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National Post
15 minutes ago
- National Post
Deportation hearing for alleged Mafia boss in Canada derailed by wiretap decision
In the middle of a high-stakes deportation hearing against an alleged Mafia boss living in Canada, the government unexpectedly declared it will no longer rely on any evidence obtained from controversial Italian police wiretaps covertly made using the phones of visiting members of a mob family to Canada. Article content The announcement Friday threatens to derail yet another attempt to deport Vincenzo (Jimmy) DeMaria, a man accused of being a Mafia boss in Ontario who has successfully fought off deportation for more than 40 years. Article content Article content Article content An Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hearing is underway on the government's latest attempt to deport DeMaria based on allegations he is a member of the 'Ndrangheta, the proper name of the powerful Mafia that formed in Italy's region of Calabria. DeMaria has denied the allegation. Article content Article content Lawyers for DeMaria had repeatedly called for the Italian police wiretaps to be rejected, calling them illegal foreign interference. On Friday, however, they said the government's sudden agreement in the middle of the hearing was absurd. Article content 'What we have here is an abuse of process by the minister (of public safety),' said Shoshana Green, one of DeMaria's three lawyers at the hearing. Article content 'It is an absurdity that the minister, on a whim, is changing the nature of this entire hearing. How can Mr. DeMaria properly prepare for a matter when they are literally changing the foundation of their case four days in?' Article content Green said information from the wiretaps has already been extensively 'co-mingled' with other evidence entered in the case over years, including in two days of testimony earlier this week by a senior police officer from Italy who was the government's first witness at this hearing against DeMaria. Article content Article content Green asked Benjamin Dolin, the IRB member deciding the matter, to issue a stay of proceedings, which would suspend the government's appeal of an earlier immigration board decision to allow DeMaria to remain in Canada, where he has lived since moving from Italy as an infant. Article content Article content 'Or in the alternative, we would certainly consent to the minister abandoning their appeal,' Green said. Article content Andrej Rustja, arguing on behalf of Canada Border Services Agency, said that after reviewing its strategy for the case Thursday night, the government decided to not rely on the wiretaps recorded by Italian police in Canada in 2019 and told DeMaria's lawyers as a courtesy and to save time at the hearing. Article content Article content Dolin told Green the government's change 'would seem to benefit' her client. 'I don't see any prejudice to Mr. DeMaria,' but he adjourned the hearing to allow DeMaria's lawyers to file a written motion for a stay and for the government to respond.
CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
Union adjusts proposal in hotel strike
Workers strike in front of Windsor's Best Western Plus hotel on Riverside Drive West in Windsor, Ont. on June 3, 2025. (Michelle Maluske/CTV News Windsor) Unifor Local 195 is waiting for a response from Ironwood Management Corporation, the official management company for Best Western Plus Waterfront Hotel in Windsor. Local 195 President Emile Nabbout said the union met with the company on July 16 and presented a new, adjusted proposal. He said the company asked for some clarification and the union replied. Nabbout said since then, the union has not heard back from the company and is now waiting on a response and a counter proposal. 'The company has replied with an additional clarification on our proposal and we at this point waiting for the company to give us a proposal back and counter to our proposal and hopefully both parties can figure out a way to end this labour dispute,' said Nabbout. He said he's not sure why the company has not responded to the union's latest proposal. 'Normally when there's a labour dispute, this should be pretty quick,' he said. 'If there's a will to end this labour dispute, this is very unusual at this time. We really can't give an explanation on behalf of the employer, but the union was asking the company to return back to the table and try to figure out the best way to resolve it.' 37 full and part-time workers have been on strike for close to two months. The workers hit the picket line on June 1 to back contract demands. In mid-June, the striking workers rejected the company's 'final offer', in a vote conducted by the Ontario Labour Relation Board. The workers voted 90 per cent against the offer. The employees on strike include those in guest services, housekeeping, and maintenance. The union said 'money' is a key issue in the labour dispute. - Written by Rob Hindi/AM800 News.
National Post
15 minutes ago
- National Post
Chris Selley: Banning MAGA singer Sean Feucht, Canada slips further into Trump-ian incoherence
Article content You'll often hear politicians say that government-owned spaces have a special obligation not to rent venues to people whose views don't reflect appropriate 'values.' 'When it comes to public buildings, I believe we should hold ourselves to the highest standard,' then Toronto mayor John Tory averred in 2019, when the Toronto Public Library rented a stage to barely controversial feminist Meghan Murphy. Article content It's exactly the opposite. Government-owned venues are subject to the Charter. Privately owned venues, such as those Feucht ended up performing at instead near Halifax, Moncton and Charlottetown, are not. It would certainly be interesting to see someone mount a Charter challenge to these decisions. Article content Article content As is often the case with censorship, one of the primary achievements of these cancellations was to give a ton of free publicity to Feucht. He's not exactly a household name even in the United States. Exactly one of his records has ever charted: at number 37 on Billboard's Christian albums, in 2016. His constituency is considerably smaller north of the border. I would never even have heard of him had these cities just let the shows go ahead. Article content Article content Had we denied him entry to Canada, as many were calling for, it would have been an even bigger deal. It's also one of those things you could imagine Trump taking note of and retaliating — say, by banning godless Canadian bands from crossing the border and performing in the U.S. Article content And the crazy thing is, many Canadians would say, 'good, they shouldn't be playing in the U.S. anyway.' Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Good received lavish praise for cancelling his stateside shows recently … though he had only booked them in January, when Trump was already president. Article content
