Ottawa names experts to advise on creation of national pharmacare program

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The world’s tallest teenager might have to wait a year to become the world’s tallest college basketball player.

Florida coach Todd Golden said Thursday that Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 freshman who owns a spot in the Guinness record book, is planning to redshirt. Had the popular Canadian played in even one game, he would have burned one of his four seasons of college eligibility.

Instead, Rioux will spend the 2024-25 season practicing with teammates and honing his skills — and still be a freshman next fall.

“I should have made that clear (before),” Golden said. “Honestly, it’s put him in a tough situation. He’s sitting over there at the end of games and everybody’s yelling at him and trying to get him out there. They just hadn’t understood that that was our potential plan for him.

“So that’s where we’re at at this moment. I’m not saying that’s 100% going to be the plan. We’ll continue to talk to him and see if he changes what he wants to do. But as of right now, that’s the plan that we’re going to have with him as we move forward.”

Florida students chanted for “Oli” in both of the team’s home games this season. Golden emptied the bench in the final minutes of an 86-62 victory over Grambling State on Monday night and even said a few words to Rioux during the chaotic scene.

“I was just explaining to him, ’Hey, the reason why I’m not putting you in right now is what we’ve talked about a little bit,’” Golden said. “This wasn’t a choice that I made for him. This is something that people (from) our program have talked with him and his family and his parents, his AAU coach and just kind of trying to figure out what the best route for him is.

“I just went up to him and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m not trying to be disrespectful with you. I’m just not trying to burn your year putting you in for 30 seconds.’”

Rioux handled the decision well, Golden said.

“He’s a great kid, and he’s a pleaser,” Golden said. “He wants to do what others think is best for him. And he’s coachable. Again, if this is what our staff, his parents, the people around him that care about him, think is best, I think he’s going to be comfortable. Ultimately, it’s his decision. But I think that’s where he’ll land.”

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A close friend of a man who was fatally shot by Hamilton police over the weekend says he witnessed Erixon Kabera’s last moments in hospital, and is now joining calls for a thorough investigation into his death.

Andy Ganza said he received a call from Kabera’s girlfriend, telling him she was on her way to Hamilton General Hospital and that his friend was in the operating room.

“I rushed my way down to the hospital … we went to the room, both of us, his girlfriend and myself, and they told us he was not going to make it,” he said in an interview Thursday.

“I believe he was in his last moments, and then they came back 10 minutes later to tell us that he had passed.”

Kabera, 43, died in the early morning hours on Sunday, after police were called to a Hamilton apartment building late Saturday afternoon.

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating the circumstances of his death, and has said that Hamilton police were responding to reports of a man “acting in a threatening manner.”

The Special Investigations Unit’s initial statement said there was an “exchange of gunfire” with police, but later issued an update that said it does not appear the man had discharged a firearm before he was shot.

Kabera’s family – who have said he had no history of any kind of violence – decried what it called “a reversal of crucial facts,” but the SIU said the initial news release was based on information available at the time. The watchdog has also said that a “replica firearm” was collected from the scene.

Ganza said the local Rwandan Canadian community and Kabera’s family members will demand answers about the police shooting at a march and vigil being held at Hamilton City Hall Thursday evening.

“The statements about the events and/or the investigation have not been consistent and it’s been frustrating for us, for the family,” he said. “We want the truth. We are demanding thorough investigation that is transparent.”

Ganza said he has known Kabera for 10 years and they became close over the last seven years, after his friend moved to Hamilton.

He said Kabera started a family business with his uncle a year and a half ago, distributing produce, and he had worked as a public servant at the Canada Revenue Agency.

Ganza said his friend’s death has been extremely difficult, especially for Kabera’s three children, who range in age between 10 and 17, and his four siblings.

Two of those siblings live in Canada and have travelled to Hamilton from Regina and Gatineau, Que., Ganza said.

“I had to announce to them over the phone while on their way that he has passed away,” he said.

“It’s been very, very hard, extremely hard.”

Ganza said he started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help the family cover the costs of the funeral and getting legal representation.

“The funeral service will be held on Saturday but he will not be buried here,” he said. “The body will be flown back home (to Rwanda). That is what the family decided.”

Hamilton’s police Chief Frank Bergen has expressed condolences to Kabera’s family and acknowledged that “there are many unanswered questions.”

“I trust the SIU will work to address these in a full, timely, transparent manner,” Bergen said in a statement.

Kabera’s family has called his death “senseless” and demanded “transparency and accountability” from authorities.

“We want to know details of the altercation so that we can understand the truth of what happened in Erixon’s final moments,” they said in a statement earlier this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

JASPER, ALBERTA, CANADA – Business owners in the fire-ravaged Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper are getting some financial help getting back on their feet.

The federal government says it will provide close to $4 million in grants and aid to rebuild the local economy and bring back tourists.

Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault says $3.5 million in grants will be made available for small business owners.

The money goes to businesses with 50 or fewer employees licensed in either the Jasper townsite or Jasper National Park, and does not have to be repaid.

There will be half a million dollars for Jasper Tourism for programs and exhibits to lure back visitors.

A wildfire in July forced all Jasper residents out and destroyed a third of all its structures.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.