In the news today: MAID Charter challenge, trade talks, ‘Heated Rivalry’ watch party

By Canadian Press on January 12, 2026.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Charter challenge of religious exemption to assisted dying law heads to court in B.C.

The B.C. Supreme Court is set to begin hearing a case this morning that questions whether religious hospitals have the right to refuse certain procedures.

Dying With Dignity Canada is among a group of plaintiffs bringing a Charter challenge against the B.C. government, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care.

The B.C. government allows organizations like Providence, a Catholic organization, to opt out of providing medical assistance in dying in their facilities, as long as patients are transferred elsewhere.

Gaye and Jim O’Neill, the parents of 34-year-old Sam O’Neill, say their daughter was in excruciating pain when she was transferred from St. Paul’s hospital in April 2023 to receive MAID.

Accused in Ryan Wedding case set to make bid for bail ahead of extradition hearing

An Ontario man accused of laundering funds for an international drug smuggling operation is set to start making his bid for release ahead of his extradition hearing.

Rolan Sokolovski was arrested last fall along with several other Canadians accused of working with former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding, an alleged drug kingpin listed as one of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted.

U.S. authorities allege Sokolovski oversaw the organization’s books, obtained luxury goods for Wedding and made a “bejewelled necklace” as payment for a murder.

Several days have been set aside for the bail hearing, which is taking place in a downtown Toronto courthouse.

Champagne in Washington to talk trade, critical minerals with G7 countries

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is in Washington, D.C., today for more meetings on trade and critical minerals.

Champagne has been meeting since Sunday with G7 counterparts and “other like-minded countries.”

The government says Champagne would take part in a finance ministers’ meeting to discuss critical minerals supply chains, hosted by the U.S. treasury secretary.

Champagne has said it is time to move on extraction and refining of critical minerals in Canada, and that Canada can help Europe move away from dependence on China for critical minerals.

Family identifies man who died after altercation with Saskatchewan hospital security

The Saskatoon Tribal Council says its chief, Mark Arcand, and relatives of a man who died after an altercation with security at Saskatchewan’s largest hospital will give a news conference today.

It comes after the family of Trevor Dubois told Saskatchewan news outlet paNOW that Dubois had brain cancer and was at the Royal University Hospital for chemotherapy when the altercation happened.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority has said security officers were called to a patient’s room last Friday and the patient became unresponsive after officers became involved in a physical altercation.

Dubois’ family says they are in shock and searching for answers on what led to his death.

‘Heated Rivalry’ rewatch event brings fans together at Montreal bookshop

Fans of the hockey romance series “Heated Rivalry” have a new spot in Montreal to rewatch their favourite episodes with fellow enthusiasts.

Roughly 60 people attended the independent bookstore Joie de livre on Sunday night for the screening of the first episode of the gay sports drama.

Many attendees said they had already watched the series multiple times, but were eager to experience it again in a room full of other fans.

Since debuting in November, “Heated Rivalry” has slapshot its way into viewers’ hearts, becoming one of Crave’s most-watched original series and a fixture on HBO Max’s top 10 shows in the U.S.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2026.

The Canadian Press