Thousands of demonstrators lined the streets of Canadian cities from St. John’s to Vancouver as part of a worldwide “human chain” to show solidarity with ongoing anti-government protests in Iran.
In Toronto, stretches of Yonge Street were flanked by crowds chanting “women, life, freedom” and “say her name: Mahsa Amini,” who died on Sept. 16 after being detained for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code for women.
At a midtown intersection, cars blared their horns as they passed by demonstrators holding pictures of loved ones who were among the victims of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. On Jan. 8, 2020, 176 people, including 55 Canadian citizens, were killed when Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down the Ukrainian airliner.
The events were organized by the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims.
Arash Morattab, who lost his brother and sister-in-law in the crash, said the victims of Flight 752 have common cause with the protest movement that has rocked Iran for nearly a month and a half in the face of harsh backlash from security forces.
“We are all victims of a regime that started killing people from the first days of them coming into power, and this keeps going until now,” said Morattab. “They killed our beloved ones in January 2020, and now they kill other people that fight for their rights.”
Protesters line Yonge Street in north Toronto on Saturday in support of Iranians’ continued protests against the death of Mahsa Amini in September. (Tyler Cheese/CBC)
‘It’s not just about the hijab’
The fight for justice is particularly resonant for women in Iran who continue to be denied freedom, said protester Sara Ahmadi. She said she ran into problems with the regime because she wasn’t legally married to her common-law partner, who was killed in the plane crash.
“Women don’t have any rights in my country,” Ahmadi said. “It’s not just about the hijab. It’s about everything.”
Further north on Yonge Street, protesters chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Islamic regime must go” and “What solution? Revolution” while drivers leaned on their horns in solidarity.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Mehrdokht Hadi, one of the organizers of the Toronto event. “Two months ago I couldn’t imagine this crowd on the streets, now people are not scared and people are motivated.”
Members of the Iranian Canadian community and their supporters chant before participating in a worldwide ‘human chain’ organized by the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims in Ottawa on Saturday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The protests in Iran sparked by Amini’s death first focused on the state-mandated hijab, or head scarf for women, but quickly grew into calls for the downfall of the country’s theocracy.
At least 270 people have been killed and 14,000 have been arrested in the protests that have swept over 125 Iranian cities, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran.
The Iranian government has repeatedly alleged that foreign powers have orchestrated the protests, but have not provided evidence to support the claim.
Trudeau at Ottawa protest
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at the protest in Ottawa, where several hundred people gathered outside the National Gallery of Canada before moving to stretch along both sides of the Alexandra Bridge.
“Iranians made their choice, Canada be their voice,” and “Canada, U.S., take action, take action” featured prominently in the chants heard in the nation’s capital.
Trudeau told the crowd that he and other Canadians stood with the protesters in Iran.
“They are not forgotten. Their voices are being heard,” he said.
‘Enough is enough,’ Trudeau says at Iran demonstration
As demonstrators gathered across Canada to show solidarity with those in Iran protesting the repression of women’s rights following the death of Mahsa Amini, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a crowd in Ottawa that ‘we are not stopping.’
The biggest applause for the prime minister came when he discussed Iranians in Canada “who have benefited from the corrupt, from the horrific regime in Iran,” saying “no more” would Canada be a safe haven.
Canada has moved to bar thousands of members of the Iranian regime and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering Canada.
Trudeau’s words Saturday prompted chants of “kick them out” from the crowd.
A demonstrator waves the flag of Iran as they participate in a human chain along the Alexandra Bridge joining Ottawa and Gatineau, Que., on Saturday. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
One of the protesters, Arian Nourishad, said she was glad to see Trudeau at the protest, along with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.
“Of course, you can always do more. But we’re happy he’s here,” she said.
Sharooz Fazni, who came to Canada from Iran in 1984, said that he was more hopeful about these protests than ever before. He said he was glad to be taking part in protests in Canada in support of those in Iran.
“Here, nobody shoots. But in Iran …”
Calls for democracy, end to regime
In Winnipeg, more than 100 people participated in the human chain protest that began at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and stretched along the Esplanade Riel.
“We want democracy for Iran. We want this oppression to end,” Kouroush Doustshenas, who helped organize the event.
“We want to see this regime end, because as long as they are around there will be no peace or justice, not only for Iranians but for a large area of the Middle East,” he said.
People form a chain in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in downtown Winnipeg on Saturday. (Justin Fraser/CBC)
The real estate agent lost his fiancée when Flight 752 was shot down. Eight of those killed in the disaster were from Winnipeg.
He’s now a director of the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims.
“We’ve called [for] this human chain to memorialize and celebrate the lives of the people we have lost [to the regime],” Doustshenas said.
Doustshenas, and other leaders from the Manitoba Iranian community, met with Trudeau and members of parliament in Winnipeg on Friday at the Tehran Cafe.
In Saskatoon, a number of city officials, including Mayor Charlie Clark, joined hundreds of people in a march that began at the top of University Bridge and made its way downtown to city hall.
Hundreds marched in Saskatoon Saturday afternoon to support the freedom movement of Iranian people and condemn the deaths and arrests of protesters. (Trevor Bothorel/Radio-Canada)
One of the organizers said the worldwide protests are meant to highlight what is happening in Iran.
“[It’s] putting the spotlight and mounting pressure on the Iranian government to stop killing protesters, and I think that attention has a big role to play in achieving that goal,” said Pooyan Arab, director of Saskatoon Iranian Cultural Association and one of the march’s organizers.
Personal experience
Calgary’s Edworthy Park was filled with more than 500 people standing side by side in defiance of Iran regime, chanting Amini’s name and calling on the Canadian government to help make a change.
Ghazal Khanlarbig was among them. She’s been in Canada since she was 14.
“When I was 13, I was at a party with my aunt and I was arrested by morality police because we were attending a birthday party,” Khanlarbig said.
“I will never forget those 15 hours…. It was actually a few months before I came to Canada and I was crying and I was begging because I thought I would never be able to leave Iran.”
Decades later, she’s protesting against that regime thousands of kilometres away.
A protestor holds the flag of Iran at a rally in Calgary on Saturday. (Evelyne Asselin/Radio-Canada)
Meanwhile, about 100 people turned out in support of Iranian protesters in Edmonton. The rally was hosted by the Iranian Heritage Society of Edmonton (IHSE) along with the Association of Families of Flight PS752.
Organizer Reza Akbari, president of the IHSE, said the Iranian government’s tight control of the internet restricts people’s ability to share their stories of what is happening in Iran’s schools and on its streets. He said the protest was a way to be their voice and ensure their message is heard.
About 100 people turned out in Edmonton in support of Iranian protesters. The rally ended with supporters marching down Whyte Avenue before forming a human chain. (Craig Ryan/CBC)
‘Please be our voice’
In Vancouver, thousands of people joined hands along the Lions Gate Bridge, which links Vancouver to North Vancouver, to form a human chain starting at noon PT. The group held banners and waved flags as passing motorists honked their horns.
According to the Vancouver Police Department, there were 15,000 to 20,000 people on the bridge at the rally’s peak. The protest was peaceful with no arrests, police said.
Massive protest on Lionsgate bridge by local Iranian community against the current Iranian regime. People chanting slogans of ‘Azaadi’(Freedom). Both sides of the bridge covered by protestors forming a Human Chain. <a href=”https://t.co/D6ezYW5a2J”>pic.twitter.com/D6ezYW5a2J</a>
About 200 people protested in Harbourside Park in St. John’s on Saturday.
Aysan, one of the protest organizers, said she was arrested in Iran and forced to wear a hijab. CBC News is only referring to her by her first name to protect her family still in Iran.
Aysan called for people to speak up to help force change in the regime in Iran.
“What we want from people of the world, people of Canada, first of all, please be our voice. You might not know that, but being your voice, even sharing your story on social media can save lives,” she said.
“We are the same people as you. Just because we were born in Middle East doesn’t mean that we deserve to be murdered. And we want the world [to] know that and stop being supportive of the regime.”
Aysan holds the names of about 150 people who she said have been arrested or killed in Iran. CBC News is only using Aysan’s first name to protect her family still in Iran. (Henrike Wilhelm/CBC)
In Halifax, the show of support for the people of Iran moved some demonstrators to tears, said Reza Rahimi, who lost his mother-in-law when Flight 752 was shot down.
“[Locals and] immigrants from every nation and every race were standing beside us,” Rahimi said.
“Three years after losing my mother-in-law abroad, I’m not saying it’s let us move on — we would never move on — but it will help us put something on the pain.”
Similar protests unfolded on Saturday in other Canadian cities including London and Waterloo, Ont., and Montreal. Around the world, cities in the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K., among other countries, were also slated to host rallies.
Protesters gather at the Roddick Gates in front of McGill University in Montreal on Saturday. (Submitted by Atena Barforoushi)
With files from Christian Paas-Lang, Jane Gerster, Lukas Wall, Jenn Allen, Samantha Schwientek, Chad Pawson, Scott Larson, Omar Sherif, Eva Lam and The Canadian Press
MONCTON, N.B. – New Brunswick RCMP say two youths have been arrested after an emergency alert was issued Monday evening about someone carrying a gun in the province’s southeast.
Caledonia Region Mounties say they were first called out to Main Street in the community of Salisbury around 7 p.m. on reports of a shooting.
A 48-year-old man was found at the scene suffering from gunshot wounds and he was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say in the interest of public safety, they issued an Alert Ready message at 8:15 p.m. for someone driving a silver Ford F-150 pickup truck and reportedly carrying a firearm with dangerous intent in the Salisbury and Moncton area.
Two youths were arrested without incident later in the evening in Salisbury, and the alert was cancelled just after midnight Tuesday.
Police are still looking for the silver pickup truck, covered in mud, with possible Nova Scotia licence plate HDC 958. They now confirm the truck was stolen from Central Blissville.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Golf Canada has set an impressive stretch goal of having 30 professional golfers at the highest levels of the sport by 2032.
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is a huge part of that target.
Credit Valley Golf and Country Club will host the international tournament from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, with 24 teams representing 23 nations — Canada gets two squads — competing. Lindsay McGrath, a 17-year-old golfer from Oakville, Ont., said she’s excited to be representing Canada and continue to develop her game.
“I’m really grateful to be here,” said McGrath on Monday after a news conference in Credit Valley’s clubhouse in Mississauga, Ont. “It’s just such an awesome feeling being here and representing our country, wearing all the logos and being on Team Canada.
“I’ve always wanted to play in this tournament, so it’s really special to me.”
McGrath will be joined by Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont., and Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta., on Team Canada 2. All three earned their places through a qualifying tournament last month.
“I love my teammates so much,” said McGrath. “I know Nobelle and Eileen very well. I’m just so excited to be with them. We have such a great relationship.”
Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont., Calgary’s Aphrodite Deng and Clairey Lin make up Team Canada 2. Liu earned her exemption following her win at the 2024 Canadian Junior Girls Championship while Deng earned her exemption as being the low eligible Canadian on the world amateur golf ranking as of Aug. 7.
Deng was No. 175 at the time, she has since improved to No. 171 and is Canada’s lowest-ranked player.
“I think it’s a really great opportunity,” said Liu. “We don’t really get that many opportunities to play with people from across the world, so it’s really great to meet new people and play with them.
“It’s great to see maybe how they play and take parts from their game that we might also implement our own games.”
Golf Canada founded the World Junior Girls Golf Championship in 2014 to fill a void in women’s international competition and help grow its own homegrown talent. The hosts won for the first time last year when Vancouver’s Anna Huang, Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos and Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang won team gold and Huang earned individual silver.
Medallists who have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour include Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who was fourth in the individual competition at the inaugural tournament. She was on Canada’s bronze-medal team in 2014 with Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee.
Other notable competitors who went on to become LPGA Tour winners include Angel Yin and Megan Khang of the United States, as well as Yuka Saso of the Philippines, Sweden’s Linn Grant and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand.
“It’s not if, it’s when they’re going to be on the LPGA Tour,” said Garrett Ball, Golf Canada’s chief operating officer, of how Canada’s golfers in the World Junior Girls Championship can be part of the organization’s goal to have 30 pros in the LPGA and PGA Tours by 2032.
“Events like this, like the She Plays Golf festival that we launched two years ago, and then the CPKC Women’s Open exemptions that we utilize to bring in our national team athletes and get the experience has been important in that pathway.”
The individual winner of the World Junior Girls Golf Championship will earn a berth in next year’s CPKC Women’s Open at nearby Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.
Both clubs, as well as former RBC Canadian Open host site Glen Abbey Golf Club, were devastated by heavy rains through June and July as the Greater Toronto Area had its wettest summer in recorded history.
Jason Hanna, the chief operating officer of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, said that he has seen the Credit River flood so badly that it affected the course’s playability a handful of times over his nearly two decades with the club.
Staff and members alike came together to clean up the course after the flooding was over, with hundreds of people coming together to make the club playable again.
“You had to show up, bring your own rake, bring your own shovel, bring your own gloves, and then we’d take them down to the golf course, assign them to areas where they would work, and then we would do a big barbecue down at the halfway house,” said Hanna. “We got guys, like, 80 years old, putting in eight-hour days down there, working away.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fenway Park has the Ted Williams seat. And now Citi Field has the Grimace seat.
The kid-friendly McDonald’s character made another appearance at the ballpark Monday, when the New York Mets unveiled a commemorative purple seat in section 302 to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”
Wearing his pear-shaped purple costume and a baseball glove on backwards, Grimace threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.
That victory began a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets’ good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own online.
New York is 53-31 since June 12, the best record in the majors during that span. The Mets were tied with rival Atlanta for the last National League playoff spot as they opened their final homestand of the season Monday night against Washington.
The new Grimace seat in the second deck in right field — located in row 6, seat 12 to signify 6/12 on the calendar — was brought into the Shannon Forde press conference room Monday afternoon. The character posed next to the chair and with fans who strolled into the room.
The seat is available for purchase for each of the Mets’ remaining home games.
“It’s been great to see how our fanbase created the Grimace phenomenon following his first pitch in June and in the months since,” Mets senior vice president of partnerships Brenden Mallette said in a news release. “As we explored how to further capture the magic of this moment and celebrate our new celebrity fan, installing a commemorative seat ahead of fan appreciation weekend felt like the perfect way to give something back to the fans in a fun and unique way.”
Up in Boston, the famous Ted Williams seat is painted bright red among rows of green chairs deep in the right-field stands at Fenway Park to mark where a reported 502-foot homer hit by the Hall of Fame slugger landed in June 1946.
So, does this catapult Grimace into Splendid Splinter territory?
“I don’t know if we put him on the same level,” Mets executive vice president and chief marketing officer Andy Goldberg said with a grin.
“It’s just been a fun year, and at the same time, we’ve been playing great ball. Ever since the end of May, we have been crushing it,” he explained. “So I think that added to the mystique.”
