Friends and family have confirmed that at least four Canadians were killed last weekend when Hamas militants conducted a series of attacks in Israel.
Thousands of people have been killed so far in the conflict sparked by the Hamas attacks, which has escalated as Israel conducts retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip.
Here’s what we know about the four people that friends and family in Canada are mourning.
SHIR GEORGY
Israeli Canadian, Shir Georgy, 22, was killed by Hamas militants who ambushed a music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, an area near the Israeli border with Gaza.
Georgy’s aunt, Michal Bouganim, confirmed Saturday that her niece died in an assault by Hamas militants.
“We are currently a mess, heartbroken,” Bouganim said in a Facebook message.
Earlier in the week, Bouganim shared a 22-second clip on her social media where terrified Georgy was seen sitting on the floor, with her back against the wall and surrounded by other festival attendees — some of them injured.
Georgy’s funeral is being held Saturday night in Israel.
ADI VITAL-KAPLOUN
Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, was killed by Hamas militants in her kibbutz near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa confirmed.
The group’s CEO made a statement on behalf of Vital-Kaploun’s family on Wednesday, saying the dual citizen has a large extended family in the Ottawa area.
Vital-Kaploun’s family said she died a hero, after convincing her killers to spare her two young children and warning her father and husband to stay hidden during the attack.
“Adi was a beautiful woman that brought love and lightness to the people around her, but also she was very focused and determined to make a beautiful life for her family,” her cousin-in-law Aaron Smith said in an interview Friday.
The family said in the statement she was an amazing mother and wife, always bringing love and laughter to their household.
She was also a talented dancer, saxophonist and basketball player, their statement said.
After completing her master’s degree in engineering, Vital-Kaploun excelled in her cybersecurity career, they said.
“We are mourning trying to process this unconscionable act of terrorism in her kibbutz and across the country,” said the family, adding that they wish her memory to be “a blessing.”
BEN MIZRACHI
Canadian Ben Mizrachi was one of at least 260 people gunned down by Hamas militants at the music festival in southern Israel.
Mizrachi, 22, from Vancouver was described as “larger than life with a big personality” in a statement by his former high school in B.C.
Ezra Shanken, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, said Mizrachi was about to start university in Israel after serving for the country’s national defence force.
Hilit Nurick, a home economics teacher at King David High School in Vancouver, remembered Mizrachi as a “kind, wonderful, and community-minded” young man who had a positive influence on everyone around him.
Nurick said she and Mizrachi once put a large event together for more than 100 people at school.
“He was in charge of making Moroccan-style spicy fish stew. He brought his mother’s recipe and shared it with everyone and taught us how to make it,” said Nurick. “He was incredible, just an incredible human being.”
ALEXANDRE LOOK
Alexandre Look, who recently celebrated his 33rd birthday, was also among those killed while attending the musical festival.
Look, who lived in Montreal with his family before moving to Mexico, died a hero, his dad said in a Facebook post on Monday.
“Like a true warrior he left as a hero wanting to protect the people he was with,” Alain Haim Look wrote on Facebook.
Look’s friend, Lior Horovitz, described him as a “once-in-a-lifetime person” who became more like family during their five-year friendship.
In a phone interview from a town outside Tel Aviv, she said she and her boyfriend met Look in Mexico. They became fast friends, and would organize their vacations to meet up, either in Mexico or Israel.
He was a proud Jewish Canadian and a generous person who would do anything for his friends, she said.
“He’s a person who loves people,” she said. “He’s the guy that’s always going to help others, especially if they are Jewish.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2023.
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.
Adi Vital-Kaploun, 33, was killed by Hamas militants in her kibbutz near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa confirmed.
Alexandre Look, who recently celebrated his 33rd birthday, was also among those killed while attending the musical festival.
