Victims describe broken lives as ex-PQ leader Boisclair pleads guilty to sex assaults | Canada News Media
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Victims describe broken lives as ex-PQ leader Boisclair pleads guilty to sex assaults

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MONTREAL — Former Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair is almost certainly facing jail time after pleading guilty Monday to sexually assaulting two men in their early 20s after meeting them online.

Boisclair admitted to the two assaults at his Montreal apartment in January 2014 and November 2015, and his victims described for the court how their lives had been scarred by their encounters with the former politician.

“The person I was in 2014 doesn’t exist anymore,” one victim said, describing himself as an ambitious young man who wanted to fight for his convictions but who now suffers from depression and social anxiety.

“Since 2014, when I walked through Mr. Boisclair’s door, nothing has been right,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. He said he dropped out of university and gave up on dreams of entering politics — because it reminds him of Boisclair.

In the case involving him, Boisclair, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault with the participation of another person.

According to an agreed statement of facts read by prosecutor Jérôme Laflamme, Boisclair had been consuming drugs and suggested that the victim participate in anal sex. When the man refused, Boisclair told the two other people who were present to anally rape him. Boisclair then held the victim’s chest as one of the other men present attempted to penetrate him.

A charge of sexual assault with a weapon in that case was stayed as part of the plea agreement. Laflamme said the other people involved have never been identified.

In the second case, Boisclair pleaded guilty to sexual assault. According to the statement of facts, he repeatedly took off his victim’s pants and attempted to engage in sexual acts with the man, who refused multiple times. The identities of both victims are protected by a publication ban.

Boisclair’s second victim described his assault as an “open wound that has not healed to this day.” He said it occurred shortly after he had come out as gay and at a time when he was building his identity. He said he was paralyzed with stress after the assault and that he lost self-confidence.

The Crown and the defence agreed to jointly recommend a sentence of two years minus one day in jail — 18 months for the first offence and six months less a day for the second. The sentence would be followed by two years of probation. Boisclair would also be banned from contacting his victims.

Quebec court Judge Pierre Labelle said Monday he would deliberate and deliver his sentence July 18.

“It’s always a good thing when a guilty plea is entered in such a case,” Laflamme told reporters at the Montreal courthouse after the hearing, adding that it saves the victims from having to testify during a trial.

Boisclair did not address the court — except to enter his guilty plea. His lawyer, Michel Massicotte, said Boislcair had written letters to his victims, apologizing for his actions.

Massicotte told the court the guilty plea, the decision not to speak in court and the defence’s decision to waive the right to a preliminary inquiry are signs of Boisclair’s desire not to hurt his victims further.

“He believes the gesture he is making speaks louder than he could,” Massicotte said.

Laflamme said jail time is necessary to denounce the serious crimes Boisclair committed. The evidence was strong and the complainants were “extremely credible,” Laflamme said outside the court. “The prosecution would have been ready to go forward with a trial if a not-guilty plea would have been entered.”

Boisclair, who was first elected to the provincial legislature at age 23, was once considered a rising political star. He was a provincial cabinet minister and served as PQ leader between 2005 and 2007 when the party was in opposition.

He was later Quebec’s delegate general in New York from 2012 to 2013 and was president of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec from 2016 until his arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 20, 2022.

 

Jacob Serebrin, The Canadian Press

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

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

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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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 Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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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.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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