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Alberta minister denies crying, yelling during doctor confrontation

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Alberta’s justice minister says he felt sad and disappointed when he discovered someone he considered to be a friend was behind a social media post targeting him and his wife.

The Law Society of Alberta didn’t complete its hearing Thursday into allegations that Tyler Shandro violated the profession’s code of conduct. Three complaints date back to his time as the United Conservative Party government’s health minister early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawyers for both sides are working to determine a date for the hearing to continue.

Dr. Mukarram Zaidi, who had posted a photo on social media of Shandro with a caption related to privatizing health care, told the hearing the minister and his wife visited his home in March 2020. He said it occurred during fractious negotiations between the government and the Alberta Medical Association over fees.

The photo of Shandro, with a thought bubble caption, said: “So every Albertan that I can kick off health care is another client we can sign up for Vital Partners. We’re going to be RICH.” Shandro’s wife, Andrea, is the co-founder of Vital Partners, a health insurance agency.

Shandro said Thursday his spouse alerted him to the post when there had been up to a thousand threats made against the couple.

“I recognized the account being someone I considered a friend and who lived around the corner,” Shandro said under questioning by his lawyer.

“The irony is that this is a fellow who had often engaged with me to discuss the importance of being careful with words, with online posts and what that could result in.”

Zaidi testified earlier this week that he went outside of his home to meet Shandro and described the minister as being highly upset. He said Shandro told him to remove the post immediately because his family was being subjected to death threats.

“I see Shandro and his wife standing at the sidewalk. He was crying, he was emotionally charged. His wife was holding him,” Zaidi said.

“He said: ‘You can’t do this to us. We’re getting death threats.’ I think I asked him: ‘What do you want me to do?’ And he said: ‘Delete your post.”’

Zaidi told the hearing Tuesday that he deleted the post but contacted law society lawyers to let them know he discovered he had a second Twitter account where it was still up.

Shandro’s lawyer, Grant Stapon, filed an application to have all of the posts filed as evidence over the objections of law society counsel.

“Dr. Zaidi has testified that he in fact deleted the post in question after his discussion with Mr. and Mrs. Shandro. Not only did he not delete it from the website, another Twitter account, he continued to post detailed information thereafter,” Stapon argued.

“And it is a credibility issue before this proceeding as to whether or not Dr. Zaidi was telling the truth and I will submit he has not been telling the truth.”

Earlier in the day, Shandro testified he walked to Zaidi’s home by himself and asked the doctors’ children to send out their father. He said the conversation was over in a matter of minutes.

“I said: ‘Mukarram, why wouldn’t you have just asked me if you had questions? We know each other. You know me. You know Andrea. You know this isn’t true.’ And then I asked him: ‘Do you know this conspiracy theory is resulting in Andrea getting death threats?'” Shandro said.

“He said softly: ‘What do I do? Do I delete the post?’ I specifically did not take him up on that offer. I said: ‘Look, you have to decide that for yourself.'”

Shandro’s lawyer asked his client about Zaidi’s description of Shandro crying and yelling while being held by his wife during the discussion.

“It’s not true. It isn’t true at all. Andrea was not there and if she really was there, it doesn’t benefit me to say she wasn’t there. If anything, it would be helpful to have her be there to corroborate,” Shandro replied.

“I definitely did not yell at him.”

Shandro said his wife did show up at the end of the conversation.

“She was emotional. She did have red eyes. She was crying earlier. She said: ‘Don’t talk to him. He’s not interested in us. He’s only interested in money.'”

Shandro said at that point they returned home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2023.

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University of Waterloo stabber should face lengthy sentence: Crown

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KITCHENER, Ont. – Prosecutors are arguing a man who stabbed a professor and two students in a University of Waterloo gender studies class last year should face a lengthy sentence because of the attack’s lasting impact on campus safety and security.

Federal prosecutor Althea Francis says a sentence in the upper range is appropriate not only because Geovanny Villalba-Aleman wanted to send a message about his views but also because he sought to make those with different beliefs feel unsafe.

The Crown has said it is seeking a sentence of 16 years for Villalba-Aleman, who pleaded guilty to four charges in the June 2023 campus attack.

The sentencing hearing for Villalba-Aleman began Monday and is expected to continue all week.

Federal prosecutors argued Tuesday that Villalba-Aleman’s statement to police, and a manifesto that was found on his phone, show his actions were motivated by ideology and meant to intimidate a segment of the population.

Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.

A video of his statement to police was shown in court earlier in the sentencing hearing.

In the video, Villalba-Aleman told police he felt colleges and universities were imposing ideology and restricting academic freedom, and he wanted the attack to serve as a “wake-up call.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Nova Scotia premier announces one point cut to HST, to 14 per cent, starting April 1

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has announced a one percentage point cut to the harmonized sales tax starting April 1.

Houston made the announcement today as speculation mounts about a snap election call in the coming days.

The premier says the cut to the provincial portion of the tax would reduce it from 15 per cent to 14 per cent.

Houston says his government is making the move because people need more help with the cost of living.

A one percentage point reduction to the HST is expected to cost about $260.8 million next fiscal year.

The department says the HST brings in $2.7 billion or 17.1 per cent of provincial revenues, second only to personal income taxes.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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A look at what people are saying about the Bank of Canada’s rate decision

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OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to bring it to 3.75 per cent. Here’s what people are saying about the decision:

“High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief.” — Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor.

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“Activity in Canada’s housing market has been sluggish in many regions due to higher borrowing costs, but today’s more aggressive cut to lending rates could cause the tide to turn quickly. For those with variable rate mortgages – who will benefit from the rate drop immediately – or those with fast-approaching loan renewals, today’s announcement is welcome news indeed.” — Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.

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“This won’t be the end of rate cuts. Even with the succession of policy cuts since June, rates are still way too high given the state of the economy. To bring rates into better balance, we have another 150 bps in cuts pencilled in through 2025. So while the pace of cuts going forward is now highly uncertain, the direction for rates is firmly downwards.” — James Orlando, director and senior economist at TD Bank.

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“The size of the December rate cut will depend on upcoming job and inflation data, but a 25 basis point cut remains our baseline.” — Tu Nguyen, economist with assurance, tax and consultancy firm RSM Canada.

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“Today’s outsized rate cut is mostly a response to the heavy-duty decline in headline inflation in the past few months. However, the underlying forecast and the Bank’s mild tone suggest that the future default moves will be 25 bp steps, unless growth and/or inflation surprise again to the downside.” — Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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