, and a new single-day record for the province. We don't want to open prematurely and end up with a fourth wave. - Dr. Barbara Yaffe Health officials said earlier this week they expect two-thirds of all adults in Ontario to have had a first shot by the end of May. When asked Thursday if people could expect any loosening of public health restrictions later in May and heading into June, Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said the province is having "active discussions" around thresholds for any loosening of restrictions. "We don't know yet, of course," she said. But given that case numbers and hospitalization numbers remain high, Yaffe said she would be "surprised if things open up in the end of May. "We don't want to open prematurely and end up with a fourth wave," Yaffe said. Dale said while he in no way enjoys the current stay-at-home order, it's necessary. "This is the worst civil emergency in this province's history, and we have to treat it like that," he said. "Let's not make the same mistake that was made in the second wave, when public health measures were lifted prematurely." What Ontario needs, he added is clearly defined metrics that will guide decisions on reopening: like vaccination rates, testing and tracing capacity, and the rate of reproduction for the virus. "Let's have a serious plan that is guided by strict, quantitative measures to guide us on how to reopen safely." Province expands rapid testing for some businesses Also today, the province announced it is expanding rapid testing initiatives for businesses in Ontario. The program, which has been dubbed the "COVID-19 Rapid Screening Initiative" will provide free rapid antigen tests for employees of small and medium-sized businesses through local chambers of commerce and other organizations. In a news release, the province said more than 760,000 rapid test kits have been shipped to 28 chambers and over 50 others have expressed interest in participating in the program. Experts have been calling on the province to ramp up its use of rapid COVID-19 tests, but federal data shows that only a small fraction have actually been used. As of April 23, more than 7.4 million rapid antigen tests have been deployed across a number of sectors in Ontario, including long-term care and retirement homes, congregate care settings, Indigenous communities, schools and workplaces, the Ministry of Health said in an emailed statement. When asked how many tests have been given, the Ministry of Health did not answer, but said it expects that rapid tests are used once they've been deployed. Data from the federal government, however, says the number of rapid tests used is just over 1.3 million — meaning more than six million tests are potentially sitting idle. Prime minster pushes back against attack ads At a news conference Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pushed back against attack ads from the Ontario government that claim the federal government is not doing enough to secure Canada's borders against COVID-19 cases — though travel has been a comparatively low source of virus transmission in Ontario for several months now. Still, Premier Doug Ford and his ministers have been calling out Trudeau at press conferences for weeks, saying more needs to be done to restrict travel into the province. Trudeau said Friday that he knows provincial leaders are under stress right now. "Some will choose to point fingers and lay blame and even engage in personal attacks. That's not my approach and that's quite frankly not what Ontarians need," the Prime Minister said. Prime Minster Justin Trudeau says he is happy to work with the Ontario government on further travel restrictions.(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press) Trudeau said he spoke with Ford about the issue last week, and if Ontario has concerns about travel, he is more than willing to look at that right now. Trudeau noted the border has been shut down to all but essential workers and a limited number of exceptions. The Prime Minster said he has offered to look at ending or further restricting entry when it comes to international student arrivals, temporary foreign workers, and compassionate exceptions. He said Ford asked him last Thursday to restrict entry for international students, but also noted that the 30,000 students who came into Ontario over the past few months "were approved by the Ontario government." "If the Ontario government wants to do more to restrict the volume of people coming in to Ontario, we are more than happy to work with them on it," Trudeau said. "But it's been a week since we've received that request directly from the premier that they haven't followed up on, except for personal attacks, which doesn't make sense and quite frankly won't help Ontarians."
Public health officials on Prince Edward Island reported one new case of COVID-19 and three new possible exposure sites in a news release issued late Friday afternoon. The person is in their 30s and had recently travelled outside Atlantic Canada, the release said. The person tested positive through routine testing and is self-isolating. Contact tracing is underway. The release also listed three sites linked to the new case where Islanders may have been exposed to the virus. They are: Pilot House restaurant in Charlottetown on Monday, May 3, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. (seek a test on Saturday, May 8). Montana's restaurant in Charlottetown on Thursday, May 6, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 pm (seek a test on Sunday, May 9). Home Hardware at 115 St. Peter's Road in Charlottetown on Thursday, May 6 from 10:30 am to 11:30 a.m. Officials are asking anyone who was at Pilot House or Montana's during those times to get tested on the date noted above and self-isolate until a negative result is received. The dates of testing are based on the time between when you are potentially exposed to a case of COVID-19 and when a test would detect any viral material in your body. Anyone who was at Home Hardware during the noted times on Thursday does not need to be tested, officials said, but should monitor closely for symptoms. If any develop, people should visit a drop in testing site and self-isolate until a negative result is received. In an email to CBC News on Friday, the Chief Public Health Office said warnings issued about sites in such cases "are based on a risk assessment conducted by CPHO in consideration of the type of exposure, length of exposure and other precautions in place in the exposure location. "If the risk of exposure is considered low, then individuals are asked to monitor for symptoms for the next 14 days and get tested if symptoms develop," the email said. "If the risk of exposure is considered to be higher, individuals who were in the public place at specified times are asked to proactively seek testing." Prince Edward Island currently has 10 active cases of COVID-19. The province has had 186 positive cases since the pandemic began. Reminder about symptoms The symptoms of COVID-19 can include: Fever. Cough or worsening of a previous cough. Possible loss of taste and/or smell. Sore throat. New or worsening fatigue. Headache. Shortness of breath. Runny nose. More from CBC P.E.I.
There's a "dirty little secret lurking under the ocean of Newfoundland and Labrador" and the documentary, "Hell or Clean Water," tells the story of the one man who is trying to fix it, part of the 2021 Hot Docs festival.
HALIFAX — As Nova Scotia's COVID-19 outbreak intensified on Friday, the province's premier followed through on a pledge to impose tougher restrictions on residents and visitors alike. Premier Iain Rankin reported 227 new cases — another daily high — and the virus-related death of a woman in her 70s. As well, he confirmed that an additional 200 positive cases had yet to be entered into the province's database because public health staff have been overwhelmed by the sudden surge. "It's a sign that the variants are on the move across the province," Rankin told a virtual news conference. "We will continue to have high numbers for the next several days … Today, we are locking down with even tighter restrictions." Nova Scotia went into a full lockdown on April 28 when it became clear the virus was spreading at a rapid rate, particularly in the Halifax area. Rankin told reporters Thursday he had grown frustrated with residents and visitors who aren't taking the pandemic seriously and said he wouldn't hesitate to impose new health orders. On Friday, he delivered on his warning by extending school closures to the end of May and imposing tougher border restrictions. There are also new rules for rotational workers and those who want to go out shopping. There was no talk of curfews. Starting Monday at 8 a.m., the border will be closed to all non-essential travel. That includes anyone intending to move to the province, or parents from outside Nova Scotia hoping to pick up or drop off students. "There's no coming in or out unless it's absolutely essential," Rankin said. "If you want to spend your summer here or go to your summer home, you can't do that right now. Delay your trip." An application process will be introduced by May 14 for most travellers. The new border rules will remain in place until the end of the month. As of Friday, Nova Scotia had 1,464 active cases of COVID-19. There were 50 people in hospital with the disease, including nine in intensive care. "There is more COVID activity in the province than we thought we would find," Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health, told reporters. "Our situation is critical, especially in the Halifax area." Almost all of the newly recorded cases were in the province's central zone, which includes Halifax. And the number of fatalities from COVID-19 rose Friday to 70 as the province confirmed the latest death. "We're asking a lot, over a year into the pandemic and people are tired, frustrated overwhelmed and afraid — and some of you have checked out," Strang said. "But remember, the last part of any marathon is the hardest." Strang said people should stop looking for loopholes and he confirmed some travellers have been caught trying to use forged documents, including fake emails that looked like they came from his office. There have been a number of outbreaks in Atlantic Canada since the pandemic began, but the sudden spike in Nova Scotia has been the worst in the region so far. The previous outbreaks, including one in Newfoundland and Labrador that forced cancellation of in-person voting for a provincial election, were all brought under control in short order, thanks to compliance with tough lockdown rules. As a result, the Atlantic region has been repeatedly lauded for being a world leader in keeping the virus under control. Nova Scotia has been subjected to strict health protocol measures since April 28, which include a ban on travel outside residents' home municipalities. Under the new rules, rotational workers returning home from so-called outbreak zones — such as Fort McMurray, Alta. — must now self-isolate for 14 days in a separate space, away from others in their household. But they can share a bathroom that is cleaned between uses. The new shopping rules, which take effect Saturday, call for all households to designate one shopper. And all retail stores offering in-person shopping must impose a limit of one shopper per household, though exceptions will be made for children and caregivers. Retail stores that sell essential products must limit in-person service to a maximum of 25 per cent of store capacity. Essential products include food, fuel, medicine, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, hardware, pet food, baby products and gardening supplies. Computer and cellphone services and laundromats are also considered essential. Meanwhile, the exceptions to the new border rules include: — permanent residents returning to the province — people who work outside the province — post-secondary students returning home or entering to study — people travelling for child custody reasons — long-haul truck drivers, airline crew, first responders and people needing essential health services — people who follow the protocols for travel between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for work, school and child care. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021. Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press
BANGKOK — A U.S. citizen charged with killing his pregnant Thai wife in Thailand was accused of attempting to kill what appears to be the same woman while living in Colorado in 2019. Jason Matthew Balzer, 32, was arrested Thursday in the northern city of Chiang Mai and confessed to killing Pitchaporn Kidchob, 32, Maj. Gen. Weerachon Boontawee, chief of Provincial Police Region 5's Detective Department, said Friday. It is not clear whether he had a lawyer representing him. The name of the woman Balzer was accused of attempting to kill while living in Longmont, Colorado, was redacted from court records. However, a spokesperson for the 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office, Shannon Carbone, said the victim in the domestic violence case and the woman killed in Thailand have the same name and appear to be the same person based on photographs of her in the media. The office has not received any official information about the victim in Thailand, she said. According to court documents, the victim met Balzer around 2017 and later left Thailand to live with him in the United States. In 2019, after the victim rebuffed Balzer's attempt to have sex, he allegedly grabbed her arms, hit her in the face and slammed her head repeatedly into a headboard in the bedroom of their apartment before pointing a gun at her and saying “I will kill you," an arrest affidavit said. According to the document, the victim pushed the gun away, and it fired a shot next to her head. She escaped while Balzer tried to cover up bullet holes in the wall. She also told police that Balzer strangled her two weeks before during an argument in which he accused her of cheating on him. While Balzer was charged with attempted second-degree murder, he was able to plead guilty to a lesser charge of third-degree assault because the victim went back to Thailand and did not want to return to Colorado to testify, Carbone said. He was sentenced to probation, including domestic violence treatment, she said. “This murder highlights the danger of domestic violence as well as the potential for lethality that can often exist for victims. Our hearts go out to the victim’s loved ones; it is a very tragic case. We hope that he will be held fully responsible for the murder,” she said. Balzer was also arrested in Colorado in December after police allegedly found 73 guns in his van, a violation of his probation that prohibits him from having any firearms. An attorney listed as representing Balzer in that ongoing case as well as in the domestic violence case did not return a telephone call seeking comment. Police in Thailand said Balzer was interrogated Friday in the northern city of Nan, where he had lived with Kidchob, police Lt. Col. Somkiat Ruam-ngern said. The murder charge carries a maximum penalty of death. According to Weerachon, Balzer said Pitchaporn had “given him hope,” so he married her and bought her a house in Nan, her home province. Balzer said he became enraged when she tried to chase him out, so he stabbed her with a knife, the police officer said. He said Balzer put her body in a rubbish bin that he sealed and buried in the woods about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from their home. Balzer then drove on a motorbike to Chiang Mai, where he was arrested, Weerachon said. Police had been alerted to a possible crime when Pitchaporn’s mother, who was unable to reach her daughter by phone, went to the couple’s house and found blood stains. Balzer, a programmer, met Pitchaporn in Thailand and they were married in the U.S., after which Balzer quit his job, sold all his property and moved to Nan, the newspaper Thai Rath reported, citing Provincial Police Region 5 commander Prachuab Wongsuk. Balzer said he did not know his wife was three months' pregnant, Prachuab said. ____ Associated Press writer Colleen Slevin contributed to this report from Denver. Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul And Grant Peck, The Associated Press
OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency is being taken to task by a federal watchdog for not being as up front as it should be over how long it might take to process applications for pandemic aid. The $500-a-week Canada Recovery Benefit is paid out by the agency to qualifying workers who have earned at least $5,000 in the preceding 12 months. In most cases, the application process is quick, but in others, the agency has to do additional digging to verify eligibility. The taxpayers' ombudsperson said his office has received complaints that CRA call-centre agents can't offer a timeline for when verification work will be done, leaving thousands in financial hardship. Francois Boileau said taxpayers should be able to have more details on how long it will take the agency to verify documents so they can plan how to cover their bills like rent. He said complaints to his office have said the agency can take up to 10 weeks to finish the process before issuing a payment. The process differs from one that was used one year ago for the CRB's forerunner, the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Applications were quickly approved and payments issued with the government opting to do a review after-the-fact to recoup improper payments. With the CRB, the government pushed that verification to the front of the application process, including asking for pay slips or records of employment if the agency couldn't easily confirm that someone met the earnings threshold. Once the documents came in, the agency started the clock. In March, there were complaints that it could take four to six weeks for the process to play out. More recently, it has risen to eight to 10 weeks. The agency had differing timelines referenced on different parts of its website, but updated them to in recent days after Boileau suggested the CRA do so. "The CRA understands that the longer processing times for these recovery benefit applications may place a financial burden on Canadians who depend on these benefits as income replacement," the agency said in a statement. "In some cases, processing times may be extended for unforeseeable reasons." The CRA says the process shouldn't be nearly as long for anyone who filed their 2020 tax return, which would easily let the agency verify income eligibility when an application rolls in. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021. The Canadian Press
YELLOWKNIFE — A health official in the Northwest Territories says a recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Yellowknife is mostly affecting children and youth. There are 47 active cases in the northern city and all are linked to an outbreak declared at N.J. Macpherson School last week. Dr. Kami Kandola, who is the territory's chief public health officer, says 90 per cent of those cases are among children and youth while the rest are in adult household contacts. Kandola says there are also more than 1,000 contacts associated with the school outbreak. On Thursday, the territory started offering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children ages 12 to 17 in Yellowknife. Kandola says there is no evidence of community transmission in Yellowknife. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021 The Canadian Press
Nineteen people have been charged after Ontario Provincial Police busted several large cannabis production facilities in southwestern Ontario. The OPP carried out five search warrants at three greenhouses and two residences Wednesday morning in the areas of County Roads 31 and 34 in Kingsville, and Seacliff Drive West in Leamington. Authorities said they seized more than 20,000 cannabis plants, more than 1,400 pounds of processed cannabis, some Canadian currency and equipment. They said the cannabis is likely worth more than $18 million. Eighteen people, with ages ranging between 19 and 72, have been charged with: Possession of cannabis for the purpose of selling. Cultivating, propagating or harvesting cannabis plants at a place that is "not their dwelling-house." The same two charges have been laid against a 19th individual — a 34-year-old man from Mississauga — but he's also charged with possessing "proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5,000." Those accused will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Leamington at a later date. OPP say their investigation is ongoing. "To those individuals or groups who continue to profit from these illegal grow operations, the OPP will relentlessly pursue your interests, seize your property and introduce you into the criminal justice system," said OPP Insp. Glenn Miller.
Ottawa is reporting 110 new COVID-19 cases and one more death. The load on the city's intensive care units is lightening. Three more people from the area have died of COVID-19. Today's Ottawa update Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is reporting 110 new COVID-19 cases and one more death on Friday. The city has now surpassed 25,000 confirmed cases. Many key indicators that rose to record levels during this third wave of the pandemic are now in decline, though still much higher than what health officials are comfortable with. A graph showing coronavirus levels in Ottawa's wastewater, which peaked in early April, steadily declined for about a month and has recently plateaued. Data for much of March may have been affected by the spring melt.(613covid.ca) Numbers to watch 6.6%: The rate of COVID-19 tests coming back positive has dropped slightly. 0.78: The number of people infected by a single COVID-19 case, or R(t). The spread of the coronavirus is considered under control if that figure is kept below one. 91.1: The weekly incidence rate, a rolling seven-day total of new COVID-19 cases expressed per 100,000 residents. 20: The estimated incidence rate deemed safe to lift Ontario's stay-at-home order, according to one expert. 129: The combined number of patients currently in intensive care in Ottawa, according to the latest updates from local hospitals. All hospital numbers in this section have dropped from the last update. 57: The number of those patients who have COVID-19. 25: The number of COVID-19 patients from Ottawa in an Ottawa ICU, according to OPH. 32: The number of COVID-19 patients from other regions in an Ottawa ICU. 368,616: The number of Ottawa residents who have received their first vaccine dose, an increase of about 15,000 since Monday. 35%: The percentage of Ottawa residents who have received at least one vaccine dose. 27,993: The number of Ottawa residents who have received their second vaccine dose, about three per cent of the city's population. Across the region Public health officials in the Outaouais are reporting 33 new COVID-19 cases Friday and one death. The region is under Quebec's strictest measures, which start to loosen on Monday. The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit reports five more COVID-19 cases and one death. A total of 901 people have now died across the wider region of COVID-19. The Eastern Ontario Health Unit reports 25 more cases. Ontario is under a provincewide stay-at-home order until at least May 20.
LOS ANGELES — Aubrey Plaza has married her longtime boyfriend, director and screenwriter Jeff Baena. The “Parks and Recreation” actor called Baena “my husband” for the first time publicly Friday in an Instagram post. Her publicist confirmed the two had married but gave no details. Plaza, 36, and Baena, 43, have been a couple for about a decade. She has appeared in two of his films, 2014's “Life After Beth” and 2017's “The Little Hours,” and is slated to appear in his forthcoming “Spin Me Round,” which was the subject of her Instagram post. “So proud of my darling husband @jeffbaena for dreaming up another film that takes us to italia to cause some more trouble,” Plaza said alongside a photo of the couple. She also appears in the new Showtime anthology series “Cinema Toast,” which he created. Plaza is best known for playing April Ludgate from 2009 to 2015 on the NBC comedy series “Parks and Recreation.” In addition to his films with Plaza, Baena directed the 2020 Netflix drama “Horse Girl” with Alison Brie, who also co-wrote “Spin Me Round” with Baena and will co-star with Plaza. The Associated Press
An RCMP officer stationed in Ottawa is facing three charges related to his time as a relief officer in Kimmirut, Nunavut, in the summer of 2020. Ira Tarleton has been charged with assault causing bodily harm, theft under $5,000 and mischief under $5,000.RCMP say the charges stem from an incident where Tarleton responded to a call for service in the community. A news release from the RCMP does not describe what happened and says no further information will be released at this time.Kimmirut is a community of about 400 people in the south on Baffin Island, which is about 120 kilometres from Iqaluit.Chief Supt. Amanda Jones, who leads the Nunavut RCMP, says the charges are serious and the allegations don't represent the individual conduct of officers.“The conduct of police officers is paramount in maintaining the trust of the communities they serve ... These allegations do not reflect the integrity of our individual members nor do they represent what we stand for as a police service," Jones said in the news release.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021 The Canadian Press
A review of the province's rental housing market is ruling out a cap on rent increases in all but the most extreme cases. The report, drafted by civil servants and released, Friday says creating more incentives for the construction of new units is a more workable way to address the supply crunch in the white-hot housing market. It calls for "better protections against unreasonable rent increases" but Executive Council clerk Cheryl Hansen, the province's top civil servant, told reporters that does not mean "across the board" rent controls. "We have discovered that a far more comprehensive approach is required," she said, though in response to a reporter's hypothetical question she said the province was open to restricting extreme increases in the 25 to 30 per cent range. "I would suggest that we do not need to have that across the board." Officials say limiting rent increases to once a year, and requiring landlords to give tenants more notification of hikes, would help alleviate the phenomenon of soaring costs seen in recent months in the province. Earlier this year Statistics Canada reported that rent paid on accommodations in New Brunswick between March 2020 and March 2021 rose 4.8 per cent, the largest increase in the country. Nationally, rents inched up a fraction of that, an average of 0.5 per cent, over the same period. Hansen said Friday that the lowest-income New Brunswickers have seen rents increase by 34 per cent in the last decade while their incomes have risen only 18 per cent. But officials who briefed reporters said a cap on rent increases could have "negative consequences" for the housing market, creating a disincentive for landlords to build new units. They also said rent control tends to benefit higher-income renters the most. Higgs responded to the report within hours, telling reporters he has "sympathies" for tenants who experience "rate shocks." Premier Blaine Higgs said he doesn't believe his stated position on rent controls influenced the report prepared by public servants.(Ed Hunter/CBC ) "I believe there needs to be some protection there for tenants in relation to the frequency and the extent to which a rate could be changed in a span of time," he said. He attributed part of the phenomenon to more people moving to New Brunswick for work and driving up demand for housing, which he suggested has given apartment owners an opening to raise rents. "Did we have some cases where landlords looked at the market and said 'Now's our chance?'" he said. "I don't want people's livelihoods and situations played with just because it's the right time." Sarah Lunney of Acorn New Brunswick, a group advocating for low-income people, said she was disappointed with the rejection of rent control and rejected the rationale. "Saying that rent control disincentivizes development, that's just not a thing," she said. "I don't agree with that. Other provinces [with rent control laws] are still developing housing." The report found there are gaps in access to affordable, adequate, quality and safe rental units.(David Zalubowski/Associated Press) She said restricting rent increases to once a year would not do anything to protect people from big increases. "You would still need some kind of rent control to ensure that when that one time a year comes around, tenants aren't being forced out of their buildings at that time of year." Abram Lutes of the Common Front for Social Justice said he was disappointed the report dismisses the role of non-profit housing. The document quotes a developer saying the non-profit sector lacks the "knowledge and experience" to build multi-unit apartments. "The information in the report is useful in terms of knowing how bad the situation is, but the recommendations are inexcusably inadequate given what's been reported in the document," he said. The report says large rent increases are being driven by a changing rental market: more people are working longer, the population is increasing and older people are downsizing into apartments. Abram Lutes, with the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice, pictured earlier this year, was disappointed the report dismissed the role non-profit housing could play in helping alleviate the affordable housing shortage.(CBC) At the same time, a growing number of remote workers are looking for more space so they can have a home office, and the growth of short-term vacation rentals is removing some apartments from the monthly rental market. Meanwhile, shortages of construction workers can slow the building of new apartment stock. "We're not necessarily in a crisis, but a crisis is pending," Higgs said. "We've got a situation we can't ignore." The report says housing is seen as both a human right and as a business. "These truths do not always co-exist comfortably and can polarize conversations." Premier rejects suggestion of influence Higgs said he didn't think his comments earlier this year opposing rent control influenced the report, which despite being drafted by civil servants was described as an independent process similar to a third-party study. "I don't think anyone would suspect that I would feel any differently about putting price controls on the free market. That's a position I've had for a long time," he said. The report does not comment on a proposal pushed by developers to cut property taxes on apartment buildings by removing the provincial portion of the tax. Hansen said that's being looked as part of work on local government reform. Higgs announced a phase-out of the provincial portion of the tax in the March 2020 budget but cancelled it after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
EDMONTON — A judge has found an Edmonton woman guilty of manslaughter in the death of her five-year-old daughter. Court heard that the girl died of blunt-force trauma and prosecutors alleged her mother beat her with a belt and a spatula. The woman, who is in her 30s, had been charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life, assault with a weapon and second-degree murder. Justice Avril Inglis says there was not enough evidence to convict the woman beyond a reasonable doubt on those charges. But Inglis convicted the woman of manslaughter because evidence showed that the girl's severe brain injuries were caused by an assault and the only person in the home capable of inflicting them was her mother. The woman is expected to be sentenced in the fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2021. The Canadian Press
