By Canadian Press

In the news today: Oilers fans count down the hours until Cup final

Jun 5, 2024 | 1:19 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Oilers fans count down the hours until Cup final

Hockey fans in Edmonton, and many who are far, far away, are counting down the hours until the Oilers hit the ice this weekend for the beginning of their first Stanley Cup final series in nearly two decades.

Edmonton has been in party mode since the playoffs began April, and on Sunday night they beat the Dallas Stars to clinch the Cup berth.

After the win, Oilers fans in the Northwest Territories celebrated under the midnight sun with a cavalcade of 50 or more cars, trucks and ATVs driving up and down the gravel streets of Inuvik.

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

Question of the Week

Should Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson apologize or resign after it was found he breached a section of council's code of conduct for allowing false or misleading information to be communicated?

Dec 09, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Donald has it wrong - again

Dec 08, 2024

Game 1 of the best-of-seven series against the Florida Panthers goes Saturday.

The last time the Oilers won the Cup, the Panthers did not yet exist.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

U of T convocation events continue amid protest

More convocation ceremonies are scheduled for today at the University of Toronto after the first graduation event proceeded without interruption amid an ongoing pro-Palestinian protest on campus.

Dozens of fresh graduates crossed the stage at Convocation Hall to receive their diplomas on Monday, with several holding up Palestinian flags or wearing scarves bearing the word “Palestine.”

More than 30 graduation ceremonies are scheduled to take place through June 21 as the university seeks a court injunction to end the encampment.

The school has expressed concern about the encampment’s impact on graduation events, but protesters have said they don’t see how their presence would disrupt convocation.

The university is arguing in court filings that the encampment has prompted numerous reports of harassment and hateful speech – claims denied by protest organizers.

Psychiatrist set to testify in murder trial

An admitted serial killer’s mental state is expected to be the focus of a Winnipeg murder trial after a judge agreed to hear testimony from a forensic psychiatrist and YouTuber.

Jeremy Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg in 2022.

Skibicki’s lawyers admit he killed the women but argue he should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

Dr. Sohom Das, who is from England, has twice assessed the mental state of Skibicki.

Court heard Das has provided analysis for civil and criminal cases in the United Kingdom and has been quoted as an expert on mental illness and criminality.

Crown prosecutors opposed Das’s testimony, calling into question his credibility by pointing to a YouTube video in which he outlines how to fake a mental illness.

Shopify shareholders to vote on exec pay at AGM

Shopify Inc. shareholders will vote this morning on whether to approve the e-commerce giant’s compensation plan for executives.

Prominent proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis have recommended shareholders vote against the plan, which could see the company hand out millions in salaries and share- and option-based awards to its top executives.

ISS says the plan has “significant problematic pay practices,” including a proposal that will compensate Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke with only a large stock option grant, equaling about US$20 million in each of the last three years.

It also disapproves of the company giving chief operating officer Kaz Nejatian US$75 million in stock options and restricted stock units that carry no performance-vesting conditions in lieu of his 2024 annual equity award.

Just shy of 78 per cent of Shopify shareholders voted in favour of its executive compensation plan last year, down from the prior five years, when support averaged 94 per cent.

Carbon capture rollout: Who will absorb the risk?

The question of who should take on the financial risk of carbon capture and storage projects is slowing the rollout of the technology in Canada.

Carbon capture and storage refers to technology that traps harmful emissions from industrial processes and stores them safely underground.

A number of Canadian companies have proposed investing in carbon capture and storage to lower their emissions and help Canada meet its international climate commitments.

But companies want government to underwrite much of the risk of investing in the pricey projects.

Investing in carbon capture can make financial sense for companies, but only if they are confident the industrial carbon price will remain in place for a long time and that they will have the ability to sell the carbon credits they generate by trapping emissions.

The federal government has promised to negotiate individual contracts with project proponents guaranteeing a future price of carbon, but so far only one company has inked a deal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2024.

The Canadian Press