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Hockey Canada CEO Scott Smith and entire board of directors step down

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After his three months at the helm of Hockey Canada were embroiled in controversy and the organization facing calls for major leadership change, Chief Executive Officer Scott Smith is out, “effective immediately.”

As well, the entire Hockey Canada board of directors has agreed to step down, “recognizing the urgent need for new leadership and perspectives.”

In a statement announcing the leadership team changes, Hockey Canada said that an “interim management committee will be put in place” to guide the organization until the next slate of directors appoints a new CEO. Smith had been leading the organization since July 1.

Appointing an entirely new board of directors is expected to happen “no later” than the recently-delayed election now scheduled for Dec. 17. The organization has made a call-out for candidates to “shape the future” of Hockey Canada.

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The scandal stretches back to May of this year when TSN first reported that Hockey Canada had reached an undisclosed settlement with a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted in London, Ont. by several members of the Canadian world junior hockey team, in 2018.

In June, the federal government froze its funding to Hockey Canada and ordered a financial audit. That month, federal politicians began examining Hockey Canada’s handling of alleged sexual assaults and lawsuit pay-outs.

It was then revealed by The Canadian Press in July that the organization’s “National Equity Fund” partly bolstered by minor hockey registration fees was used to pay for “uninsured liabilities,” such as sexual abuse claims, a practice the organization later confirmed it was halting.

Days later, another allegation of group sexual assault surfaced involving members of the Canadian world junior hockey team in 2003. While police and NHL investigations are underway, the allegations have not been proven in court.

As part of the House of Commons Heritage Committee’s ongoing study into “safe sport in Canada,” Sport Minister Pascale St-Onge and several key current and former Hockey Canada officials have appeared as witnesses on the matter.

The testimony heard and continuing headline-making handling of the scandal by Hockey Canada has prompted all parties to call for a change to senior leadership and a full airing of the facts, with a clear plan for reform.

During one meeting, Hockey Canada revealed that it had paid out $7.6 million as part of settlements related to nine sexual assault and abuse claims since 1989, not including the recent payout to the London plaintiff.

Appearing before the committee in July, Smith acknowledged the concerns being raised by politicians, as well as athletes and advertisers, saying that Hockey Canada understood that “Canadians’ trust in us has been eroded.”

“We are committed to take every action possible to earn it back,” Smith said at the hearing. “I know you … want answers and you want to see real action taken to end the culture of silence that allows toxic behaviour and sexism to fester in corners of our game. I do too.”

Last week, after interim chair of the board of Hockey Canada Andrea Skinner testified, suggesting that it wasn’t worth risking the lights going off in Canadian rinks should all senior leaders leave, several major sponsors including Canadian Tire, Nike, and Tim Hortons pulled their support, citing disappointment over the organization’s apparent resistance to change.

Skinner resigned over the weekend, saying that it no longer made sense for her to volunteer her time, citing “recent events.” Her appearance at committee came alongside former chair Michael Brind’Amour, who left the organization in August.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Tim Hortons media relations said the leadership changes are a “first step” towards Hockey Canada restoring faith and trust, but the fast food giant won’t consider reinstating support for the men’s programming “until we’re confident that progress is being made and Canadians once again believe in the organization’s leadership and its ability to do what’s right for the game we all love.”

The latest round of testimony also prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suggest that the organization could be replaced, saying it “boggles the mind that Hockey Canada is continuing to dig in its heels.”

On Tuesday, Trudeau said Smith’s ouster and the stepping down of the board is an important step forward, but “there is work to do to transform the culture at Hockey Canada.”

“There is an awful lot of work to ensure that the structures and systems that Hockey Canada has in place protects employees, protects Canadians, and protects our kids as they play hockey,” said the prime minister.

Reacting to Tuesday’s news, St-Onge said that Hockey Canada made “the right decision,” calling it “a step toward restoring Canadians’ confidence in the organization.”

“While we welcome this news, the interim management committee must be made up of people who want to make real change. We expect Hockey Canada to actively work towards a team whose expertise will contribute to better support and training for players, and an environment exempt from sexual violence and discrimination,” she said in a statement. 

Other politicians echoed the minister’s sentiment, commenting on social media that it shouldn’t have taken as long as it did for Hockey Canada to make this move.

“I am hopeful that we will finally see meaningful changes to the governance, organization, and culture of Hockey Canada,” said Conservative MP John Nater, who has been among the main questioners of the organization throughout the House Canadian Heritage Committee’s hearings. “There is still much work to do.”

In a series of tweets, Bloc Quebecois MP and committee member Sebastien Lemire said the sweeping change at the top of Hockey Canada “finally gives us a serious chance of bringing about the long-requested and long-awaited culture change” within the organization.

Lemire attributed the move to the pressure put on Hockey Canada by parliamentarians, sponsors, the media, and the general public. He said that the Bloc will continue to push for a culture change within sports to ensure safe spaces for Canadian athletes.

Hockey Canada — which has hired a public relations firm to help navigate the controversy — has pledged to address safe sport concerns, has made changes to how it uses certain funding, and has appointed a former Supreme Court justice to conduct a governance review. It has also released an “action plan” outlining how they intend to deliver on this promised reform.

The national governing body for hockey in Canada said Tuesday that the interim management committee will “focus on day-to-day operations” as well as making sure progress is being made on its commitments, as well as implementing the recommendations that come from the governance review.

With files from CTV News’ Jennifer Ferreira, and The Canadian Press

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1 dead, 2 critically injured after car crash in Montreal

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Montreal

Three people are in hospital with critical injuries after their vehicle crashed into a tree. Police believe they might be connected to two drive-by shootings that took place early Thursday morning.

2 drive-by shootings also took place overnight

an SPVM car near a taped-off crime scene
Montreal police are investigating a car crash possibly linked to two drive-by shootings. (Mathieu Wagner/Radio-Canada)

Urgences-santé say one person died and two others were critically injured after their vehicle hit a tree in the Rosemont neighbourhood.

Montreal police believe the crash may be linked to two drive-by shootings early Thursday morning.

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The first happened around 5 a.m. on Pie-IX Boulevard. Police say a car was shot at repeatedly and the driver, a 41-year-old man, was injured in the upper body. He was transported to hospital, but his life is not in danger, say police.

Shortly afterward, shots were reported in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, near the intersection of Saint-Joseph Boulevard and Henri-Julien Avenue. No one was injured.

Police say they are investigating to determine if there is a connection between the collision and the shootings. Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says it’s possible those in the vehicle were involved in the shootings.

The province’s independent police watchdog is now involved.

with files from Chloë Ranaldi

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Pakistan airline crew sought asylum in Canada: spokesperson – CTV News

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Typically, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight attendants who arrive in Toronto stay at a hotel overnight, meet back up with their crew the next day and then fly to their next destination.

But increasingly often, PIA attendants aren’t showing up, the airline says. According to PIA, at least eight flight attendants disappeared over the last year and a half.

They have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.

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Increased occurrences

Abdullah Hafeez Khan said at least eight flight attendants “have gone missing” after flying to Pearson International Airport in Toronto. He said these incidents have been happening over the last 10 years, but are now occurring more frequently.

“Since probably October of 2022, the number of the people that have opted asylum has increased tremendously,” Khan said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca from Karachi, Pakistan, where the airline is based.

“None of those crew members that disappeared in the last one-and-a-half years have come back. So they were granted asylum for one way or the other, and that probably has encouraged others to do so.”

The missing employees were fired immediately and lost their company benefits, Khan said.

Why did they flee?

Khan said he could only speculate as to why the flight attendants would flee.

The Canadian government underscored the volatile situation in Pakistan, warning in a travel advisory of a “high threat of terrorism,” along with threats of civil unrest, sectarian violence and kidnapping.

“The security situation is fragile and unpredictable,” the Canadian travel advisory reads. “Incidents are typically attributed to extremism, ethnic divisions, sectarian strife, regional political disputes and the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.”

It added that many deaths and injuries have occurred from bombings, shootings and other terrorist attacks at a wide range of targets.

Since Khan isn’t in contact with any of the missing employees, he says, he assumes they decided to seek asylum in Canada for economic and social reasons.

“So I naturally assumed that all of them have been given asylum because I don’t think they would be living there illegally,” he said, adding they may already have family connections in Canada who can support them.

In this June 8, 2013, photo, a Pakistan International Airlines plane moments before take off from the Benazir Bhutto airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

‘PR crisis’

Khan called the flight attendants’ disappearances a “PR crisis” for PIA that is “bad” for business amid a crew shortage.

The airline is in talks with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Pakistani law enforcement agencies to potentially create a “legal safeguard” to curtail flight crew from seeking asylum, he said.

When asked about the PIA flight attendants’ disappearances, Erin Kerbel, spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said the department couldn’t comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

In response to questions about PIA’s claim that discussions are underway about the issue, a spokesperson for the CBSA said it could not confirm any information.

“The Canada Border Services Agency does not provide comment or details on specific individuals, including any discussions that would take place with airline companies, as an individual’s border and immigration information is considered private and protected by the Privacy Act,” Maria Ladouceur said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

Since the crew members’ disappearances, Khan said, the airline has “done numerous things to curtail that.”

For instance, the airline is only staffing Toronto-bound flights with crew members who have “established linkages” in Pakistan, such as children, spouses or parents, as well as those who have worked in the organization for more than 15 years.

The airline avoids sending to Toronto those who are single or don’t have established family ties in Pakistan, he said.

Khan said he and the airline are no longer in contact with the flight attendants because, they discovered, they usually change their phone numbers soon after disappearing in Toronto.

Who disappeared?

The PIA flight attendants who vanished in Canada are seasoned pros in their late 30s or 40s, some of whom have worked for the airline for as long as two decades, Khan said.

“There was never any sign from them that they would seek something like that,” he said. “So that is something that is bothering us in the matter because working with people who have been working with you for a long time and then something happens like this is pretty unexpected.”

In one of the latest cases in February, the crew members were waiting to take the bus back to the airport from the hotel in Toronto and one of the flight attendants didn’t show up, Khan said.

The airline was unable to reach the flight attendant on her cellphone or hotel landline so, Khan says, they asked hotel management to check if she was OK.

“When the crew went there, she left her uniform there with a note saying, ‘Thank you PIA,'” Khan said, which he interpreted as a genuine sentiment of gratitude for her more than 15 years of service with PIA rather than a taunt.

Khan said the crew members who disappeared were “family values people” who had good careers in Pakistan.

Asylum policies

Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if they are already in Canada, according to the Canadian government’s website.

Canadian immigration or border officials will determine if the person is eligible for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board. All claimants must undergo health and security screenings, the government says.

If eligible to make a claim in Canada, refugee claimants can access social assistance, education, health services, emergency housing and legal aid pending a decision on their claim. Most can apply for a work permit after a medical examination.

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Alberta's population surges by record-setting 202,000 people: Here's where they all came from – CBC.ca

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Alberta smashed population-growth records in the past year, mainly due to people moving to the province from across Canada and around the world.

The province’s population surged to just over 4.8 million as of Jan. 1, according to new estimates released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

That’s an increase of 202,324 residents compared with a year earlier, which marks — by far — the largest annual increase on record.

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Alberta also broke a national record in 2023 for interprovincial migration, with a net gain of 55,107 people.

“This was the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally since comparable data became available in 1972,” Statistics Canada said in a release.


Most of the interprovincial migrants came from Ontario and British Columbia.

Statistics Canada estimates that 38,236 Ontarians moved to Alberta last year, versus 14,860 Albertans who moved to Ontario, for a net gain of 23,376 people.

Similarly, an estimated 37,650 British Columbians moved to Alberta, compared to 22,400 Albertans who moved to B.C., for a net gain of 15,250.


All told, interprovincial migration accounted for 27 per cent of Alberta’s population growth over the past year.

That put it just ahead of permanent immigration, which accounted for 26 per cent, and well ahead of natural population increase (more births than deaths), which accounted for eight per cent.

The largest component, however, was temporary international migration.

Non-permanent residents from other countries accounted for 39 per cent of the province’s population growth in the past year, reflecting a national trend.


Canada’s population reached 40,769,890 on Jan. 1, according to Statistics Canada estimates, which is up 3.2 per cent from a year ago.

“Most of Canada’s 3.2-per-cent population growth rate stemmed from temporary immigration in 2023,” Statistics Canada noted.

“Without temporary immigration, that is, relying solely on permanent immigration and natural increase (births minus deaths), Canada’s population growth would have been almost three times less (1.2 per cent).”

Alberta’s population, meanwhile, grew by 4.4 per cent year-over-year.

Alberta now represents 11.8 per cent of the country’s population, its largest proportion on record. 

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