Aurora Cannabis CEO Miguel Martin adds the role of executive chairman

Nearly two months after announcing an independent, external review into the Paris Olympics drone spying scandal, Canada Soccer — like everyone else — is waiting on its findings.

Canada women’s coach Bev Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi are serving one-year FIFA suspensions in the wake of New Zealand’s Olympic Committee filing a complaint with the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit, alleging drones were flown over a pair of pre-tournament practice sessions.

Mander and Lombardi were sent home immediately. Priestman initially removed herself from coaching the opening match but left the team after allegations of a wider culture of spying.

FIFA subsequently banned all three “from taking part in any football-related activity for a period of one year.”

Canada Soccer announced plans for the independent probe on July 24, saying it would “address the circumstances of the current matter, and more broadly, will seek to understand the historical culture of competitive ethics within all of our programs.”

“The outcome of this review will be shared publicly and corrective actions, if necessary, will be taken,” it added.

More than eight weeks later, Canada Soccer is still waiting for information to share. Priestman, while suspended, continues to get paid.

“Bev Priestman remains a paid staff member of Canada Soccer pending the conclusions of the review,” Canada Soccer said in a statement to The Canadian Press.

On July 31, Canada Soccer announced it had retained Sonia Regenbogen from the law firm of Mathews, Dinsdale & Clark to handle the review — “a focus on actions taken by Canada Soccer representatives related to the incident at the Olympic Games, and subsequently, any related matters of a historic nature.”

It called Regenbogen “a leading Canadian expert in conducting independent workplace investigations.”

“We will maintain prompt and transparent communication on this matter,” Canada Soccer said at the time.

Asked for a status update on the review, Canada Soccer offered little.

“We appreciate that there is interest in how the investigation is progressing, and we too look forward to its conclusions and recommendations. Given that this is an independent external investigation, we are not in control of its timelines.”

However, it said it remains “committed” to Regenbogen’s review.

The probe could shed light on past incidents of cheating. A ruling by the FIFA Appeals Committee put former Canada coach John Herdman at Ground Zero within Canada Soccer for spying on rival teams.

The July ruling, which dismissed a Canadian appeal of FIFA’s sanctions imposed on the women’s team, says Canada Soccer pointed the finger at Herdman.

“Canada is investigating the history of this matter, but we suspect that the practice of using a drone stems back to John Herdman when he was the head coach of the women’s national team. In other words, this was a practice started by one person — John Herdman — and continued by Bev Priestman,” Canada Soccer said, according to the FIFA document.

Herdman, who has said he will co-operate with the review, has declined to publicly address such allegations, citing the “integrity of the investigation.”

But he has repeated that his record was clean at the Olympics and World Cups.

“I can again clarify that at a FIFA World Cup, pinnacle event, Olympic Games, at a Youth World Cup, those activities have not been undertaken,” he said in July. “And I’ve got nothing else to say on that matter.”

Herdman, now head coach of Toronto FC, led the Canadian women to two Olympic medals, winning bronze in 2012 and 2016, as well as the 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cup. He also took the Canadian men to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Toronto GM Jason Hernandez offered little this week when asked about the spying investigation, saying he was reserving “feelings, thoughts or determinations until the determinations are made and it all comes out.”

Former Canada captain Atiba Hutchinson was also reluctant to comment on the issue. But he suggested such spying “probably” happens all over the soccer world.

“We’ve seen a lot of things that have happened over the years in my days playing, with people watching and spying on us,” Hutchinson, who played for clubs in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Turkey and won a record 104 caps for Canada, said in an interview.

“I think countries, clubs, they find ways of trying to get a little bit of an advantage in certain things,” he added.

The sixth-ranked Canadian women return to action Oct. 25 against third-ranked Spain at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.

Canada Soccer has yet to announce who will coach the team. Assistant Andy Spence ran the team at the Olympics in Priestman’s absence.

Canada managed to reach the Olympic knockout round despite being docked six points for the spying scandal which also saw Canada Soccer fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($319,655).

The Canadians were eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 4 Germany in a penalty shootout.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024

TEMISKAMING SHORES, Ont. – Ontario Provincial Police say four people are dead after a house fire in Temiskaming Shores.

Police say all four were found dead inside the home on Paget Street, in the community of New Liskeard.

OPP say officers and firefighters in the northern Ontario community near the Quebec border responded to the fire around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

Police did not identify the victims or their relationship to one another.

OPP say they are investigating alongside the fire marshal and the coroner.

In a written statement, Const. Siobhan Christo said, “due to the ongoing investigation and out of respect for the family, no other information will be provided at this time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Retail sales edged up in July, but economists say it will take further interest rate cuts to really spark lasting activity.

Statistics Canada said Friday that retail sales rose 0.9 per cent to $66.4 billion in July, helped by stronger new car sales.

The agency said sales were higher in seven of the nine subsectors it tracks with sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers up 2.2 per cent, boosted by a 2.3 per cent increase in sales at new car dealers.

“It’s rare to see a positive surprise from Canadian consumers these days, but the July retail sales report delivered,” Shelly Kaushik, an economist with BMO Capital Markets, said in a note to investors.

The period the figures covered was largely marked by people anticipating and then delighting in the Bank of Canada’s decision to cut its key interest rate in July. The central bank cut rates again in September to 4.25 per cent.

The rate has weighed on shoppers, particularly those looking to make big purchases or take out mortgages, but as it’s been dropping, it’s delivered some relief to wallets.

That was reflected in core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers. They rose 0.6 per cent in July.

Sales at food and beverage retailers increased because of a 1.2 per cent jump in sales at supermarkets and other grocery retailers, a 2.1 per cent climb at specialty food retailers and 0.4 per cent rise at convenience retailers and vending machine operators.

Higher sales were also reported at health and personal care retailers in July.

In volume terms, Statistics Canada said retail sales across the month increased 1.0 per cent.

However, sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors fell 0.6 per cent for the month as sales for the subsector in volume terms fell 1.7 per cent.

Looking forward, Statistics Canada said its preliminary estimate for retail sales in August pointed to a gain of 0.5 per cent for the month, though it cautioned the figure will be revised.

“As we’ve stressed many times before, spending growth pales in comparison to the population surge,” Kaushik said. “Consumers will need to see more rate cuts filter through the economy to see a more meaningful recovery.”

TD Bank economist Maria Solovieva also detected the same downward trend in retail spending.

“A good start to the quarter is unlikely to sway the odds decisively on whether the Bank of Canada will cut rates by 50 basis points in October,” she told investors in a note.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 20, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.