In The News for April 26 : Sentencing in hit-and-run death of Calgary police officer

The driver, who cannot be identified because he was 17 at the time, testified during his trial that he was frightened when Harnett and another officer approached the vehicle during a traffic stop and he saw Harnett put his hand on his gun.

The youth’s lawyer said his client was guilty of manslaughter, but not first-degree murder, and the judge agreed.

The Crown has indicated it will be seeking an adult sentence for the now 20-year-old.

The three-day hearing is to include several victim impact statements.

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Also this …

The results of a key vote by shareholders of Teck Resources Ltd., which is facing a hostile takeover attempt by Swiss commodities trader Glencore, will be made public Wednesday.

It’s a critical moment for the Vancouver-based mining company, which has been working to secure support for its plan to split the company’s metals and steelmaking coal businesses into two separate companies.

Glencore is urging shareholders to reject the company’s proposal in favour of its offer to acquire the company, and has said it cannot pursue its own bid if Teck’s plan to separate its businesses goes ahead.

But while a shareholder vote against Teck’s proposal Wednesday could pave the way for negotiations with Glencore, that doesn’t mean a merger with the Swiss company would be a slam-dunk.

The unsolicited pursuit of what is Canada’s largest diversified mining company by an international giant has triggered sentiments of economic nationalism, and B.C. Premier David Eby, the Mining Association of B.C., as well as the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade have expressed concern over the potential for job losses as well as cast doubt upon Glencore’s ESG record.

In a letter to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade dated April 24, three senior federal cabinet ministers said Ottawa is watching the situation “very closely.”

“We need companies like Teck here in Canada,” stated the letter, which was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

It remains unclear whether the federal government would go so far as to block a potential acquisition of Teck by Glencore. But some observers have pointed out Glencore’s pursuit of the Canadian company comes at the same time that the government has committed to a national critical minerals strategy as part of its overall climate plan.

Teck is keen to expand its copper and zinc production to meet growing global demand for these metals, both of which are used in the production of electric vehicles and are considered to be key resources for the coming energy transition.

While the result of the vote will be made public Wednesday at the company’s annual general meeting in Vancouver, most shareholders voted ahead of the meeting.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

PORTLAND, Ore. _ For most of her life in New Mexico, Christina Wood felt like she had to hide her identity as a transgender woman. So six years ago she moved to Oregon, where she had readier access to the gender-affirming health care she needed to live as her authentic self.

Once there, Wood, 49, was able to receive certain surgeries that helped her transition, but electrolysis, or permanent hair removal, wasn’t fully covered under the state’s Medicaid plan for low-income residents. Paying out-of-pocket ate up nearly half her monthly income, but it was critical for Wood’s mental health.

“Having this facial hair or this body hair, it doesn’t make me feel feminine. I still look in the mirror and I see that masculine person,” she said. “It’s stressful. It causes anxiety and PTSD when you’re having to live in this body that you don’t feel like you should be in.”

That is likely about to change. Oregon lawmakers are expected to pass a bill that would further expand insurance coverage for gender-affirming care to include things like facial hair removal and Adam’s apple reduction surgery, procedures currently considered cosmetic by insurers but seen as critical to the mental health of transitioning women.

The wide-ranging bill is part of a wave of legislation this year in Democratic-led states intended to carve out safe havens amid a conservative movement that seeks to ban or limit gender-affirming care elsewhere, eliminate some rights and protections for transgender people and even bar discussion of their existence in settings such as classrooms.

More than a half-dozen states, from New Jersey to Vermont to Colorado, have passed or are considering bills or executive orders around transgender health care, civil rights and other legal protections. In Michigan, for example, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last month signed a bill outlawing discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation for the first time in her state.

Gender-affirming care includes a wide range of social and medical interventions, such as hormone treatments, counselling, puberty blockers and surgery.

Oregon’s bill would bar insurers and the state’s Medicaid plan from defining procedures like electrolysis as cosmetic when they are prescribed as medically necessary for treating gender dysphoria. It also would shield providers and patients from lawsuits originating in states where such procedures are restricted.

The bill has sparked fervent debate, with hundreds of people submitting written testimony both for and against it and an emotionally charged public hearing at the Capitol in Salem last month that went on for several hours. The Democratic-controlled House is expected to vote on the bill Monday over Republican opposition before it heads to the Senate, which is also dominated by Democrats.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

HONG KONG _ Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of co-ordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence.

Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the trafficking of one kilogram of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis may result in the death penalty.

Tangaraju was hanged Wednesday morning and his family was given the death certificate, according to a tweet from activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for abolishing the death penalty in Singapore.

Although Tangaraju was not caught with the cannabis, prosecutors said phone numbers traced him as the person responsible for co-ordinating the delivery of the drugs. Tangaraju had maintained that he was not the one communicating with the others connected to the case.

At a United Nations Human Rights briefing Tuesday, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani called on the Singapore government to adopt a “formal moratorium” on executions for drug-related offences.

“Imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with international norms and standards,” said Shamdasani, who added that increasing evidence shows the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.

Singapore authorities say there is a deterrent effect, citing studies that traffickers carry amounts below the threshold that would bring a death penalty.

The island-state’s imposition of the death penalty for drugs is in contrast with its neighbours. In Thailand, cannabis has essentially been legalized, and Malaysia has ended the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.

Singapore executed 11 people last year for drug offences. One case that spurred international concern involved a Malaysian man whose lawyers said he was mentally disabled.

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On this day in 1986 …

The worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union. An experiment went awry, causing an explosion and fire that sent radioactivity into the atmosphere; 40,000 people were forced from the area and at least 31 died. The outside world did not learn of the accident until Scandinavian technicians detected abnormally high radiation levels two days later.

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In entertainment …

ATLANTA _ The Atlanta Hawks are still alive in the playoffs and that will force fans planning to attend Janet Jackson’s concert in the city this week to wait a day to see the music star.

The Hawks rallied to beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 in Game 5 of their playoff matchup on Tuesday night, sending the series back to Atlanta for Game 6.

It means that State Farm Arena is double-booked for Thursday night. The casualty will be Jackson’s concert, Live Nation said in a statement following the team’s victory.

It will be moved to Friday. All tickets for Thursday’s show will be honoured for Friday night. Refunds will be available at the point of purchase for those who are unable to change their plans.

Doors for Jackson’s show Friday will open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7:45 p.m.

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Did you see this?

Quebec’s Transport Department and the City of Montreal say they’re taking steps to reduce the number of orange cones on city streets.

The orange cones have become so ubiquitous that they’ve been depicted on key chains, plush toys and fridge magnets.

Tania Mignacca, who created an unofficial mascot for Montreal based on the cones, says they’re a perfect symbol for the city because they’re everywhere.

Quebec’s Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault says the provincial government will work with the city to co-ordinate projects, use smaller cones and remove cones no more than 72 hours after work is completed.

The announcement comes less than two weeks after a Montreal newspaper reported that a row of orange cones have been sitting along the on-ramp to a tunnel in the city’s downtown for at least 16 years.

Michel Leblanc, the president and C-E-O of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, says he’s pleased with recent announcements by the city and Quebec’s transport minister about plans to make cones less visible.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In The News for April 26 : Sentencing in hit-and-run death of Calgary police officer

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