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Ontario woman petitioning feds to help relatives stuck in India amid COVID-19 lockdown – CTV News

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TORONTO —
An Ontario woman’s petition has garnered over ten thousand signatures within three days of it being launched. Petitioner Ritu Sihota is hoping that her fight to bring her family members back to Canada from India will find strength in numbers.

The Mississauga resident says her father and three grandparents are stuck in Punjab, a province in northern India. With all four relatives facing health concerns and her father’s medication quickly running out, Sihota is calling on the Canadian government to bring them home.

This week, the Indian government announced that it would seal its borders and enforce a 21-day lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19. With the last direct flight to Canada having left Delhi on March 22, the decision has left many Canadian citizens with no way home.

“It’s been very hard,” says Sihota in an interview on CTV News Channel. “I’ve been emailing MPs and MPPs, and anyone I can get a hold of. I just was getting the same answers over and over again.”

Canadian repatriation flights have been retrieving stranded travellers from destinations around the world. Chartered flights have brought travellers from Peru, Morocco, Honduras, Spain, Ecuador, El salvador and Guatemala over the past week.

The federal government also announced a loan program to help fund the extended travel of citizens working toward returning to Canada, valued at up to five thousand dollars per person.

Sihota thinks more still needs to be done for citizens in India. With thousands of signatures on her petition, she is hoping to “get the attention of our elected MP’s, and get them to take some action and put some pressure on Ottawa to get our loved ones home.”

Other countries have sent flights to India to repatriate their citizens. On Wednesday, Germany sent a special flight from Delhi to Frankfurt. With 15 thousand Canadians registered in India- and many more unregistered- Sihota says Canada should too.

“It’s not that India is not allowing countries to rescue their citizens,” Sihota said. “It’s that Canada is not putting enough pressure on the Indian government or trying hard enough to get our citizens home,” she said.

With a goal of 15 thousand signatures, Sihota hopes that her petition might make its way to Ottawa, and that a Canadian chartered flight might make its way to India.

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RCMP arrest second suspect in deadly shooting east of Calgary

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EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.

Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.

Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.

Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.

Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.

RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.

Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.

“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.

But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.

“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.

While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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26-year-old son is accused of his father’s murder on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast

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RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.

Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.

The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.

It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.

Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.

The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Metro Vancouver’s HandyDART strike continues after talks break with no deal

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VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.

Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”

However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.

McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.

He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.

The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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