Canada identifies previously unknown WWI grave in France
An investigation into a previously unidentified First World War grave in France has revealed it belongs to Canadian Capt. William Webster Wilson.
Historical and archival research confirmed the identification, according to a news release from the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces.
More details to come.
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CTV News
28 minutes ago
- CTV News
Fire again threatens Lytton, B.C., one of hundreds of blazes across Canada
This week marks the fourth anniversary of a deadly wildfire that destroyed the British Columbia village of Lytton, and the community is again under threat, with a nearby out-of-control wildfire setting off evacuation orders and alerts. The Izman Creek fire burning north of Lytton prompted the Thompson-Nicola Regional District to issue an evacuation order for three properties and an evacuation alert for nine addresses along Highway 12 on Tuesday. The Lytton First Nation also issued an evacuation alert for a large area encompassing several of its reserves on the east side of the Fraser River. Village Mayor Denise O'Connor said the timing of the latest wildfire has made it that much more impactful for community members. 'People just couldn't believe that a fire would start on the anniversary,' O'Connor, who became mayor of Lytton a year after the deadly 2021 wildfire, said in an interview Wednesday. 'And there are still many, many people, not just in the village but around the area here, that are still struggling with PTSD from four years ago. 'It's just such a trigger for them ... It's still so real for people here.' The BC Wildfire Service website showed the fire that was discovered Tuesday had grown to 130 hectares by Wednesday afternoon, forcing the closure of the highway for about 60 kilometres as firefighting crews responded by air and on the ground. There are three helicopters assigned to the blaze, which is suspected to have been caused by human activity. The blaze was among more than 480 wildfires burning across Canada on Wednesday, including about 80 active fires in British Columbia. Alexandria Jones with the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said Canada had been at national preparedness level five, the highest level, since May 29. The designation means wildland fire activity is significant across multiple jurisdictions and all Canadian firefighting resources are engaged in battling the blazes, while international partners are also being called on for help, she said. Jones said the situation across the country is 'severe' and there are still three months ahead in this fire season. 'What is really critical is the area that's burned, how quickly these fires are spreading. And so this year we're already at four million hectares.' While that is about half of the figure for this time in 2023 -- Canada's worst fire season on record -- this year's number is much higher than early July in 2024, 2022, 2021 and 2020. Just over one million hectares had burned at this time last year, Jones said, while just under 190,000 hectares had burned by early July 2022. At this point in 2021, 493,000 hectares had burned. Jones said Canada has received assistance so far from firefighters from the United States, Australia, Mexico and Costa Rica. In B.C., the Thompson-Nicola Regional District had earlier issued a local state of emergency for the Blue Sky Country region due to another nearby wildfire, which was burning out of control before being classified as 'being held' as of Wednesday. About 80 fires are burning in Yukon. The territorial government issued a statement on Wednesday saying crews had made progress containing 'priority fires,' aided by cooler and wetter conditions. The bulletin said the territory was lifting the level two fire restriction that had been issued on June 27 for the Southern Lakes, Tatchun, Northern Tutchone, Klondike and Kluane regions. Normal fire-season burning rules remain in effect. The territory had earlier lifted an evacuation alert for the area surrounding Ethel Lake, a four-hour drive north of Whitehorse. In Saskatchewan, the number of active wildfires has more than tripled in the last week. The province was reporting 64 active fires on Wednesday, with 20 uncontained. There were 20 active fires last week. Marlo Pritchard with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency told reporters at a virtual news conference that residents of Bear Creek and La Plonge in the province's northwest have been put under evacuation order. He said the agency is supporting more than 200 people who have fled their homes. At the peak of wildfire activity last month, wildfires had forced more than 10,000 Saskatchewan residents out of their homes. In Denare Beach, 650 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, 218 homes burned down, more than half of the community. The province has said it provided one-time, $500 cheques to evacuees 18 and older at a cost of $5.1 million. In Alberta, firefighting crews were battling more than 70 wildfires, with about 30 per cent of those blazes designated as out of control. Statistics from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre show that about 180 of the fires active across the country on Wednesday were burning out of control. Lytton, about 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, is still in the process of rebuilding from a devastating 2021 fire that tore through the community four years ago on Monday, killing two people and wiping out much of the village and part of the Lytton First Nation. It was sparked on June 30, 2021, a day after Lytton set a Canadian temperature record of 49.6 C. O'Connor, the mayor, said there were 210 residents in the village before that fire. 'We have about 100 now in the village, more to come,' she said Wednesday. 'But we're a service centre for 2,500 people around the area that all want the town back and they want the grocery store and they want our medical centre back in the village. 'And we look forward to that day when that's going to happen because the people here are not going anywhere. We're here to stay.' By Brenna Owen With files from Brieanna Charlebois in Vancouver, Curtis Ng in Edmonton and Jeremy Simes in Regina This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Opinion: Samidoun exposes failures in Canada's anti-terror efforts
By Ches W. Parsons and Sheryl Saperia Article content On Oct. 15, 2024, Canada finally added Samidoun to its list of terrorist entities under the Criminal Code. Many observers had long called for this important step, given the group's well-documented ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a terrorist organization listed in Canada since 2003. The designation came only after mounting public pressure and disturbing events, including a Vancouver rally in which Samidoun-affiliated demonstrators chanted 'Death to Canada' and burned our national flag. Article content Article content Rather than signalling a firm stance against terrorism, the delayed listing highlighted Canada's reluctance to act until the political cost of inaction became too high. To make matters worse, eight months later, Samidoun continues to enjoy the privileges of a federally registered non-profit. Article content Article content As Sen. Leo Housakos pointed out last week, this contradiction undermines the very purpose of the terrorist designation process. How can a group be banned for terrorist activity while simultaneously maintaining legal status as a non-profit corporation under Canadian law? The answer lies in the fragmented structure of Canada's counterterrorism and regulatory systems. Article content While terrorist listings are administered by Public Safety Canada under criminal law, non-profit status falls under Corporations Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency — separate bodies with distinct mandates, timelines, and evidentiary thresholds. A terrorist designation does not automatically trigger the revocation of a group's corporate or non-profit status, as it should. Article content Article content Far from being a bureaucratic technicality, this disconnect has real-world implications. It allows listed entities like Samidoun to continue to benefit from the legal protections and legitimacy of a registered non-profit, even as their assets are meant to be frozen and their activities shut down. The longer Samidoun retains its status, the more it casts doubt on Canada's resolve — and capability — to enforce its own national security laws. Article content Article content Samidoun has operated openly in Canada for years, despite credible concerns about its affiliations and activities. Political and bureaucratic reluctance kept it off the terrorist list until public outrage erupted. Even now, no charges have been announced in Canada against key figures like Charlotte Kates or Khaled Barakat, despite their prominent roles in the organization. Article content As far back as 2016, Barakat publicly shared in a video interview: 'I am here to express the views of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.' Israeli authorities have reported that he has been involved in establishing terrorist cells in the West Bank and abroad. His wife, Kates, publicly applauds Hamas as 'heroic and brave' and proudly attended the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last year. None of this information is a secret to Canadian authorities. Article content In theory, terrorist designations should empower law enforcement to take clear actions. In practice, they appear to be used more for signalling than for systematically dismantling threats. Article content The issue is not a lack of legal authority. Canada has strong mechanisms on paper: designated groups cannot hold or use property, receive financial support or facilitate travel and recruitment. Banks are required to freeze their accounts. Article content There remain some gaps in the law. This includes the fact that membership in a terrorist group is not in itself illegal — nor is the glorification of terrorist violence (which is outlawed in the U.K.). Article content But in enforcing existing laws, the lack of integration between Public Safety, Corporations Canada and the CRA creates a loophole that delays meaningful enforcement. That delay erodes public confidence and gives dangerous individuals with room to manoeuvre. Article content It also renders the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act even more essential legislation — as Canadian terror victims can turn to civil lawsuits to find justice when the authorities have failed to do so. Indeed, some Canadian family members of October 7 victims have filed a lawsuit against several defendants including Samidoun, Kates and Barakat. Article content Canada is not alone in recognizing the threat posed by Samidoun. The group has been banned in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as labelled a sham charity by U.S. authorities. Canada should be a leader in this space, not a laggard. We cannot afford for terrorist listings to be seen as symbolic gestures without real consequences. Article content It's time for reform. The government should establish a streamlined process to ensure that once a group is listed as a terrorist entity, it triggers a whole-of-government response to sanction the organization. This includes ensuring its non-profit status is immediately reviewed and — where appropriate — revoked. Inter-agency co-ordination must be improved so that criminal law and administrative oversight are not operating in silos. Article content National security cannot be selectively applied. If we are serious about combating terrorism, we must ensure that our enforcement measures are not only robust in theory, but swift and seamless in practice.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Canadians feel unwelcome in the U.S. as mistrust remains high: new poll
Now that Canada's trade war with America has surged back into public consciousness like a blast from the recent past, a new poll suggests Canadian frustration with and mistrust of the U.S. remains high, despite a slight easing. Article content In March, for example, polling showed a dramatic realignment of Canadian attitudes toward its southern neighbour. Europe and Britain were suddenly the countries Canadians felt best about, and Canadians were starting to feel about America the way they felt about Russia. Article content Article content But lately, with U.S. President Donald Trump's attention mostly elsewhere, there are signs of a slight bump back from this low point, despite troubling news developments like the death of a Canadian citizen in U.S. immigration custody. Article content Article content More than half of Canadians now say they 'no longer feel welcome in the United States,' for example, and this sentiment is strongest among women and older people. Article content During the recent Canadian election campaign with its looming threat of crippling tariffs and annexation, there was a 'worrisome intersection' in the Canadian mind of the American government and the American people, according to Jack Jedwab, president of the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies (ACS). But in this latest poll, he sees a 'healthy development' of Canadian anger and frustration being focused primarily on the American government, and less so the American people. Article content Back in April, barely one Canadian in five (21 per cent) said they trust Americans in a similar poll. But in the latest poll, that figure has rebounded to 34 per cent, which is historically normal, about the same as it was near the end of Trump's first term, but still considerably lower than the 59 per cent it reached in October 2023, Jedwab said. Article content Article content Asked if they trust the United States, the country as opposed to the American people, those numbers drop substantially. A majority of 53 per cent said the country could not be trusted, and only 21 per cent said it could. That distrust is greater among Canadians older than 65. It is also stronger among residents of British Columbia, and lowest among Albertans and Atlantic Canadians. Article content Article content The poll was taken by Leger for the ACS between June 20 and 22, so it does not reflect Canadian reaction to Donald Trump's latest cancellation of trade talks last weekend, which prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to rescind a digital industries tax, which targeted American tech firms, in order to restart negotiations. Article content 'We just don't trust the motivation behind the re-opening of trade,' Jedwab said. 'We're persuaded we're the kindler, gentler nation, and we're being bullied by their president.'
