Pope wraps up trip and SCOC to clarify consent stance: In The News for July 29, 2022

Later in the day, Francis is to travel to Iqaluit where he will take part in private meetings with residential school survivors.

There will also be an outdoor meeting with young people and elders before travelling back home to the Vatican.

During the tour, including stops in Alberta, the pontiff apologized for the role Roman Catholic institutions played in the residential school system.

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Also this …

The Supreme Court of Canada will release a decision today that is expected to clarify how the use of a condom during sex relates to consent in sexual assault law.

The court will rule on a British Columbia case in which a complainant told a new sexual partner, Ross McKenzie Kirkpatrick, that she would only have sex with him if he wore a condom.

The fact Kirkpatrick used a condom the first time they had sex led the complainant to assume that he was already wearing one when he initiated sex for a second time, she told the court — but he wasn’t, a fact she said she did not realize until he ejaculated.

Kirkpatrick was acquitted of sexual assault, as the trial judge found there was no evidence the complainant had not consented to “the sexual activity in question,” nor that the defendant had been explicitly deceitful, which would have been another avenue for conviction.

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And this …

Federal public service unions say the government’s plan to get employees back to the office is confusing, disjointed and jeopardizing health and safety.

The Treasury Board of Canada released its guidelines on hybrid work arrangements in May, tasking government departments with deciding “whether the location of work can be made flexible, to what extent, and how.”

Deputy heads will make decisions about health and safety in the context of how their organization runs, guided by public health authorities and workplace health and safety committees, said Barb Couperus, Treasury Board spokesperson, in a statement Thursday.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees called for a suspension of return to offices, citing concern with “the serious and unnecessary risk to the health and safety” of its members being required to return to the workplace as the COVID-19 pandemic enters a seventh wave.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against meddling in Beijing’s dealings with Taiwan during a phone call with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden.

China has recently made it known that it opposes a possible visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island that the mainland claims as its own.

Still, there was no indication Xi directly mentioned Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan, which the ruling Communist Party says has no right to conduct foreign relations.

Beyond the threatening remarks, there was no indication of any progress on talks about trade, technology or other irritants.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Britain’s next prime minister will take office amid turmoil: galloping inflation, a war in Ukraine, souring relations with China and a changing climate.

But, not all those issues are getting equal attention as Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak vie for the votes of about 180,000 Conservative Party members.

The runoff contenders are offering contrasting policies on taxation and the economy, but have faced less scrutiny over their positions on Brexit, the environment and foreign affairs.

One of them will be elected Sept. 5 to replace the scandal-tarnished Boris Johnson, who stepped down as party leader this month.

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Also this …

Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine say that at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war captured during the fighting for Mariupol have been killed by Ukrainian shelling.

Daniil Bezsonov, a spokesman for the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region, said that at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 130 were injured Friday when Ukrainian shelling hit a prison in the town of Olenivka.

The Ukrainian troops were said to be part of the group that held out at the giant Azovstal steel mill for months.

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On this day in 1981 …

Britain’s Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in a glittering ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

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In sports …

Canadian Dwayne DeRosario, in his first year of eligibility, is a candidate for the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame.

DeRosario, one of 16 candidates eligible in their first year, was a force to be reckoned with in a Major League Soccer career that spanned 14 seasons — including two stints with Toronto F.C.

In all, there are 156 candidates for the Class of 2023 across three categories: players, veteran (players) and builders, with a maximum of six earning induction — three players, two veterans and one builder.

Screening committees will now narrow the eligibility lists, while voting committees will decide the individuals to be inducted.

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Did you see this?

A producer for Alex Jones’s media company tried to paint a sympathetic portrait of the conspiracy theorist as a jury decides how much in financial damages he should pay for his past claims that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school was a hoax.

The attempt at a sympathetic portrayal drew an immediate rebuke Thursday from attorneys for the parents.

The group is suing Jones for at least $150 million for the abuse they say they’ve suffered for years because of Jones’ false statements about the slaying of their child in the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2022

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Pope wraps up trip and SCOC to clarify consent stance: In The News for July 29, 2022

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