Fear in for-profit Newfoundland shelter stoked fight that led to woman's death: judge | Canada News Media
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Fear in for-profit Newfoundland shelter stoked fight that led to woman’s death: judge

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A young man who fatally stabbed a woman during a fight inside a for-profit shelter in Newfoundland and Labrador was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for manslaughter on Tuesday.

Provincial Supreme Court Judge Vikas Khaladkar said Rayna Dove and David Quirke, who was 20 when he killed Dove on Dec. 27, 2021, had both told their families they felt unsafe at the downtown St. John’s shelter where they lived.

That fear may have led to their altercation, Khaladkar said.

“They were afraid of their living situation, afraid of where they found themselves, afraid of the people they were living with,” the judge told the courtroom.

Dove’s mother, Joan Dunphy, was distraught as she left the courtroom after the hearing.

“My daughter is gone, and he’s just going to go somewhere and sit and be fed, and we’re going to pay for that, and then he’ll go home to his mother,” she said to reporters about Quirke.

Dove and Quirke’s fight began over a butter knife, which Khaladkar said could be used to lock rooms at the shelter. Dove refused to return the knife, which prompted Quirke to bang on the wall between their rooms. Dove then went into Quirke’s room and attacked him. He grabbed her by her hair and head and got her out into the hallway, and then went back into his room and grabbed another knife, the judge said. When Dove went back into Quirke’s room, he stabbed her three times in the abdomen.

Quirke immediately called 911, which the judge said reflected well on him. However, he did not follow the instructions of the 911 operator to find something to hold against her wound.

Had he done that he could have saved her life, Khaladkar said.

A recording of the call was played for the court during a hearing in May. Dove can be heard yelling in the background as Quirke talks to the 911 operator. At one point, he tells the operator he believes Dove is dying.

Dove was 42 and the mother of two sons.

Khaladkar said Quirke showed genuine remorse, noting that he wept when the 911 call was played in court. He also apologized to Dove’s family after they read their victim impact statements.

Quirke had no criminal record and suffered from various mental health issues. Khaladkar said he believed Quirke would benefit from counselling, which the judge said he would likely get in prison.

“He is still a young man, one who will bear the stigma of a manslaughter conviction for the rest of his life,” Khaladkar said.

In her victim impact statement, Dunphy said her daughter was “living in fear” at the shelter, or boarding house, in St. John’s. Her daughter had kept careful notes in a journal about how unsafe she felt, and about all the officials whom she had asked for a transfer, Dunphy said in her statement.

“These journal notes show how hard she was trying. But was anybody listening?” Dunphy asked. Dove, she said, “deserved so much more.”

According to a survey of the provinces in October, Newfoundland and Labrador is among the only ones to contract private landlords to provide emergency shelter for homeless people. The government of Ontario could not provide clear confirmation.

Marc Budgell, a spokesperson for Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Housing, said non-profit shelters are prioritized.

“Private and unstaffed shelters are our last resort when other options are unavailable, either due to capacity issues or because of individual circumstances,” he said in an emailed statement.

The department is expecting “in the coming weeks” a third-party report outlining standards the private shelters will have to meet, he added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2024.

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CP NewsAlert: Two people confirmed killed when Vancouver Island road washed out

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PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.

The body of the other driver was found Sunday.

More coming.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Sonia Furstenau staying on as B.C. Greens leader in wake of indecisive election

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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.

The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”

Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.

Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.

He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.

But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.

The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio making a difference off the pitch as well as on it

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Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.

The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.

Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.

Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”

Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

The winner will be announced in late November.

The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.

The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.

They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.

The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.

“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.

“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”

His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.

“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.

“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”

The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.

“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”

Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.

“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.

The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.

“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”

Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.

“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”

“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”

The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.

Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.

A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.

Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.

Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.



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