Manitoba judge tosses lawsuit against disgraced former hockey coach Graham James
The suit alleged James sexually assaulted a Winnipeg man over two weeks in 1983, when the man was a student at an elementary school where James worked as a substitute teacher.
Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Sarah Inness ruled this week that the complainant believes James abused him as a child but the evidence presented in court was unreliable.
'The issue in this case is more about the reliability of (the complainant's) evidence in identifying James as the perpetrator, as opposed to the credibility of his complaints of sexual assault,' Inness said it a written decision Tuesday.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, also named the St. James Assiniboia School Division, claiming it failed in its duty to protect students.
Story continues below advertisement
James admitted to being a substitute teacher in the division in the early '80s but denied teaching at the school where the complainant was enrolled the year of the alleged abuse, the decision said.
The defendants used income tax records, school records and police reports to argue James was not working at the school at the time.
James has numerous convictions of sexual abuse against players while a coach, and the cases from the mid 1990s to 2015 rocked the hockey world.
The Canadian Hockey Association banned him from coaching for life in 1997. He was granted full parole in 2016.
Inness acknowledged the previous crimes in her decision.
'James is a notorious child sex offender. It is for that reason that care must be taken in fairly assessing (the complainant's) claims, while guarding against the improper use of bad character propensity reasoning,' she said.
There was no civil trial, as the defendants argued for a summary judgment. The judge said she was satisfied the suit could be fairly decided based on the evidence and arguments presented.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
14 minutes ago
- Global News
Man arrested after vehicle crashes through front door of RCMP office in Montreal
Montreal police say a man is under arrest after a vehicle went through the front door of the RCMP headquarters in the Montreal area. No one was injured inside the Westmount, Que., building and Montreal police say the suspect has mental-health issues was possibly in crisis. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant says a 44-year-old man was arrested quickly after the low-speed crash about 8:25 a.m., which police described as 'deliberate' and caused considerable damages at the front door. The suspect was transported to hospital with minor injuries and investigators will meet with him when they are able. Police say the man had approached the building first on foot and allegedly later returned with his vehicle. The RCMP's Quebec division referred all questions about the incident to Montreal police.
National Post
5 hours ago
- National Post
Why more fentanyl production could be moving to Canada
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Since U.S. President Donald Trump first alleged earlier this year that fentanyl was 'pouring' into the U.S. from its northern neighbour, Canada has taken a number of steps to combat the flow of illegal drugs. Photo by Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press Although there's no evidence of any significant flows of fentanyl into the United States from Canada, an American authority on 'criminal supply chains' warned Friday that that could change abruptly if U.S. efforts to better seal its border with Mexico are successful. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE ARTICLES Enjoy the latest local, national and international news. Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events. Unlimited online access to National Post. National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Jonathan Caulkins, who researches supply chains that support illegal markets for the Manhattan Institute think tank and Carnegie Mellon University. said the drug cartels that control the North American fentanyl trade may well shift large chunks of their operations to Canada if the northern border becomes the path of least resistance. Caulkins, the co-author behind a recent Manhattan Institute study of fentanyl supply chains, said the cartels are sophisticated, mobile and will adjust quickly if their cross-border routes are choked. Your guide to the world of Canadian politics. (Subscriber exclusive on Saturdays) By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again 'They're not trying (now), but they sure could,' he said in an interview hours after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to increase tariffs on some Canadian exports (those products that aren't captured by the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement) to the U.S. to 35 per cent from 25 per cent. Those tariffs, which kicked in earlier Friday, were necessary, according to Trump, because Canada has failed to co-operate with U.S. efforts to curb 'the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs.' Candace Laing, chief executive of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Trump's fact sheet on the tariffs should be called a 'fact-less sheet' when it comes to using fentanyl as a justification for trade decisions about Canada. 'More fact-less tariff turbulence does not advance North American economic security,' she said. In the Manhattan Institute study, Caulkins and colleague Bishu Giri found that the vast majority of the fentanyl entering the U.S. from within North America is coming from Mexico, not Canada. They used new data from 2023–24 to show that about 40 per cent of the large seizures of fentanyl in the U.S. occurred in counties along the Mexican border, while just 1.2 per cent of the fentanyl powder and 0.5 per cent of pills along the Canadian border. To effectively combat the problem, the researchers wrote, law enforcement and legislators need to begin with accurate information. Caulkins said that fentanyl producers in Mexico and Canada are different in that the Canadian operations tend to produce opioids from imports that are nearly completely assembled with just the finishing ingredients added here, while the cartels in Mexico assemble all the ingredients to make opioids in that country to export to the U.S. In both cases, he said, the imports are believed to come mostly from China, although India may also be a source. This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Since Trump first raised the allegation earlier this year about fentanyl 'pouring' into the U.S. from its northern neighbour, Canada has taken a number of steps to combat the flow of illegal drugs, and to be seen to be doing so, into the U.S. The steps included: reinforcing the Canada-U.S. border with additional technology, helicopters and personnel; allocating $78.7 million to expand Health Canada's regulatory capabilities; increasing co-ordination with American law enforcement counterparts; hiring a fentanyl 'czar'; and launching consultations on improving crackdowns, as well as tabling Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act to give Ottawa more law-enforcement powers. Kevin Brosseau, the fentanyl czar, was not made available for an interview this week, but in an interim report released in June he pointed out that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data show that only 0.1 per cent of fentanyl seizures at U.S. borders are at the Canada-U.S. border, far less than the flow of illegal narcotics into Canada from the U.S. One thing that the players in the fight against illicit drugs seem to agree on is that the problem requires a multi-faceted response that addresses the border, legislative changes, money laundering and other financial angles, and enforcement that targets both precursors and fentanyl itself. The RCMP also declined an interview this week, but stated in an email that it intends to hit organized crime 'harder and faster' and that one of its priorities is to work with industry to prevent the diversion of precursors that are used to make fentanyl. Jamie Tronnes, executive director for the Center for North American Prosperity and Security, the U.S.-based office of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said Canada seems to be doing a good job of cracking down on the fentanyl trade, and ensuring that those efforts are seen by Trump and others in the White House. 'I believe that Canada is doing everything it can to demonstrate it's taking it seriously,' Tronnes said. She said Canada could focus more, however, on money laundering and other international financial crimes. Darren Gibb, head of communications at the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre (FINTRAC), which works with police and financial institutions to target crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing, said hiding profits from illegal activities such as fentanyl production isn't easy. 'It's their Achilles' heel,' he said of the drug cartels. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Global News
11 hours ago
- Global News
Project Gaslight extortion arsonist pleads guilty to torching Edmonton homes
The years-long Project Gaslight investigation into extortions and arsons in and around Edmonton is now moving through the legal system. One of the accused, Manav Heer, pleaded guilty in an Edmonton courtroom Friday afternoon to four charges related to the Edmonton Police Service's investigation into crimes targeting South Asian community members. Heer pleaded guilty to extortion, arson, conspiring to commit extortion and arson, and using an imitation firearm. From shootings to new or under-construction homes being torched, police investigated dozens of crimes in the Edmonton region between October 2023 and January of this year that investigators said were extortions by members of the South Asian community against their own people — in particular, home builders and affluent community members. Story continues below advertisement The extortion scheme saw successful South Asian business people threatened for money in exchange for 'protection' and officials said failure to pay out led to arsons — primarily at under-construction homes — and drive-by shootings. The result? Tens of millions of dollars in damage and widespread fear in the community. In total, police investigated 40 crimes related to the extortion series. Heer was arrested, along with five other people, on July 25, 2024. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy At the same time, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for another man: Maninder Singh Dhaliwal, who was believed to be the ringleader of the criminal organization responsible for the series of Project Gaslight extortions. View image in full screen Edmonton police chief Dale McFee speaks about arrests made in Project Gaslight Friday, July 26, 2024. Dave Carels / Global News Dhaliwal was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on separate criminal charges near the end of 2024, and is still incarcerated in the Middle Eastern nation as Canada works to negotiate an extradition — a process complicated by the lack of a treaty to do so between Canada and the UAE. Story continues below advertisement In the meantime, the criminal cases against the other people involved in the crime spree are moving ahead. According to an agreed statement of facts, Heer committed multiple home arsons but not all that were investigated. The fires targeted different companies and the statement said Heer also sent text messages talking about arson and helped identify target properties. It also said Heer shot the back window of a security guard's vehicle with an airsoft gun. The Crown said Heer was involved in arsons totaling around $10 million in damages. No sentencing date has been set. His next court date will be in September, following an assessment. 1:49 Edmonton's south Asian community 'doesn't feel safe' amid new threats Crimes similar to what occurred two years ago have started up again in Edmonton, police said a few weeks ago when announcing a town hall (held this week) for those who are being threatened. Story continues below advertisement For every crime they know about, police suspect there are many others in which victims stay silent — fearful to come forward to police either because they're afraid for their personal safety, or they come from a region where police are not trustworthy. Because of that, officers in Edmonton are working to strengthen relations and build trust with the South Asian community. Edmonton police reminded residents they can report tips anonymously to a third party: Crime Stoppers. The EPS also has a dedicated email (projectgaslight@ and phone number (780-391-4279) for South Asian community members who are being targeted.
