Quebec anglophones have right to health services in English, updated directive says

MONTREAL – The family of a Quebec man killed by police in 2017 is calling on the province’s justice minister to order an independent investigation after the Crown declined to charge the officers involved.

Koray Kevin Celik’s parents issued their request today at a news conference, a day before a Montreal police ethics hearing for some of the officers involved in his death is set to begin.

On March 6, 2017, Celik’s parents called police to their home in western Montreal because they were worried he would drive while intoxicated.

Police tried to subdue Celik with force, and his parents say they witnessed officers repeatedly beat their son with their feet and knees before the unarmed man stopped breathing and was in cardiorespiratory arrest. He was pronounced dead in hospital.

A coroner’s inquest into Celik’s death found that officers “provoked” the violent altercation between them and Celik, and that they were unprepared when they showed up at the family home.

Celik’s parents — June Tyler and Cesur Celik — have previously asked Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette to reopen the case, but he has so far refused.

The family continues to denounce the investigation by the province’s police watchdog — Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes — and the decision by prosecutors not to lay charges. A Quebec court ruling sided with the family — that the watchdog had committed a fault by issuing a statement that only gave the police officers’ version of events. The ruling was upheld on appeal.

The Celiks were joined at the news conference by their lawyers, a civil rights group and an anti-police-brutality organization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

HAILEYBURY, Ont. – Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in a northeastern Ontario court as his trial gets underway.

The former Hedley frontman, dressed in a dark suit, stood up to enter his not-guilty plea today.

Jury selection has begun for the trial that’s taking place in Haileybury, a community within Temiskaming Shores, Ont.

Hoggard is facing a sexual assault charge for an incident alleged to have happened on June 25, 2016, in nearby Kirkland Lake.

The Hedley frontman elected at the end of last year to be tried in the Superior Court of Justice by a jury.

Arguments and evidence are expected to begin at the trial after jury selection is complete.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

FREDERICTON – As the New Brunswick election campaign entered its first full week, a new poll indicated the Liberals were leading the incumbent Tories by a slight margin in terms of voting intentions.

But when the margin of error is factored in, the parties appeared to be in a very tight race.

The results from the Mainstreet Research poll, released as the campaign began Thursday, were drawn from an automated telephone survey of 609 adults between Sept. 15 and Sept. 17.

The poll suggests the Liberals — led by Susan Holt — had support from 35 per cent of those surveyed, just ahead of the Tories at 32 per cent. The Green Party had 10 per cent and the People’s Alliance party was a distant fourth at three per cent.

All other parties, including the NDP, were at two per cent, and undecided voters made up 18 per cent of the results.

The poll, commissioned by Mainstreet, has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points with a 95 per cent confidence level.

Even when undecided voters were removed from the sample, the Liberals and Tories were only a two points apart, and support for the Greens jumped to only 13 per cent.

As for the party leaders, when respondents were asked if they had a favourable or unfavourable view of Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs, 51 per cent said they held a very or somewhat unfavourable view. Another 11 per cent said they didn’t know, with the remainder (37 per cent) saying their opinion of Higgs was very or somewhat favourable.

In general, respondents had a more positive view of Holt, with 46 per cent saying their view was very or somewhat favourable, and another 31 per cent saying their opinion of her was very or somewhat unfavourable. Twenty-three per cent said they didn’t know.

Still, the Conservatives received some positive news when respondents were asked whether they supported or were opposed to the Tory government’s decision last year to amend its school policy for sexual orientation and gender identity, also known as Policy 713.

The new policy requires teachers to get parental consent before they can use the preferred pronouns of students under 16 years old.

In all, 50 per cent of those surveyed said their supported the change while 35 per cent were opposed, and the remainder did not have an opinion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.