A provincial court judge in Shelburne, N.S., has banished a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen from the country for two years, in what he described as an “extremely extraordinary” sentencing.
Allen Desrosiers, 64, was charged with two counts of criminal harassment last month after he was accused of stalking a 25-year-old woman in Yarmouth on two occasions, in October and December respectively.
The RCMP also issued a public notification in December describing Desrosiers as a high-risk offender.
More than two decades ago, he was convicted of sexual offences in the United States that included kidnapping, aggravated rape, rape, assault with intent to rape, and assault and battery, according to a police news release at the time.
He completed a 23-year sentence in the U.S. for the crimes, which were committed in Massachusetts.
On Wednesday, both the Crown and Desrosiers’s lawyer recommended the sentencing conditions to Judge Jim Burrill. Desrosiers has spent the majority of his life in the United States and only arrived in Nova Scotia in August 2022.
“I am now convinced a return to the U.S. offers the best hope of any type of rehabilitation because that’s where he has resided for most of his 64 years. It’s where any supports he has will be and have been,” Burrill said.
“And he has been followed by corrections there, and I’m told is subject to some reporting provisions as a sex offender in that jurisdiction as well. And that hope for rehabilitation offers some protection for the citizens of Canada as well.”
No intentions of returning to Canada
Desrosiers told the judge if he was allowed to return to the U.S., he wouldn’t come back to Canada.
“I talked to a lawyer and it would be my wish to return to the United States. I don’t have any intention of coming back to Canada,” he said.
Burrill asked Desrosiers if he had an address in the U.S. Desrosiers said he didn’t but he had “an arrangement already in place” with a shelter in Boston.
The judge described the sentence as “extremely extraordinary” because it “is primarily designed to banish an individual from a locale.” He said he’s never seen a case like it.
“In this case, the sentence is designed to banish a Canadian citizen from Canada,” Burrill said. “A review of the case law has not resulted in me finding one case across this country such has been done or acknowledged to have been done to a Canadian citizen.”
Desrosiers’s dual citizenship is what makes the circumstances unique, Burrill said. His only connection to Nova Scotia is through his mother and he had only recently arrived in the province, the judge noted.
Concerns about ‘limiting the right of return’
Burrill said he had reservations about extinguishing Desrosiers’s rights as a Canadian citizen and about the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which includes a right of return to one’s country.
“When we are limiting that right of return, we have to be very careful and only do it in exceptional circumstances where it’s appropriate and where the accused agrees to it, whether he or she is aware of the rights they are giving up,” he said.
Under the conditions of his sentence, Desrosiers can only return to Canada during the term of the order if he obtains the permission of the court. He can’t apply for a Canadian passport. He can’t have contact with females unless they are peace officers or are helping to facilitate travel. And he must keep the court informed of any name or address changes.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
