Feb 14 2017 — Diana Mehta — BRAMPTON, Ont. — A mother, father and daughter died in a house fire Tuesday morning, while the couple's other daughter suffered severe burns when the flames and heavy smoke spread quickly through their home in Brampton, Ont. Firefighters were called to the semi-detached home near Dixie Road and Bovaird Drive East shortly after 4 a.m. The city's fire chief said by the time firefighters […]
Feb 10 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — In an effort to quell an ongoing controversy around police presence in Canada's largest Pride parade, Toronto's police chief announced Friday that his force would not be participating in the annual event this year. Chief Mark Saunders pointed to divisions within the LGBTQ community as the primary reason for his decision, but emphasized it […]
Feb 9 2017 — Diana Mehta — The decision to ask the public for help in finding a "blueberry bandit" involved in a truck robbery may have seemed like a light-hearted approach, but it helped spread the word, Hamilton police said Thursday. The incident took place on Sunday between 3 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., when investigators allege a refrigerated tractor-trailer containing an estimated $100,000 worth of blueberries and some […]
Feb 9 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — Like the lines of poetry it contains, director Jim Jarmusch's film "Paterson" unfolds steadily, quietly noting the details of a routine, simple life. The movie follows seven days in the lives of its subjects and is devoid of any heavy, complex drama. And that's how Jarmusch wanted it. "This film I think of a little bit more […]
Feb 8 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — A woman charged in an apparently unprovoked fatal stabbing in Toronto's financial district is expected to stand trial next January. Rohinie Bisesar is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 28-year-old Rosemarie Junor. Junor, a newlywed medical technician, died several days after being stabbed at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto's popular […]
Feb 7 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — The mother of a Canadian man killed fighting Islamic State militants in northern Syria is questioning why her son's body still hasn't been recovered when the remains of a British fighter who died on the same day were on the way to the United Kingdom. Nazzareno Tassone, 24, was killed on Dec. 21 in the city […]
Feb 3 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — An Ontario man who claims he nearly choked to death while eating popcorn in a movie theatre has launched a lawsuit against Cineplex, alleging the cinema chain and its employees failed to help him as he was suffocating. In a statement of claim, 28-year-old Chadrick John Veenhof says the incident happened at a Cineplex theatre […]
Feb 1 2017 — Diana Mehta — An Ontario minor hockey executive has been suspended and ordered to take ethics training after posting a slur online about Canadian women who joined a massive march in Washington, D.C., last month. Windsor Minor Hockey Association president Dean Lapierre apologized last week and said he "screwed up" when he made the comment on his personal Facebook page about the protest in support of […]
Jan 31 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — A close friend of a woman murdered by convicted sex killer Russell Williams says an upcoming stage production based on the intense police interrogation of the former military commander will sensationalize his crimes. Kirsten Walkom says the grief experienced by Williams' victims and their loved ones is not meant for entertainment. The One Little […]
Jan 26 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — Ontario's medical regulator has won an appeal of a penalty imposed by its own discipline committee after decrying the independent panel's "demonstrably unfit" punishment of a Toronto doctor who sexually abused female patients. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario acknowledged it rarely challenges its discipline committee's decisions, but noted that penalties for such behaviour […]
Jan 24 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — An American city is defending its plan to draw water from the Great Lakes, saying Canadian and U.S. mayors trying to block the move should be ignored. The Wisconsin city of Waukesha argues a decision last year that gave it permission to pipe water from Lake Michigan was error-free, protects the environment and does not need […]
Jan 23 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — A Toronto-based theatre company is developing a play based on the intense police interrogation in which convicted sex killer Russell Williams confessed his crimes. The One Little Goat Theatre Company plans to premiere "Smyth/Williams" in March, with an all-female cast that will alternate the roles of the interrogating officer and Williams through the performance. The […]
Jan 23 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — Ontario's medical watchdog has issued a scathing reprimand against a psychiatrist who sexually abused multiple patients over more than a decade, saying the man brought shame to the profession. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said Dr. Stanley Thomas Dobrowolski caused "deep anguish and lasting harm" to many patients for "selfish and […]
Jan 19 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — Many Canadians plan to watch Donald Trump's inauguration as the next U.S. president Friday on television screens, through online feeds or with friends at a local pub, but some say they will deliberately ignore the spectacle. For Glen Pye, a Toronto business owner, it's a historic event made even more appealing by Trump's persona. "You're getting a […]
Jan 19 2017 — Diana Mehta — TORONTO — Many Canadians plan to watch Donald Trump's inauguration as the next U.S. president Friday on television screens, through online feeds or with friends at a local pub, but some say they will deliberately ignore the spectacle. For Glen Pye, a Toronto business owner, it's a historic event made even more appealing by Trump's persona. "You're getting a […]