Officials lift brief evacuation order for Valemount, B.C., as fire risk eases

NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will chair a Liberal task force on economic growth, the party announced Monday as Liberal MPs meet to strategize for the upcoming election year.

Long touted as a possible leadership successor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney was already scheduled to address caucus as part of the retreat in Nanaimo, B.C., this week.

The Liberals say he will help shape the party’s policies for the next election, and will report to Trudeau and the Liberal platform committee.

“As chair of the Leader’s Task Force on Economic Growth, Mark’s unique ideas and perspectives will play a vital role in shaping the next steps in our plan to continue to grow our economy and strengthen the middle class, and to urgently seize new opportunities for Canadian jobs and prosperity in a fast-changing world,” Trudeau said in a statement Monday.

Trudeau is expected to address Liberal members of Parliament later this week. It will be the first time he faces them as a group since MPs left Ottawa in the spring.

Still stinging from a devastating byelection loss earlier this summer, the caucus is now also reeling from news that its national campaign director has resigned and the party can no longer count on the NDP to stave off an early election.

Last week, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh ended his agreement with Trudeau to have the New Democrats support the government on key votes in exchange for movement on priorities such as dental care.

All of this comes as the Liberals remain well behind the Conservatives in the polls despite efforts to refocus on issues like housing and affordability.

Some Liberal MPs hope to hear more about how Trudeau plans to win Canadians back when he addresses his team this week.

Carney appears to be part of that plan, attempting to bring some economic heft to a government that has struggled to resonate with voters who are struggling with inflation and soaring housing costs.

Trudeau said several weeks ago that he has long tried to coax Carney to join his government. The economist and former investment banker spent five years as the governor of the Bank of Canada during the last Conservative government before hopping across the pond to head up the Bank of England for seven years.

Carney is just one of a host of names suggested as possible successors to Trudeau, who has insisted he will lead the party into the next election despite simmering calls for him to step aside.

Those calls reached a new intensity earlier this summer when the Conservatives won a longtime Liberal stronghold in a major byelection upset in Toronto—St. Paul’s.

But Trudeau held fast to his decision to stay and rejected calls to convene his entire caucus over the summer to respond to their concerns about their collective prospects.

The prime minister has spoken with Liberal MPs one-on-one over the last few months and attended several regional meetings ahead of the Nanaimo retreat, including Ontario and Quebec, which together account for 70 per cent of the caucus.

While several Liberals who don’t feel comfortable speaking publicly say the meetings were positive, the party leader has mainly held to his message that he is simply focused on “delivering for Canadians.”

Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer was in Nanaimo ahead of the meeting to express his scorn for the Liberal strategy session, and for Carney’s involvement.

“It doesn’t matter what happens in this retreat, doesn’t matter what kinds of (communications) exercise they go through, or what kind of speculation they all entertain about who might lead them in the next election,” said Scheer, who called a small press conference on the Nanaimo harbourfront Monday.

“It’s the same failed Liberal policies causing the same hardships for Canadians.”

He said Carney and Trudeau are “basically the same people,” and that Carney has supported Liberal policies, including the carbon tax.

The three-day retreat is expected to include breakout meetings for the Indigenous, rural and women’s caucuses before the full group convenes later this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

TORONTO – Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard is a “sexual predator” who showed no empathy for his victims, an Ontario judge said Monday as he sentenced the disgraced tycoon to 11 years in prison for his crimes in Toronto.

The 83-year-old’s time behind bars will work out to a little less than seven years after accounting for credit he received for time already spent in custody, and Nygard will be eligible to apply for parole in two years.

Justice Robert Goldstein, who presided over the case, called Nygard “a Canadian success story gone very wrong.”

“Peter Nygard is a sexual predator,” Goldstein told the court in issuing his sentence.

Nygard, who arrived in court in a wheelchair, did not address the courtroom when given the opportunity.

He was convicted of four counts of sexual assault last November but acquitted of a fifth count as well as one of forcible confinement.

The charges stemmed from allegations dating from the 1980s until the mid-2000s, as multiple women accused Nygard of sexually assaulting them at his company’s headquarters in Toronto.

Nygard’s lawyer had argued for a six-year sentence, citing her client’s age and poor health, while the Crown sought a sentence of 15 years.

The judge dismissed the argument for a shorter sentencing, noting that Nygard has been receiving special treatment in custody due to his various health issues and that his advanced age is not reason enough to limit the sentence. Goldstein also suggested Nygard had been exaggerating his health issues in his submissions to the court.

The judge further said one of several aggravating factors in the case was the fact that one of the victims was just 16 years old.

Nygard’s lawyer previously argued in court that a lengthy sentence would be “crushing” for her client, who has Type 2 diabetes and deteriorating vision, among other health issues.

Nygard founded a fashion company in Winnipeg in 1967 that ultimately became Nygard International.

His company produced women’s clothing under several brand names and had corporate facilities in both Canada and the U.S. His stores throughout Winnipeg were once draped in his photos.

Aside from his Toronto case, Nygard is also facing charges in Quebec, Manitoba and the United States.

He was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act after he was charged with nine counts in New York, including sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

In May, Manitoba’s highest court dismissed Nygard’s application for a judicial review of his extradition order, finding there was no reason to interfere with the order issued by then-justice minister David Lametti.

None of the criminal charges against Nygard in Quebec, Manitoba or the U.S. have been tested in court, and he has denied all allegations against him.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

TORONTO – Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard is expected to be sentenced for his sexual assault convictions today, after multiple delays in the case that have stretched for months.

The 83-year-old was convicted on four charges last November but the sentencing process has dragged on for several reasons, including Nygard’s difficulties in retaining legal counsel.

The sentencing was postponed once again last month because one of the Crown attorneys was out of the country.

Nygard’s latest lawyer is seeking a six-year sentence, citing her client’s age and health issues, while prosecutors have asked for a sentence of 15 years.

Nygard, who once helmed a successful women’s fashion company, was accused of sexually assaulting multiple women at his firm’s Toronto headquarters from the 1980s until the mid-2000s.

He was ultimately convicted of four counts of sexual assault but acquitted of a fifth count as well as one of forcible confinement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.