Articles by Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press

Jun 23 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A lawsuit alleging RCMP systematically brutalized Indigenous people in Northern Canada can proceed as a class action despite objections from the government, Federal Court ruled on Wednesday. In her decision, Judge Glennys McVeigh rejected the government's arguments that the proposed suit failed to meet the legal grounds for certification although individuals could sue […]

Jun 22 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Teen killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo failed in his second parole bid on Tuesday after the parents of two of his victims recounted the enduring pain of his twisted crimes and warned he should never be released from his life sentence. The hearing officers of the Parole Board of Canada took about […]

Jun 16 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Help for the struggling James Bay community of Kashechewan has been slow in coming, as COVID-19 infections surge through overcrowded homes and isolation facilities remain non-existent, Chief Leo Friday said on Wednesday. The virus has attacked children particularly hard, with those aged 12 and under accounting for more than half the 232 active […]

Jun 15 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — Queen's University has become embroiled in an increasingly public dispute over whether some of its faculty and other associates are falsely holding themselves out to be Indigenous, thereby harming the cause of First Nations people. An anonymous report into the identity claims posted on social media earlier this month takes specific aim at six academics […]

Jun 14 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Two men in charge of an extremist publication lost their appeal Monday of a conviction for promoting hatred against women and Jews, with the judge also upholding their sentences. In his ruling Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Cavanagh rejected arguments from James Sears, editor of Your Ward News, and its publisher, LeRoy St. […]

Jun 9 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Fully vaccinated Canadian citizens and permanent residents who test negative for COVID-19 will likely soon be exempt from two weeks quarantine on return to Canada, the government announced Wednesday, as millions of doses of the Moderna vaccine were expected to arrive. Starting early next month, the travellers who have received federally approved shots […]

Jun 6 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Widespread shock at the discovery of what are believed to be the buried remains of 215 Indigenous children has highlighted the pervasive ignorance among many Canadians of one of the most sordid, and as yet incomplete, chapters in Canada’s national story, experts and observers say.  The lack of understanding, they say, is largely […]

Jun 3 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A judge accused of lying about his activities with a Black activist group made mistakes but should face no sanction, the Ontario Judicial Council has concluded. In its decision, a council disciplinary panel found Ontario court Judge Donald McLeod had neither perjured himself nor provided misleading statements at an earlier disciplinary hearing. Aspects […]

Jun 2 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Convicted teen killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo is set for his second parole hearing this month, the Parole Board of Canada announced on Wednesday, dredging yet again heart-cracking memories for his victims' relatives. The families, implacably opposed to Bernardo's release, have been preparing impact statements for the hearing, tentatively scheduled for June […]

May 28 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A mother found guilty of smothering her severely disabled daughter won a new first-degree murder trial on Friday because of faulty instructions to the jury that convicted her. In a unanimous decision, Ontario's top court found Cindy Ali deserved another chance to make her case given the trial judge's error. "The jury instructions […]

May 28 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Indigenous women must be squarely at the forefront of efforts to combat the national tragedy of violence against them, a new Ontario government report asserts. The province's response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls offers a road map for tackling an issue that has inflicted horrors on […]

May 26 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — More than half of all people in Canada have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, health authorities reported Wednesday, as Alberta charted an ambitious course to lift most pandemic restrictions by early July. The Alberta government's "open for summer" plan is possible because residents have "crushed" a spike in COVID-19 cases […]

May 21 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A federal court judge accused of bias against Palestinians over his views on a proposed appointment at the University of Toronto made serious mistakes, but can stay on the job, a judicial review body concluded on Friday. In its decision, the panel of the Canadian Judicial Council found Judge David Spiro should not […]

May 20 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — Impatience and a lack of clarity persisted Thursday over the fate of thousands of doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine set to expire in the coming weeks but answers could be coming within days. Several provinces have stopped giving the COVID-19 shot over concerns of rare, fatal blood clots. Health authorities were still trying […]

May 19 2021 — Colin Perkel, The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A slowdown in new COVID-19 infections across much of the country along with rising vaccination numbers has political and health authorities easing restrictions put in place to curb the pandemic. In one such key development, Ontario's top public health officer said hospitals could resume non-urgent surgeries and procedures, ending a ban that's been […]