Premier Smith blames Calgary Green Line fallout on missing “political oversight”

Montreal police have arrested two people on drug charges following an investigation into the death of a 15-year-old boy from a synthetic opioid overdose last December.

Laxshan Mylvaganam, 24, and a 17-year-old whose identity is protected have been charged with possession and trafficking of narcotics.

Police say they seized several hundred counterfeit pills containing dangerous synthetic opioids during searches of three homes and a vehicle.

Fifteen-year-old Mathis Boivin from Montreal died in December 2023 after consuming a pill containing nitazene, a synthetic opioid stronger than fentanyl.

His death made headlines in Quebec and his father, Christian Boivin, has spoken widely about his son to raise awareness about the opioid epidemic.

Mylvaganam was arraigned in Montreal today, while the minor will appear at a later date in youth court.

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

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OTTAWA – Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says he won’t support the Conservatives in their attempt to topple the Liberal government with a non-confidence motion next week.

Blanchet says he works for Quebec, not the Conservatives.

Pierre Poilievre says his non-confidence motion will be debated next week, and a Conservative spokesperson says it will simply state the House has no confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his government.

Now that the NDP has ended the supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals, the minority government needs to shore up support from opposition parties on a vote-by-vote basis.

The Conservatives would likely need the support of both the Bloc and the NDP to bring down the government.

Blanchet has previously indicated he is willing to vote with the Liberals on confidence motions in exchange for the government green-lighting a Bloc bill about seniors’ pensions.

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

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

OTTAWA – Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence” in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.

Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told the assembly the motion was too one-sided to support, though he said Ottawa agrees that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territories.

This morning’s non-binding vote passed 124-14, and Canada was among 43 abstentions.

The State of Palestine brought the motion to the UN General Assembly, and Israel says the vote amounts to “diplomatic terrorism.”

The resolution is based on a July ruling by the International Court of Justice, which condemned Israel’s rule over lands it captured in 1967 by force, saying this violates international laws.

Last December, Canada stopped its decade-long policy of backing Israel in almost any United Nations vote over concerns about the lack of progress toward a humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

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

— With files from The Associated Press.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.