First full week of New Brunswick election campaign gets underway

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index edged lower in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the financial and telecommunications sectors, while U.S. stock markets rose.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 7.26 points at 23,860.11.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 61.00 points at 42,124.36. The S&P 500 index was up 15.70 points at 5,718.25, while the Nasdaq composite was up 27.88 points at 17,976.20.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.10 cents US compared with 73.72 cents US on Friday.

The November crude oil contract was down eight cents at US$70.92 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up 12 cents at US$2.84 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$4.90 at US$2,651.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

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

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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MONTREAL – The family of a Quebec man killed by police in 2017 is calling on the province’s justice minister to order an independent investigation after the Crown declined to charge the officers involved.

Koray Kevin Celik’s parents issued their request today at a news conference, a day before a Montreal police ethics hearing for some of the officers involved in his death is set to begin.

On March 6, 2017, Celik’s parents called police to their home in western Montreal because they were worried he would drive while intoxicated.

Police tried to subdue Celik with force, and his parents say they witnessed officers repeatedly beat their son with their feet and knees before the unarmed man stopped breathing and was in cardiorespiratory arrest. He was pronounced dead in hospital.

A coroner’s inquest into Celik’s death found that officers “provoked” the violent altercation between them and Celik, and that they were unprepared when they showed up at the family home.

Celik’s parents — June Tyler and Cesur Celik — have previously asked Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette to reopen the case, but he has so far refused.

The family continues to denounce the investigation by the province’s police watchdog — Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes — and the decision by prosecutors not to lay charges. A Quebec court ruling sided with the family — that the watchdog had committed a fault by issuing a statement that only gave the police officers’ version of events. The ruling was upheld on appeal.

The Celiks were joined at the news conference by their lawyers, a civil rights group and an anti-police-brutality organization.

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

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MONTREAL – The Quebec government has published a new health-care directive clarifying that anglophones have the right to receive health and social services in English.

The five-page document states multiple times that English speakers do not have to prove their identity to receive care in their language.

It is meant to replace an older directive, published in July, that raised concerns the government was limiting access to health care in languages other than French.

The government promised last month to revise the directive following criticism from anglophone groups and some federal MPs.

Health Minister Christian Dubé said on X that the government never intended to restrict services, and the updated directive is meant to be easier for health-care workers and the general population to understand.

The updated directive says health-care workers can speak to people in a language other than French if patients request it or don’t appear to understand French.

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

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.