Year in review: A look at news events in February 2024

01 – British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma formally apologizes to members of the Doukhobor religious group and offers them a $10-million compensation package. Some members of the group were forcibly taken from their parents more than 70 years ago. Sharma acknowledged the children were “mistreated both physically and psychologically” and that the government’s actions caused anxiety for the broader Doukhobor community.

01 – Sixty-three recommendations are issued following the inquest into the death of Sammy Yatim, who was fatally shot by a Toronto police constable, more than a decade ago. The recommendations touch on issues including officer training and monitoring, peer intervention, and mental health supports for officers and family members of those killed or seriously injured by police.

02 – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly arrives in the capital of Ukraine for a two-day visit focused on seeking the return of children abducted by Russia. Joly will launch an initiative with Ukraine that seeks global help in pressuring Russia to return thousands of Ukrainian children it deported from conflict zones, in violation of international law.

02 – Celebrity groundhog Shubenacadie Sam has some good news for Canadians tired of wintry weather. She waddled out of her tiny barn today and reportedly could not see her shadow. Centuries-old folklore says that’s a sign of an early spring. Quebec’s Fred la Marmotte, Ontario’s Wiarton Willie, and Western Pennsylvania’s Punxsutawney Phil also predicted an early spring for 2024.

02 – The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously rules that Ontario Premier Doug Ford can keep his marching orders to cabinet ministers confidential, stating the letters are exempt from public disclosure. The CBC had asked under the province’s freedom-of-information law for the letters written to ministers after Ford won the 2018 election.

02 – The NHL announces that players will be able compete at upcoming Winter Olympics. League commissioner Gary Bettman says a deal is in place to allow NHL players to suit up for their respective countries at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, and at the 2030 Games, which doesn’t have a host city yet.

02 – U.S. officials say their military is launching an air assault on dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan.

02 – The head of Canada’s public broadcaster says CBC’s financial model needs reviewing, not it’s mandate. At a conference for the broadcasting, film and media industry, Catherine Tait said she is pushing for a long-term financial structure such as a charter. Currently, she says the CBC gets its annual funding based on the parliamentary cycle, leaving the broadcaster in a perpetual state of uncertainty.

02 – British Columbia’s Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson has apologized for saying Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land,” remarks that angered pro-Palestinian groups and triggered calls for her resignation. Robinson says in a social media post her comments were “disrespectful” and she was referring to the land having limited natural resources.

3 – At least 22 people are killed in two separate airstrikes overnight in Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, as Israel expands combat to the town after focusing for the last few weeks on Khan Younis. Hospital officials say the first strike hit a residential building and the second struck a home.

3 – Northern Ireland’s government will be led by an Irish nationalist for the first time in history. Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O’Neill has been nominated as first minister as the government returns to work after a two-year boycott by unionists. Northern Ireland’s two main communities – British unionists who want to stay in the U.K. and Irish nationalists who seek to unite with Ireland – share power. O’Neill will share power with a deputy first minister from the Democratic Unionist Party.

3 – Environment Canada issues weather alerts predicting anywhere from 30 to 80 centimetres of snow in Nova Scotia over 48 hours, starting today. Residents across the province are now being urged to stay off roads and avoid unnecessary travel. The heavy snow is expected to fall throughout the weekend and into Monday.

3 – Thousands of people take part in anti-government protests in Tel Aviv in an outpouring of growing frustration at how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration are handling the war with Hamas. Among the protesters are families of hostages still being held in Gaza calling for a deal to have everyone freed.

3 – The U.S. and Britain launch new strikes on 36 Houthi targets in Yemen in a second wave of assaults aimed at further disabling groups backed by Iran that have relentlessly attacked U.S. and international interests since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

4 – Namibia’s President Hage Geingobm, 82, dies while receiving medical treatment at Lady Pohamba Hospital. Acting President Angolo Mbumba calls for calm, saying the cabinet will convene to make the necessary state arrangements.

4 – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the federal government is extending its foreign homebuyer ban until 2027 due to continuing housing affordability concerns. Since the ban first took effect last year, foreign commercial enterprises and people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents are prohibited from buying homes.

4 – Cape Breton declares a local state of emergency after being hit with roughly 80 centimetres of snow. Mayor Amanda McDougall says the step is necessary in light of the ongoing storm across Nova Scotia. She says residents need to stay off roads as snow continues to bury the province.

4 – Taylor Swift makes history with her album of the year award at the Grammys, breaking the record for most wins in the category with four.

5 – Parts of Nova Scotia are digging out from one of the heaviest snowfalls in 20 years, with some areas getting buried under as much as 150 centimetres. Pictures and videos on social media show huge snowdrifts, vehicles buried and homeowners digging tunnel-like paths around their properties.

5 – Post-Secondary Education Minister Selina Robinson steps down after more than a dozen B.C. mosques and Islamic associations wrote to Premier David Eby calling for her removal for saying Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land.”

5 – The Crown obtains a standard order protecting the identity of the complainant in the sexual assault case against five members – Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod – of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team. Prosecutor Heather Donkers is granted an order protecting the identity of two witnesses. Police offer an apology to the woman at the centre of the alleged 2018 sexual assault in a London hotel room, for how long it took to lay charges. The case is put over until April 30.

5 – Buckingham Palace says King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer but it isn’t saying what form. The palace says the 75-year-old has begun treatment and is feeling positive about it and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.

5 – Michael McLeod, one of the five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team accused of sexual assault, is facing an additional charge. The lead investigator on the case says McLeod is charged with both sexual assault and being a party to the offence, while the four other players are charged solely with assault. The alleged sex assault happened in a London hotel room in 2018.

5 – Hockey Hall of Famer Lanny McDonald is recovering after suffering a cardiac event in the aftermath of the NHL’s all-star game in Toronto. In an Instagram post on the Calgary Flames’ alumni account, the 70-year-old says two nurses helped him at Calgary International Airport when he was in distress, saying, “I owe them my life.” McDonald says he’s eternally grateful for their help, and he is currently receiving hospital care.

5 – Alberta files a formal response to the federal government’s proposed 100-megatonne oilsands emissions cap, calling it unrealistic and ineffective. The province says it will not tolerate the cap, and that it won’t achieve Ottawa’s grandiose emissions targets. The oilsands is the source of nearly eight per cent of all Canadian emissions.

5 – Country singer-songwriter Toby Keith dies at the age of 62 surrounded by his family after battling stomach cancer.

6 – Local states of emergency remain in effect across parts of Cape Breton after three straight days of heavy snowfall in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Cape Breton got more than 100 centimetres of snow. Halifax got more than 50. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says the cleanup will take days, and his government has asked Ottawa and neighbouring provinces for help. Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan says Parks Canada will be sending snow removal equipment and the Canadian Coast Guard is sending helicopters.

6 – A federal appeals panel rejects Donald Trump’s claims he is immune from prosecution and rules the former president can face trial on charges the plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The ruling sets the stage for additional appeals that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

6 – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announces an additional $99 million will be added to the Canada Housing Benefit, which offers financial support for low-income renters. The government will also pour another $100 million into programs to help shelters create more spaces for homeless people. The funding is going to 85 communities across the country.

6 – Canada lays sanctions against 10 people linked to Hamas, including some of its senior leaders and one person associated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly hopes this will hinder fundraising for Hamas, which Ottawa lists as a terrorist organization.

6 – In a precedent-setting decision, a Michigan jury finds a school shooter’s mother guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of four students in 2021. Prosecutors say Jennifer Crumbley had a duty to prevent her son, who was 15 at the time, from harming anyone. On the morning of the shooting, school officials called Crumbley and her husband in to talk about a violent drawing their son made, but were never told the family had guns. The parents refused to take him home and, hours later, Ethan Crumbley pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot 10 students and a teacher.

6 – RCMP say a suspect has been charged in the death of a British Columbia boy whom police say was the victim of financial sextortion. A 26-year-old man was arrested in Nigeria and charged in that country with possession and distribution of child pornography, attempted extortion by threats and money laundering. The Mounties’ investigation after the boy’s sudden death a year ago led to the discovery in May that the suspect in Nigeria had been communicating with the boy.

6 – A tentative settlement worth $9.5 million is reached in a lawsuit alleging the Calgary Stampede allowed a performance school staffer to sexually abuse young boys. A statement from Stampede lawyers says the deal is subject to court approval and will hopefully help the complainants heal. Former Young Canadians School of Performing Arts employee Phillip Heerema pleaded guilty in 2018 to using his sexual position to lure and groom six boys into sexual relationships as far back as 1992. The school performs each year at the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show.

6 – A preliminary report from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board says there were no bolts holding the door plug in place on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 that lost its door mid-flight. It says the door plug arrived at Boeing’s factory near Seattle with damaged rivets around it, and the crew forgot to replace the four bolts needed to hold it in place after they repaired the damage. The report says the plane had been flying for months without the bolts holding the door plug in place.

7 – Former Chilean president Sebastian Pinera dies in a helicopter accident. The 74-year-old served as president from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.

7 – Two of four men charged in 2022 with conspiracy to commit murder in a Canada-U.S. border-blockade case in Alberta plead guilty to lesser charges. The Alberta Court of King’s Bench says Chris Lysak pleaded guilty to possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place, and Jerry Morin pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to traffic firearms. Both were sentenced to about three years, but were released from custody after getting credit for time already served.

7 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Hamas’s latest demands for a ceasefire and vows to press ahead with the military campaign in Gaza until Israel achieves absolute victory over Hamas, adding there is no other solution. Hamas’ three-phase plan – drawn up by the United States, Israel, Qatar and Egypt – would have seen all hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, but also calls for Hamas to remain in power in Gaza and for Israel to let it rebuild its military capabilities.

7 – An Ottawa judge sentences former RCMP intelligence officer Cameron Ortis to 14 years in prison. Ortis was found guilty in November of breaching Canada’s secrets law. Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger says Ortis will be credited with time he has already spent in custody and will further serve seven years and 155 days. Ortis led the RCMP’s Operations Research group, which assembled classified information on cybercriminals, terror cells and transnational criminal networks.

7 – The Walt Disney Company is paying $1.5-billion for a stake in “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. CEO Bob Iger said in a statement that this will be Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games.

8 – The federal government meets with political leaders, police, border agents and auto industry officials in Ottawa for a summit about combating auto theft. Automakers say they’re actively beefing up security in vehicles to deter theft but they find themselves in a cat-and-mouse game with thieves who quickly catch on to new systems.

8 – Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares says he is taking the Canada Revenue Agency to court in a dispute over its claim he owes $8 million in unpaid taxes and interest. Court documents show Tavares filed an appeal last week in the Tax Court of Canada seeking to have the CRA’s reassessment of his 2018 tax return annulled.

8 – BCE announces it is cutting about 4,800 jobs across the company, including some at Bell Media, and selling off 45 of its 103 regional radio stations in B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The cuts represent about nine per cent of the company’s workforce and include journalists.

8 – This year’s Canadian Screen Awards show won’t air live. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television says an hour-long T-V special of the country’s biggest film and television awards bash will air May 31 on CBC and CBC Gem.

9 – Russian President Vladimir Putin calls for the West to halt all supplies to Ukraine and help bring the country to the table to negotiate an end to the war. Putin used an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks. It was Putin’s first interview with a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

9 – The Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upholds the federal government’s Indigenous child welfare act. The justices have ruled the law is constitutional, affirming that First Nations Peoples have sole authority over the protection of their children. Quebec had contested the law.

9 – Ontario has signed a $3.1-billion health-care deal with Ottawa and promises to use the money to improve access to primary health care. That includes hiring hundreds of new family doctors and nurse practitioners, as well as thousands of nurses and personal support workers.

9 – Former Quebec Major Junior Hockey League player Noah Corson is found guilty of sexually assault. The victim was 15 at the time of the assault in Drummondville in 2016. Corson was 18 at the time the girl was assaulted during group sex involving two other minors accused in the case.

9 – Public high school teachers and elementary teachers in Ontario will get additional retroactive salary increases to compensate them for constrained wages under a law known as Bill 124. When the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario and Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation reached new contract deals with the provincial government, they left some issues to be decided by an arbitrator. The unions announced the arbitrator has awarded an additional 2.75 per cent for the third year, amounts that are on top of the one per cent raises each year that were part of the previous contract under Bill 124.

9 – Dino Rossi resigns from Canada Soccer’s board of directors, saying he found it exceedingly difficult to contribute to the organization in a manner that he found meaningful and impactful. Former president Nick Bontis and general secretary Earl Cochrane resigned last year as Canada Soccer and its players were locked in a lengthy, bitter labour dispute that remains unresolved.

10 – Millions across the world celebrate the Lunar New Year – the first full moon of the lunar calendar and one of the most important holidays celebrated in China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian countries. This year marks the Year of the Dragon.

10 – Authorities in the Quebec City region say they have detected a synthetic opioid that is 25 times more powerful than fentanyl in pale green tablets that mimic the appearance of other prescription opioids. The Quebec City regional public health authority is warning that the compound, protonitazepyne, presents a high risk of overdose.

10 – JM “Jimmy” Van Eaton, a pioneering rock `n’ roll drummer who played for the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Billy Lee Riley, dies at age 86 in his home in Alabama after dealing with health issues over the last year. Van Eaton was known for his bluesy playing style, powering classic early-rock hits at Sun like “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Lewis and “Red Hot” by Riley.

11 – Egypt threatens to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if the Israeli-Gaza offensive expands into the densely populated border town of Rafah. The threat to suspend the Camp David Accords, a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly a half-century, comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to send troops into Rafah, saying it is necessary to defeat Hamas. More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled to Rafah to escape fighting in other areas.

11 – The Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions, making history and causing an uproar among spectators. The Chiefs rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in the second overtime game in Super Bowl history. Through the victory, the Chiefs have captured their third Super Bowl title in five years and firmly established themselves as a dynasty team. The longest Super Bowl game is also in the record books for being the most-watched program in television history, with an average of 123.4-million viewers across TV and streaming platforms.

12 – The Israeli military announces the rescue of two hostages from terrorist captivity during a raid. The army identifies the rescued hostages as Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Har, two elderly men who it says were kidnapped by Hamas militants in the Oct. 7 terror attack.

12 – Auditor general Karen Hogan slams the ArriveCan app Ottawa launched in April 2020 to track health and contact information for people entering Canada during the pandemic. Hogan estimates the app cost taxpayers nearly $60 million, but says the project was so poorly managed it’s impossible to know the final amount for sure. The first ArriveCan contract was initially valued at just over $2 million.

12 – The Ontario Court of Appeal says a controversial law that Premier Doug Ford’s government enacted to limit raises for teachers, nurses and other public service workers is unconstitutional. The government brought in the law that capped salary increases at one per cent a year for three years in 2019 to help eliminate a deficit. Labour groups and opposition parties were outraged, with critics blaming the law for driving nurses out of the profession or into higher-paying private nursing agencies. The Ontario government says it will repeal the wage-cap law in the coming weeks.

12 – The RCMP lays first-degree murder charges against 29-year-old Ryan Manoakeesick, of Carman, Man., in the deaths of five family members. He was arrested on Sunday after the bodies of his 30-year-old common-law wife Amanda Clearwater, his three children Bethany, Jayven and Isabella Manoakeesick – aged six, four and two months – and his wife’s 17-year-old niece Myah-Lee Gratton were found at three crime scenes.

12 – Israel’s military confirms it has taken at least two members of a Canadian-American family into custody in the Gaza Strip, offering no further details. Relatives say Ahmed Alagha and his two sons, Borak and Hashem, were taken from their family home near Khan Younis, noting the father is Canadian while his sons have both Canadian and American citizenship. American officials say they’re still trying to find out why the men were detained.

13 – After almost a week of debate, the U.S. Senate passes a $95-billion US aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. A small group of Republicans opposed to giving $60 billion to Ukraine argued the U.S. should focus on its own problems.

13 – Canada’s housing advocate calls for an immediate end to forced evictions of homeless camps and says cities trying to dismantle them are violating residents’ human rights and endangering lives. Marie-Josee Houle releases a piercing report calling the expansion of homeless camps across the country a national human rights crisis. Houle is urging the federal government to establish a national encampments response plan by the end of August that will fulfil her calls to action.

13 – Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed introduces a motion calling for Bell Canada’s CEO and a five other executives to appear in Parliament on Feb. 29 to testify over the company’s decision to cut nine per cent of its workforce. The motion is supported by the NDP and Bloc Québécois, with the Conservatives on the committee abstaining from voting. BCE, the parent company of Bell Media, announced last week it is cutting its workforce by 4,800 positions, ending multiple television newscasts and selling off 45 of its 103 radio stations.

14 – Palestinians are evacuating the main hospital in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis after weeks of heavy fighting have isolated the medical facility and claimed the lives of several people inside. The Israeli military says it has opened a secure route to allow civilians to leave the hospital.

14 – Defence Minister Bill Blair is in Brussels for a NATO summit and says Canada will send Ukraine $60 million to support setting up its F-16 fighter aircraft capability. The money is part of the $500 million in military support the prime minister announced last spring during a visit to Kyiv. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says its European members and Canada have ramped up defence spending to record levels.

14 – A powerful nor’easter sweeping up from the U.S. East Coast is dumping snow on parts of Nova Scotia and much of Newfoundland and Labrador. Schools are closed in parts of Nova Scotia, some government offices are opening later than usual and there are flight delays and cancellations at the Halifax airport. Thirty-five centimetres of fresh snow had fallen by this morning in Cape Breton and in the Halifax area. Up to 60 cm of snow is in the forecast for eastern and northeastern Newfoundland as well as winds gusting to 100 kilometres an hour.

14 – The Liberal government unveils a rebrand of the federal carbon price rebate as it announces the increased amounts Canadian households are expected to get after the price itself goes up in April. Most Canadian families will get between $760 and $2,160 in carbon price rebates this year, depending on where they live. The increased rebates coincide with the carbon price itself being hiked, as scheduled, another $15 per tonne. BW

14 – Police say eight children were among 22 people shot at the end of the parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win. Authorities say one person was killed. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said three people had been taken into custody.

15 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several other world leaders call on the Israeli government to stand down from the planned military offensive into the densely populated Rafah city in Gaza. Some 1.5 million Palestinians have escaped to Rafah to get away from the IDF’s intense and reckless bombardment of Hamas fighters, with civilian death tolls growing.

15 – The federal government announces $273 million to acquire new military equipment for NATO’s Canada-led battle group in Latvia for later this year. In Brussels for this week’s meeting of NATO defence ministers, Canada’s Bill Blair says it’s the first time that the Canadian Armed Forces will have an air defence capability since 2012.

15 – Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, attend Invictus Games training sessions in Whistler, B.C., which is set the host the 2025 games. The Duke of Sussex is the founder of the Games for wounded, injured or sick service personnel and veterans. The famous couple shook hands with athletes and onlookers in the first of a three-day visit to B.C. promoting the Games.

15 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. At the same time, they reiterated their condemnation of Hamas for the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the conflict.

15 – SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasts off in the middle of the night from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, sending Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander on its way to the moon. NASA is hoping for a successful moon landing next week.

15 – Tourism Prince Edward Island signs a deal that makes it the official travel destination partner of the NHL. The exclusive designation will let the Island use the NHL’s broadcast and social media reach to promote itself in target markets such as Ontario and New England.

15 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announce $633 million in health-care funding for the province. The governments say the funding is to help Manitoba reach its goal of hiring 400 more doctors, 300 more nurses, 200 paramedics and 100 homecare workers.

15 – The Transportation Safety Board of Canada calls for improvements to pilot training and aircraft equipment after an investigation into a deadly helicopter crash in Nunavut in 2021. Safety board chairperson Kathy Fox says the safety deficiencies pilots are flying with are not new, adding that enough lives have already been lost.

16 – Across B.C., the 2024 vintage is facing a near-total wipeout because of the mid-January cold snap, with the group, Wine Growers British Columbia saying the province faces “catastrophic crop losses” of 97 to 99 per cent of typical grape production.

16 – Israel’s prime minister says Israel will not accept what he called “international dictates” regarding a long-term resolution of his country’s conflict with Palestinians. Writing early Friday on X, Benjamin Netanyahu says such a resolution can only be the result of negotiations. He also says Israel opposes a unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood. The two-state solution has broad international support, including from Canada.

16 – Russia’s prison agency says imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died. The fiercest foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests died in prison at age 47. The Federal Prison Service says Navalny felt unwell after a walk today and lost consciousness. It says an ambulance arrived, but he died. Navalny’s team has not yet been able to confirm his death.

16 – Tech executives from Adobe, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok gather at the Munich Security Conference to announce they have signed a new agreement to voluntarily adopt “reasonable precautions” to prevent artificial intelligence tools from being used to disrupt democratic elections around the world. Thirteen other companies, including IBM and X are also signing on to the accord, which issymbolic and doesn’t include commitments to ban or remove deepfakes.

16 – New York Judge Arthur Engoron rules against Donald Trump in a civil fraud case, imposing a $364-million penalty to the former president, over what he rules was a years-long scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements inflating Trump’s wealth. He is also barred from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. Trump’s lawyers say they will appeal.

16 – The United Nations top court rejects South Africa’s request for an urgent measure to safeguard the city of Rafah in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel’s defence minister says they are “thoroughly planning” a military offensive in Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians are crammed.

16 – A judge has rules a court challenge can proceed over a Saskatchewan law requiring parental consent for children under 16 who want to change their names or pronouns at school. The judge says applicant U-R Pride can still make its case surrounding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms even if the Charter’s notwithstanding clause has been invoked. The Saskatchewan government says it’s extremely disappointed by the decision and is prepared to take it to the Supreme Court of Canada, if necessary.

16 – A House of Commons committee tells the chief executives of Loblaw and Walmart Canada to sign on to the grocery code of conduct or risk having it made law. The committee studying food prices is calling the immediate implementation of the code an essential step to tackle the issues facing the food industry. Both Walmart and Loblaw say they will not sign the code as currently drafted – warning it could raise prices for Canadians.

16 – The PWHL’s first game tonight at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena sets a league and women’s hockey attendance record with a sellout crowd of 19, 285 people in attendance. This breaks the previous PWHL record of 13, 316 at X-Cel Energy Center for Minnesota’s home opener on Jan. 6. Toronto beats Montreal 3-0.

17 – The Sts’ailes First Nation in B.C. says the ceremonial signing of an agreement with the B.C. and federal governments covering its jurisdiction over child and family services has been put on hold. The Fraser Valley First Nation says that a month before the scheduled signing, Ottawa indicated it would not meet certain deadlines and could not provide a timeline for when it might be ready. Sts’ailes Grand Chief Chasta Willie Charlie says they still held a local celebration, adding the community is funding its child and family services without federal support.

17 – A spokesperson for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny confirms his death a day prior at a remote Arctic penal colony, saying he was murdered. In a statement on X, Kira Yarmysh accuses Russia of lying and doing everything possible to avoid handing over Navalny’s body. The director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption foundation says prison officials told his mother today he died because of “sudden death syndrome” and that his body was taken to a nearby morgue for further tests.

17 – Two railway crew members are in hospital after multiple trains derail and spark a fire east of Revelstoke, B.C. Terry Cunha, a spokesman for Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway, says the incident took place roughly 13 kilometres east of Revelstoke, with four engines derailed. Cunha says the four locomotives made contact with the rear of another train that was stopped on the tracks, injuring two crew members who were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

18 – The World Health Organization says the Nasser Hospital, the main medical centre serving southern Gaza, is no longer able to function after Israel raided the facility late last week. A statement from the WHO also notes one of their teams was not allowed to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the remaining patients and any critical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners. Israel says during its operation it arrested 70 suspected militants, including 20 alleged to have participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

18 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet adopts a declaration saying the country rejects U.S. and international calls for a pathway to Palestinian statehood. It says Israel “categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians” and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. A member of his War Cabinet threatens to invade the southern city of Rafah if the remaining Israeli hostages are not freed by Ramadan.

18 – The NBA All-Star Game shows the highest score ever in the 73-year-history of the game. All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scores 39 points and the Eastern Conference beats the Western Conference 211-186, beating the previous high score of 196 by the West in 2016.

19 – The United Nations’ highest court begins historic hearings today into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of Palestine. The case is moving forward at the UN’s request for a non-binding advisory opinion, as it plunges 15 international judges back into the heart of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Six days of hearings at the International Court of Justice involving an unprecedented 51 countries will proceed against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war.

19 – Health Canada is funding a project by doctors in B.C. and Ontario that aims to increase living donor kidney transplants in racialized groups more prone to kidney disease due to greater rates of diabetes and high blood pressure. The doctors say some racialized patients don’t ask their family and friends to donate a kidney because of their cultural beliefs.

19 – Premier Wab Kinew and Manitoba Métis Federation president David Chartrand unveil an updated plaque at the provincial legislature recognizing Louis Riel as the province’s first premier. The updated plaque is below a portrait of the Metis leader, who led a provisional government in what is now Manitoba and blazed the trail for the province to join Confederation in 1870.

19 – Canada is sending more than 800 drones to Ukraine for surveillance and supply transport, to be shipped out as early as this spring. National Defence says drones have become a critical capability for Ukraine in its war with Russia, helping operators to recognize heat sources, humans and vehicles from far away, even in the dark or poor weather. The drones will cost more than $95 million, and are part of a previously-announced $500 million in military aid for Ukraine.

19 – A judge investigating the July 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president Jovenel Moise indicts his widow, Martine Moise, ex-prime minister Claude Joseph and the former chief of Haiti’s national police, Leon Charles, among others. Charles, who now serves as Haiti’s permanent representative to the Organization of the American States, faces the most serious charges, including murder. Moise and Joseph are accused of complicity and criminal association.

20 – The parent company of Loblaws and Shoppers Drug Mart is going to build more than 40 new stores and expand or relocate 10 others as part of a record $2-billion investment plan. Loblaw is also going to renovate more than 700 other stores across the country. It says the moves will create more than 7,500 jobs.

20 – The U.S. vetoes an Arab-backed UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Britain abstains. The 13-to-1 vote reflects the wide global support for ending the more than four-month war that started with Hamas’ surprise invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7. The U.S. says the resolution may interfere with ongoing efforts to arrange a deal that would bring at least a six-week halt to hostilities and see the release of all the hostages.

20 – The federal government will be adding another $2 billion to the BC Builds – British Columbia’s plan to fast-track the construction of affordable rental units on government-, community- and non-profit-owned and underused land. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the added federal funding will create up to 10,000 new homes, to be made available to families based on their income, and targeted for the middle class.

20 – Marc-Andre Grenon of Quebec is found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Quebec college student 19-year-old Guylaine Potvin, who was killed in 2000. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before coming back with their verdict against Grenon. A Quebec Superior Court judge sentenced Grenon to life in prison. Police narrowed in on a suspect more than 22 years after Potvin was sexually assaulted and killed in her basement apartment in Saguenay.

21 – Millennials now outnumber Canadian baby boomers. Boomers had been the largest segment of the population for 65 years. Statistics Canada says the change helped increase the share of the working-age population last year, after a steady decline over the previous 15 years.

21 – The National Ballet of Canada says principal dancer Guillaume Cote is retiring after the end of the 2024 to 2025 season. The 42-year-old has been with the company for more than a quarter century and was promoted to principal dancer in 2004.

21 – The federal government reaches a $59-million settlement with the Matsqui First Nation over the taking of land in 1908 for the Vancouver Power Company right-of-way. Construction of the corridor effectively severed access to some reserve lands, and the government was supposed to make sure crossings were built and maintained, but it didn’t and community’s access to its reserve lands was cut off.

22 – Nathaniel Veltman is sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for killing four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., in June 2021. The judge also labelled the 23-year-old a terrorist. Veltman has also been sentenced to a concurrent life sentence for the attempted murder of a boy who survived the attack. This was the first time Canada’s terrorism laws were put before a jury in a first-degree murder trial.

22 – The mayor of Gatineau, Que., abruptly resigns her post, citing a difficult climate for municipal politicians in the province. France Belisle says her resignation takes effect immediately, adding that she made the decision to preserve her health and her integrity.

22 – A private lunar lander touches down on the moon but only managed to issue a weak signal back to Earth. Flight controllers with Intuitive Machines were scrambling to gain better contact with the first U-S spacecraft to reach the lunar surface in more than 50 years. Once communication was improved, the company confirmed the lander was upright and starting to send back data. The lander sits at the moon’s South Pole where NASA is expected to send a future crewed mission.

23 – Low-cost airline Lynx Air says it will be ending all operations after filing for creditor protection.

23 – The main organizer of the “Freedom Convoy” protests of early 2022 sues the federal government for using the Emergencies Act to freeze his bank accounts. Saskatchewan’s Chris Barber has filed a statement of claim calling the federal government’s move to invoke the act to clear the protesters an abuse of power that breached his Charter rights to protest COVID-19 mandates.

23 – Nineteen-year-old Hallie Clarke from Brighton, Ont., becomes the youngest skeleton world champion in history. She won the women’s skeleton competition at the bobsled and skeleton world championships in Winterberg, Germany, with a four-run time of three minutes, 51.27 seconds.

23 – McGill University and Concordia University each file suits against the Quebec government, claiming its massive tuition hike for out-of-province students constitutes discrimination under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The two universities further claim that the hikes of about 30 per cent have damaged their reputations.

23 – The NDP reaches a deal with the governing Liberals to introduce the first piece of a national pharmacare program. The deal includes full coverage for contraceptives in line with what B.C. covers, all insulin for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and additional diabetes drugs. The agreement is a critical piece of the supply-and-confidence pact between the two parties and comes ahead of a March 1 deadline to table legislation.

23 – The RCMP says it is “actively managing” a network security breach and has launched a criminal investigation, adding the situation is moving quickly and is of an alarming magnitude, but that the “cyber event” hasn’t had any effect on its operations.

23 – Ottawa files an appeal of the Federal Court of Appeal decision in January that found its invocation of the Emergencies Act in response to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests was unjustified and led to the infringement of constitutional rights.

24 – The Palestinian government under Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh resigns in a move that could open the door to U.S.-backed reforms in the Palestinian Authority. The move signals a willingness by the Western-backed Palestinian leadership to accept such a shakeup. The U.S. wants a reformed Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza once the war is over.

24 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signs a new security pact with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new security agreement includes $320 million in new military aid by the end of the year, and $75 million for demining efforts and intelligence gathering.

24 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of “executing” opposition leader Alexei Navalny and using police and the military to crush opposition in Russia. Navalny died a week ago in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence Meanwhile, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation says his body has been handed over to his mother, and she was shown a medical certificate stating that her son died of “natural causes.”

25 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says 31,000 soldiers have died fighting against the Russians over the past two years – the first time he has confirmed the number of fatalities since the start of Russia’s invasion. He would not disclose the number of troops who have been injured or are missing.

25 – Peter Anthony Morgan, lead singer of the popular reggae band Morgan Heritage, dies at the age of 46. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness writes on X that his “heart is heavy” over the news, calling the death a “colossal loss” for Jamaica and reggae music.

25 – Authorities in the United States say they have charged another man in an alleged human smuggling operation that led a family from India to die in the cold while trying to enter the U.S. from Manitoba. A court document says Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel is charged with transportation of an illegal alien along with conspiracy to bring and attempting to bring an illegal alien to the U.S. A Homeland Security investigator alleges Patel recruited, directed and paid a man in Florida, Steve Shand, to pick up several Indian nationals after they illegally crossed the border from Canada into the U.S.

26 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk today in Warsaw and acknowledges there is still more to do for Canada to meet NATO’s defence spending target, but he says Canada is doing it. Canada’s defence spending currently hovers around 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product, falling short of the two-per-cent NATO-mandated target.

26 – Donald Trump’s lawyers file notice to appeal his $454-million US New York civil fraud judgment. They are asking an appeals court to overturn Judge Arthur Engoron’s recent verdict that Trump lied about his wealth as he grew the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency.

26 – After more than 18 months of delays, Hungary’s parliament votes to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson calls it a historic day. The vote clears the way for the second expansion of NATO’s ranks in a year after both Sweden and Finland applied to join the alliance in May 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia has claimed the invasion was partly to prevent any further NATO expansion.

26 – The Black Class Action Secretariat files an international complaint saying the Canadian Human Rights Commission is violating global law because of its treatment of Black employees. The head of a coalition of federal unions and organizations representing Black workers says evidence of systemic discrimination within the body is “undeniable” and “unacceptable.”

26 – Canada’s justice minister tables the Online Harms Act including the creation of a “digital safety commission of Canada” to regulate social media companies. Bill C-63’s proposals include adding fresh responsibilities for online platforms, creating a new ombudsperson and to strengthen reporting around child pornography.

27 – A report titled Behind the Badge by the union representing front-line Mounties calls on the RCMP to fully implement its employee well-being strategy. The union representing front-line Mounties wants the force to take a list of steps to ensure the mental health of officers. The report says officers are confronted daily with stressors, risks and emotionally taxing situations that take a toll on their psychological well-being.

27 – The federal government announces $123 million in funding through its Affordable Housing Innovation Fund. The money will go to eight homebuilders and will help build more than five-thousand affordable homes.

27 – Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange says the province wasn’t consulted about the national pharmacare plan agreement reached by the federal Liberals and NDP. She says Alberta intends to opt out of the national program and wants its full per capita share to add into the province’s health-care system.

27 – The man who killed 11 people and injured 17 others during a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan dies from an overdose. A pathologist told a coroner’s inquest today that 32-year-old Myles Sanderson died from a cocaine overdose after he was taken into police custody on Sept. 7, 2022. Sanderson was arrested three days after the deadly attacks on the James Smith Cree Nation and in nearby Weldon.

27 – The University of Waterloo is removing more than two dozen vending machines from its campus after students raised concerns over facial recognition technology. The Ontario school says the 29 machines had recently been installed across campus, noting it was unaware of the technology. Machine operator Adaria Vending Services, says the technology acts as a motion sensor to know when to activate the screen for purchases.

27 – Two men are convicted of murder in the death of Run DMC star Jam Master Jay, two decades after he was killed. The jury delivered the verdict in the trial of Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Junior, who was the rap star’s godson. The rapper, born Jason Mizell, was gunned down inside his New York City studio on Oct. 30, 2002.

27 – B.C. Premier David Eby officially apologizes in the legislature to members of the Doukhobor religious community, including children who were forcibly taken from their parents more than 70 years ago. Eby says that never should have happened and acknowledged that those children were mistreated physically and psychologically. He says this is why the province is allocating $10 million to the community to help those affected by the mistreatment.

28 – Sony cites changes in the industry for its decision to cut about 900 jobs in its PlayStation division. That works out to about eight per cent of its global workforce.

28 – New York City’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine is going tuition-free after receiving a US $1-billion donation from former professor Ruth Gottesman.

28 – Fast food giant Wendy’s says it plans to introduce “surge pricing” at its restaurants starting next year, and charge customers as much as a dollar more for select items during the busy lunch rush.

29 – Innocence Canada says a “satisfactory” conditional settlement has been reached between the New Brunswick government and two men who were wrongfully convicted of a 1983 murder. Last month, Robert Mailman, 76, and Walter Gillespie, 80, were acquitted in the death of a man in 1983. Gillespie served 21 years of his life sentence in prison and Mailman served 18.

29 – The Quebec Court of Appeal rules that the province’s secularism law is constitutional. It overturned a lower court ruling that exempted English school boards from Bill 21. The 2019 law declares the province is a secular state and includes a provision prohibiting public sector workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job. That includes teachers, judges, and police officers.

29 – Canada’s 18th prime minister Brian Mulroney dies at age 84. His daughter says he died peacefully and surrounded by family. Mulroney’s family said last summer he was improving daily after a heart procedure that followed treatment for prostate cancer in early 2023. Mulroney headed the Progressive Conservative party and soared to the largest majority mandate in history when he was elected in 1984.

29 – Nuclear operator Bruce Power of Ontario is set to receive up to $50 million from the federal government to explore building a new nuclear plant on the site of its existing facility. It would be Ontario’s first new, large-scale nuclear plant in more than 30 years.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Year in review: A look at news events in February 2024

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