In the news today: Canada sanctions 13 for role in Navalny’s death

By The Canadian Press on June 18, 2024.

Photographs, flowers and candles are shown at a makeshift memorial for Alexei Navalny outside the Russian consulate in Montreal, Friday, February 16, 2024. Canada is sanctioning 13 more Russians from the intelligence service, police force and corrections system for their role in the poisoning, imprisonment and death of opposition leader Navalny. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

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

Canada sanctions 13 more Russians for role in Navalny’s imprisonment and death

Canada is sanctioning 13 more Russians from the intelligence service, police force and corrections system for their role in the poisoning, imprisonment and death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The new sanctions come as Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is in Ottawa for meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. Navalnaya has pledged to continue her late husband’s anticorruption work. Navalny died Feb. 16 at a Russian penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence for what Canada considers trumped-up charges designed to silence an opposition politician causing problems for President Vladimir Putin.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Sikh activists mark anniversary of Nijjar’s death

A Sikh activist marking the anniversary of the killing of British Columbia temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says the past year has shown they are vindicated in their claims that India targeted separatists overseas. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based activist who himself was targeted by India according to U.S. authorities, says Nijjar’s murder a year ago was “not the kind of publicity” the Sikh independence movement was seeking. Nijjar, a key organizer for an overseas referendum on an independent Sikh state in India, was gunned down in the parking lot of the Surrey, B.C., temple where he was president on June 18 last year.

Judge to sentence former Mountie for manslaughter

A judge is expected to give his sentencing decision today for a former Saskatchewan Mountie who shot and killed his lover in a park. Bernie Herman was convicted in January of manslaughter in the death of Braden Herman, who is not related to him. The naked body of 26-year-old Braden Herman was found in 2021 in the park on the outskirts of Prince Albert, northeast of Saskatoon. The Crown has asked for a life sentence, and the defence has argued for a term of four to six years.

Opioid deaths in shelters tripled during pandemic

A new study indicates opioid-related deaths in Ontario’s shelters more than tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic, when compared with a few years prior. The study conducted by researchers from the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital and Public Health Ontario says there were 210 accidental opioid deaths in shelters between January 2018 and May 2022. The study says 48 of those deaths took place before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in mid-March 2020, and 162 were recorded after. The Toronto Public Health unit had the highest number of opioid-related deaths within shelters during the pandemic period studied, with 65 deaths.

Will Toronto legislate a maximum apartment temp?

A coalition of tenant and environmental groups is calling on Toronto to pass a bylaw on maximum temperatures in apartments. The coalition, backed by groups who support seniors and people with disabilities, says landlords should be required to ensure units can be kept cool when temperatures increase — just like they must offer heat when it’s cold. It would be the first of its kind bylaw in Canada, but some local governments in the United States already have maximum heat and air conditioning requirements.

Staples begins accepting Amazon returns

Canadians can now return their Amazon orders through Staples. The e-commerce giant says the office supply retailer’s 298 stores are now equipped to handle Amazon returns. The companies say anyone taking advantage of the partnership needs to first set up the return through their Amazon account. Then, customers can bring eligible items to a Staples store to be packed and shipped back to the seller.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2024.