Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate for first time in more than four years
By: Nojoud Al Mallees
OTTAWA (CP) – The Bank of Canada marked a major turning point in its fight against inflation on Wednesday as it lowered its key interest rate for the first time in more than four years, making it the first central bank in the G7 to cut rates.
Governor Tiff Macklem said the central bank has more confidence inflation is moving closer to its two per cent target, citing various indicators that suggest price pressures have retreated.
“If inflation continues to ease, and our confidence that inflation is headed sustainably to the two per cent target continues to increase, it is reasonable to expect further cuts to our policy interest rate,” Macklem said in remarks prepared for a morning news conference.
“But we are taking our interest rate decisions one meeting at a time.”
With the quarter-percentage-point cut, the central bank’s key interest rate now stands at 4.75 per cent.
Macklem and senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers delivered the news while wearing Edmonton Oilers pins, a nod to the Canadian hockey team heading to the NHL finals later this week. Like the Oilers’ ascent to the Stanley Cup finals, the Bank of Canada’s rate cut has given Canadians something to cheer for.
While the Wednesday rate cut opened a new chapter for the Bank of Canada, the governor faced questions about whether the central bank would cut again at its July meeting. Macklem urged the room of reporters to be patient.
“Let’s enjoy the moment,” he said.
Trudeau travels to Normandy for 80th anniversary of D-Day
By: Sarah Ritchie
OTTAWA (CP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on his way to Normandy, France, to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Around 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches on June 6, 1944, in what’s now known as the beginning of the end of the Second World War.
In all, 4,414 Allied troops were killed that day, including 381 Canadians.
Trudeau is set to attend a Canadian ceremony at Juno Beach on Thursday before heading to an international ceremony at nearby Omaha Beach.
Canada’s delegation also includes 13 Second World War veterans, the oldest of whom is 104.
Marie-Eve Vaillancourt, the executive director of the Juno Beach Centre, says there are Canadian flags on display throughout the villages around the beach, and people in the area have not forgotten the sacrifice of the Canadian troops.
Admitted serial killer not suffering from schizophrenia: forensic psychiatrist
WINNIPEG (CP) – A Crown-appointed forensic psychiatrist has told a murder trial that Jeremy Skibicki was not suffering from schizophrenia when he killed four women.
Dr. Gary Chaimowitz assessed Skibicki over eight hours last month.
He says Skibicki likely has anti-social and substance abuse disorders and that Skibicki knew killing the women was morally and legally wrong.
Another expert, called by the defence, previously testified that Skibicki was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of slayings in 2022.
That psychiatrist said Skibicki felt compelled to carry out the killings because he believed he was on a mission from God.
Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.
His lawyers admit he killed the women but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
Crown prosecutors say the killings were racially motivated and that Skibicki targeted the Indigenous women at homeless shelters.
Border strike will start Friday if mediation fails: union
OTTAWA (CP) –The union representing thousands of Canadian border workers says they will begin job action Friday afternoon if no deal is reached by then.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada says it still hopes to avoid strike action and border disruptions but has set a deadline of Friday at 4 p.m. eastern time.
More than 9,000 union members who work for the Canada Border Services Agency have been without a contract for more than two years.
The two sides went into mediation on Monday.
The union says key issues include pay parity with other law enforcement agencies, flexible telework and remote work options, pension benefits and stronger workplace protections.
It says job action three years ago by border agency personnel “nearly brought commercial cross-border traffic to a standstill, causing major delays at airports and borders across the country.”
Raed Jaser, convicted in Via Rail terror plot, loses appeal
ONTARIO (CP) – Ontario’s highest court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of one of the two men found guilty of terrorism charges in a plot to derail a passenger train between Canada and the U.S.
Raed Jaser had challenged the outcome of the 2015 trial on several grounds, including that his case should have been severed from that of his co-accused, Chiheb Esseghaier – something he requested twice, unsuccessfully.
Esseghaier, who was self-represented, refused to meaningfully participate in the court proceedings related to the trial, saying he would only be judged by the Qur’an, and had several outbursts in court, including one where he spat at lawyers and threw a cup of water.
Jaser argued on appeal that the trial judge’s refusal to grant him a separate trial compromised the fairness of the proceedings.
In a unanimous ruling released today, the Court of Appeal for Ontario said the trial judge made reasonable and legally correct decisions on the issue, and going ahead with a joint trial “did not result in an injustice.”
The three-judge panel also rejected Jaser’s other arguments on appeal.
This is the second time the Appeal Court has weighed in on Jaser and Esseghaier’s case.
They were found guilty in 2015 on a total of eight terror-related charges between them. They were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole until 2023.
Weather window may help search for three missing mountaineers: B.C. RCMP
SQUAMISH, B.C. (CP) – Police and rescue teams hope a window of good weather will help the search for three mountaineers lost since Friday on Mount Garibaldi in British Columbia.
A Squamish RCMP spokeswoman says the clearing conditions could allow an aerial assessment of the area before search and rescue teams are deployed in the “complex terrain.”
The lost climbers were reported overdue on May 31 and were last seen on Atwell Peak on the southern edge of Mount Garibaldi, about 70 kilometres north of Vancouver.
Cpl. Ashley MacKay says in a news release that bad weather and high avalanche risks have been hindering the search.
RCMP are working with Squamish Search and Rescue, police dog services and the Mounties air service in the search.
Squamish Search and Rescue manager B.J. Chute says in the release that avalanche technicians will be assessing the risks amid winter conditions in the area.
The RCMP is asking members of the public to stay away from the search area.
Robert Miller too sick to defend himself against sex charges, his lawyers say
MONTREAL (CP) – Lawyers defending Quebec billionaire businessman Robert Miller against sex crime charges have filed an application for a stay of proceedings, saying he is too sick to appear in court.
The founder of Future Electronics was arrested last week on 21 sex charges involving 10 complainants, many of whom were minors when the alleged offences occurred between 1994 and 2016.
The application says the 80-year-old Miller was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1996 and is now in the most advanced stage of the disease, which it says has left him “extremely frail” and requiring constant care.
The lawyers argue that participating in the criminal trial would violate Miller’s Charter rights because he will never be able to defend himself and appearing in court would cause significant harm to his health.
The offences include sexual assault, sexual interference and enticing a person to commit prostitution.
Miller, who has denied the allegations, was arrested at his home in Westmount by Montreal police and is scheduled to appear in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal on July 3.