According to the RCMP, members of the Tactical Marine Operations Group (TMOG) were conducting patrols in Burrard Inlet on July 5 at approximately 3:30 p.m. when they heard a distress call over Marine VHF radio reporting an overturned canoe near Ambleside Beach.

Four RCMP marine vessels immediately responded to the emergency while officers coordinated with BC Emergency Health Services and the West Vancouver Police Department.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found 11 people clinging to the overturned canoe in the water. Police said several occupants were struggling to stay afloat, prompting the deployment of a Tactical Rescue Diver to assist with the rescue operation.

All 11 occupants were safely removed from the water and brought aboard RCMP vessels, where officers conducted preliminary medical assessments.

Police said those rescued were suffering from cold-water exposure but did not appear to have sustained any serious injuries.

Following the rescue, Tactical Rescue Divers confirmed no one was trapped beneath the canoe before helping tow the vessel back to shore.

“This incident highlights how quickly a day on the water can turn into an emergency,” said RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Brett Urano.

“We are grateful that everyone was safely recovered and would like to remind boaters that wearing a properly fitted life jacket can significantly increase survival and safety in the event of an unexpected capsize.”

The RCMP thanked BC Emergency Health Services and the West Vancouver Police Department for assisting in the response.

Police are also reminding boaters to carry appropriate safety equipment, including approved life jackets for all passengers, and to be prepared for rapidly changing conditions on the water.

This time we’ve got machete-wielding thugs slashing at women at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, BC.

Look at photos from the incident and, surprise, it’s the usual suspects.

For years, Canadians have been told diversity is our strength and that mass immigration is an economic necessity.

The country needed growth, and anyone who questioned the pace of the increase in population and what countries it was coming from was dismissed as intolerant, xenophobic, or racist.

Justin Trudeau once said, “Our multiculturalism makes us who we are as Canadians, and many cultural communities have a long history of contributing to our country.”

While that is historically true, I’m trying to figure out what a bunch of the current crop of “new Canadians” are bringing to the table that is a net benefit.

Housing costs have exploded, rent has become unaffordable in most major cities (and smaller cities), emergency rooms are swamped, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, and schools are struggling with overcrowding and classroom complexities (which is just code for students who can’t speak English or French).

Yet, Canada's political class still seems unwilling to have an honest conversation about whether bringing in hundreds of thousands of newcomers every year is actually serving the interests of the people already living here.

Canada used to be one of the safest, cleanest places in the world.

Not so much anymore.

Now we've got groups of young people who can’t go to a park at night without risking a machete attack, gangs shooting up houses in the middle of the night, viral videos of people dumping trash in protected rivers and lakes, people defecating all over the place publicly, and places like Prairie Winds Park in northeast Calgary being turned into a garbage dump on Canada Day.

Chestermere, Alberta, is another good example of the 'new normal.’

In a recent video that went viral online, it shows what appears to be two Punjabi women, with one standing as a lookout while the other takes a poop right out in the open in a public park.

Last year, Alberta Health Services had to close Cove Beach at Chestermere Lake due to elevated levels of human feces.

At the time, former Maverick Party candidate David Robinson claimed that the increased level of fecal bacteria was “because people are pooping in the lake.”

Hmmm...

And I haven’t even mentioned how foreign criminal organizations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang are treating Canadian soil like their own personal turf for extortion and shootings, or how “diversity” in the trucking industry has made our roads safer (wink wink).

Diversity? This is just disrespectful.

Contrary to what Liberals think with their naive universalist worldview, when you import the third world, you get the third world.

You import its mannerisms, its norms, and its failures.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cuts from Trudeau-era immigration targets of half a million a year down to less than half that have changed little.

It’s window dressing for the current mess we’re in, and while deportations happen for criminals, they seem to happen slowly (that is, if they don’t keep getting appealed in court, costing the taxpayer more), and the tap stays open for the next wave to come in.

Business as usual.

In the 1960s, British politician Enoch Powell spoke of nations heaping their own funeral pyre through mass immigration of foreign dependents, creating future tensions no statesman could easily fix.

And he was called every name in the book.

The same patterns he saw back then are playing out now: ethnic enclaves, imported conflicts, and two-tier policing, among others.

Now, Canada has always been a country to which immigrants have come and contributed, but it seems there are more than a few folks coming here now who have no interest in that and are taking advantage of Canadians’ hospitality.

In communities across the country, Canadians are witnessing tensions and conflicts that would have been almost unimaginable a generation ago.

People are noticing, and they’re mad.

There’s a growing gap between what Canadians can see with their own eyes and what political leaders insist they should believe.

It’s funny how politicians rarely talk about assimilation anymore.

Instead, they celebrate diversity as an end in itself while avoiding difficult questions about integration, national identity, and whether Canada still possesses enough assertiveness to expect newcomers to adapt to the society they are joining.

Now, as their liberal worldview is falling into chaos around them, they don’t know what to do, and of course, they will never admit their open-border policies were wrong.

If mass immigration hurts the host country, they’ll try to remedy the problem by importing even more people from the third world because, as Finnish political theorist Kai Murros says, “to think otherwise would mean accepting defeat — that is, accepting that the primary theory has a fault. To accept defeat would seriously undermine the position of the elite, and therefore, the elite must keep its course.”

Interestingly, some people I’ve talked to who are second-, third-, and fourth-generation immigrants understand the current situation better than our political elites seem to.

Their families came to Canada because they admired what this country was and what promises it held.

They didn’t leave one society behind only to see its problems and faults recreated here.

If politicians keep insisting mass immigration makes Canada stronger, then a fair question would be why so many people are desperate to leave the places they're coming from and why they couldn't make their own countries stronger.

If politicians keep insisting mass immigration makes Canada stronger, a fair question is why so many people are desperate to leave the countries they come from.

Plenty are fleeing crime and corruption, not causing it — that's worth pointing out.

But when whole groups, gang networks, or ethnic feuds transplant themselves onto Canadian soil, flaunt our laws, and trash our communities and parks, it's reasonable to ask whether diversity for diversity's sake is worth it.

It's reasonable to ask whether importing millions of people from those societies might also import some of those same problems to our shores.

That's not racism. That's common sense.

And if the Left wants to call me names because of it, then, to quote Restore UK leader Rupert Lowe, "I don't care."

Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court by video link on Wednesday, where he was informed that the attempted murder case is expected to move to the Crown Court, which hears the most serious criminal offences before a judge and jury.

Alodid remains charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie, who suffered catastrophic injuries during the June 8 attack in north Belfast. Court proceedings have previously heard that Ogilvie lost his left eye and sustained deep wounds to his head, face and back. He also faces charges of possessing a knife in a public place and threatening to kill an NHS radiographer.

He appeared in court last month where he refused legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea, and District judge, Stephen Keown, refused bail after hearing police concerns there could be "significant public disorder" if he was released due to "strong public feeling" about the incident.

In a separate development, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has revised its understanding of Alodid's background.

Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck told a joint Westminster committee this week that investigators are now examining evidence suggesting Alodid may be from Chad, not Sudan as previously believed.

"We do continue to investigate the origins of the male, with one potential line of inquiry indicating that he may potentially be from Chad and not Sudan as was initially indicated," Beck said. "We continue to investigate that line of inquiry with the relevant authorities in Chad."

The latest hearing comes nearly a month after the alleged attack shocked Northern Ireland and sparked several nights of protests, disorder and riots across Belfast and other communities. Demonstrators took to the streets following the stabbing, with some protests escalating into clashes with police, attacks on officers, arson and damage to homes and businesses.

In response to the unrest, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer appealed for calm, while the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) launched a major public order operation and deployed additional officers to affected areas.

The court heard that prosecutors are still awaiting additional witness statements and medical evidence. A magistrate granted a four-week adjournment, remanding Alodid in custody until Aug. 5.

He was also advised, through an Arabic interpreter, to obtain legal representation before the case proceeds to the higher court.

If convicted, Alodid will be sentenced by the Crown Court, which has jurisdiction over the most serious criminal offences in Northern Ireland. As of now, no trial date has been set.

One resident, Sharon Morrison, has been living in the small, quiet village of Rockyford for eight years, and disclosed to the Western Standard that along with herself, many residents have not been impressed by the village's conduct.

That's because the village did not consult with its residents at all in selling the publicly owned building.

Morrison claims there was "no town meeting" to discuss the sale, nor the impacts on the community of introducing a number of new daytime residents to the village.

"Many people, they're really upset that we didn't have an opportunity to speak to this," Morrison said.

Morrison claimed she requested two separate meetings with the village council to discuss the issue — something required by village rules, if residents wish to give their opinions on village issues.

On the Rockyford website, it states if villagers would like something added to the councillors' agenda, they must "contact the Village Office."

Morrison claims she organized two separate meetings with the council, one on May 20, and one on June 10.

"I let them [the village] know: 'you guys took advantage of your authority and position.'"

"Actually, it was the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) that gave the final okay for a cultural centre."

She claimed to have told the CAO, Lori Miller, "'you overstepped, you didn't give the residents a chance to know anything about it initially, we did not have a town meeting.'"

"You didn't ask the people around the area if they would be impacted by traffic, by parking, by noise, by possibly the value of their properties going down — they didn't do anything," Morrison stated.

"The CAO has the power to okay what she did — that office has the power to do that."

Every municipal district in Alberta has a CAO, or someone of a similar title which is its administrative head, and according to the Alberta government, "Councillors work with the CAO to keep informed on what the municipality is doing and it will depend on the administration to provide information so they can make sound decisions."

"There's many people in Rockyford that are really upset," Morrison stated.

"I've only been there eight years, but the people that have been there for decades and centuries, their families started RockyFord."

"So there's a culture there that does not fit, and this is not about racism at all."

"It is not about racism, although our mayor brought that up in our first meeting, which really wasn't appreciated."

The Western Standard also talked to another local of Rockyford, Geoff La Prairie, who has been living in the village for 13 years.

"When it came to putting out offers on the school, which they did over the weekend with no notice to the community, other than a posting on Facebook," La Prairie said.

"I don't know who reads those things — nobody I know — and they didn't put a sign out front when they listed the school for sale, because they said the real estate agent couldn't find any signs, which is absurd."

This is true — when the Western Standard went to scope out the old school in Rockyford back in May, there was no real estate sign that indicated the property had been sold despite Facebook posts advertising and announcing the sale.

"There's no such thing as a real estate agent that doesn't drive around with three signs in their trunk; it's not heard of, and they said the school sold," La Prairie stated.

"'We took the highest bid — we don't know anything about them,'" La Prairie says was the overall stance the village took on the issue.

"'We've never even met them, but we're sure they're great. We sold your school, and there's nothing you can do about it now, too late.'"

"People down here are very upset because it wasn't a building that was seized because of overdue property tax, or a sliver of property that the village owned that couldn't be developed and they decided to sell it."

La Prairie adds at the two village council meetings Morrison requested, which he attended, all questions about the buyers were evaded.

"The village council refuse[d] to answer any questions."

On top of that La Prairie adds to a similar concerns to Sharon's, saying the village has done no sort of "safety study, and they've done no traffic study."

La Prairie points to this being off because he claims when the village, "put a crosswalk in town for the kids to cross from the one side of town to the other, they had to do traffic studies and impact and all these kind of things — but with this, nothing was done."

La Prairie says at the first meeting Morrison initiated, the village was "very combative" and it went on for over an hour.

"Village council meetings don't last an hour around here."

He claims to have seen the village being "combative" with Morrison.

Instead of witnessing "a good person in the village coming up there and asking questions of her representatives, they got so combative with her."

"They were so offended by her having the temerity to question their decisions, that if she hadn't kept her cool, I guarantee you they would have tried to kick her out."

He attests to Morrison's conduct at the meeting as being of a "well put together nice lady, [who] owns her home, operates a business in Strathmore, never a problem to anybody, and just wanted to ask some questions."

La Prairie claims Rockyford mayor, Darcy Burke, professed he had "never even met" the people to whom he was selling the cultural centre.

"They're either lying about their motives or they completely abdicated their duty as, as people [en]trust[ed] [with] our village."

He says many are not alright with the village's decision but "almost all of them are afraid of retaliation by the village councillors or by the people that have bought the school."

When asked what he meant by retaliation, La Prairie explained the type of reputational damage many residents fear — being painted as prejudiced for questioning the introduction of the cultural centre into the community.

"There is nothing that scares the good people more than being called a racist."

"They would rather have anything else happen to them than be called a racist — they would rather their kids not be able to play out in the park."

The old school had been sold back in 2024, but the buyer backed out of the deal — and a commercial realtor began selling it in January 2026.

The school was originally listed for $125,000, and two offers were made at $135,000 and $156,000.

Council decided on the offer of $31,000 above the asking price.

The Western Standard also obtained the land title for the old school in hopes of getting the new owners names; unfortunately the title has yet to be updated with this information.

Burke also explained to the Drumheller Mail the cost of maintaining the building was around $20,000 annually.

There is a website that could indicate the cultural centre may become a Gurdwara, under the non-profit Gurudwara Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji, with the same address as the old Rockyford school listed as its location.

The initiative, launched Tuesday by a group of Members of the European Parliament, urges all football associations within the Union to formally request that FIFA investigate how the decision was made.

“We feel that it is time for European Football Associations, all of whom are member associations of FIFA, to intervene and ask that FIFA investigate the decision-making processes,” the draft letter states, according to Euronews.

Balogun received a straight red card during the United States’ group-stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, an offence that ordinarily carries an automatic one-match suspension.

After U.S. President Donald Trump publicly criticized the decision and acknowledged speaking with Infantino, FIFA’s disciplinary committee suspended the implementation of Balogun’s ban, allowing the striker to play against Belgium in the Round of 16.

Belgium defeated the United States 4-1.

Trump later thanked Infantino for “reversing a great injustice,” while FIFA maintained the decision was made independently by its disciplinary committee.

The ruling drew swift condemnation across Europe.

UEFA described the decision as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable,” while the Belgian Football Federation launched a formal challenge to Balogun’s eligibility.

European Commissioner for Sport Glenn Micallef also criticized the reversal, calling it “the wrong decision.”

MEP Barry Andrews, one of the organizers behind the parliamentary letter, accused FIFA of yielding to political pressure.

“Once again, we’ve seen Infantino and FIFA surrender to the demands of the Trump administration,” Andrews calling the decision “a disgrace and a perversion of justice.”

The letter is being circulated among lawmakers for signatures before being sent to the European football associations. It asks the associations to press FIFA to determine whether “senior FIFA officials be held accountable if evidence exists to suggest they are breaching rules on political neutrality.”

The initiative follows an earlier letter signed by 50 MEPs calling on FIFA to investigate its decision to award Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.

The controversy also spilled into this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, where The Guardian reported allied leaders had informally agreed to avoid discussing the World Cup with Trump during official meetings in an effort to avoid further inflaming the dispute surrounding FIFA and the tournament. 

The report said leaders were concerned the issue could become an unnecessary distraction from the alliance’s security agenda.

The scrutiny comes as FIFA is also considering whether to lift its ban on Russian national teams after the International Olympic Committee withdrew its recommendation that international federations exclude Russian teams because of the war in Ukraine. 

That prospect has drawn opposition from several European football federations, adding to growing concerns across Europe over FIFA’s recent decision-making during the World Cup.

The video posted on X by the AFL shows McGowan approaching Smith, asking her if she has seen "the chamber report," and then calling on her to remove the question about whether to hold a binding independence referendum from the October ballot. 

Smith, who at the time was helping serve attendees, initially appeared unprepared for the question before regrouping and telling McGowan that she is fighting for Alberta to remain in Canada and that the October referendum question was brought forward by the Forever Canadian citizen initiative. 

The edited video continues with a brief back-and-forth between the two over whether Thomas Lukaszuk's petition called for a referendum, and is abruptly cut mid-discussion after McGowan claimed he was with Lukaszuk when he submitted the citizen initiative application. 

McGowan later released a series of "observation" videos, in which he claims Smith pretended not to know the CCC report existed. 

"Seems a little strange that the premier of our province doesn't know about the report from the business chamber here in our province's largest city, especially when the analysis was so grim," said McGowan in his first observation video. 

The CCC report referred to by McGowan is polling from June, in which 48% of respondents said they would leave Alberta if it pursued independence, and an economic impact assessment detailing the financial implications of leaving Canada. 

AFL distributed handbills to the attendees, who McGowan claims should have been a heavy pro-UCP crowd, yet his second observation was that the majority of people at the event opposed Alberta independence. 

"We all know she's putting her thumb on the scales for the separatists, but even in this crowd, I'm pretty sure that if a vote was taken among these people, the majority would vote to stay," McGowan said in his second observation video. 

McGowan's observation is consistent with Leger polling released in June, where 22% of respondents in Calgary said they will vote for a binding referendum.

However, Leger polling conflicts with an assertion that the majority of UCP supporters oppose Alberta independence, with over 48% of pro-UCP respondents saying they will vote for a binding independence referendum, and 44% saying they intend to vote to remain in Canada. 

McGowan's final "observation" video outlined his argument that a referendum is not the correct way for Albertans to express their will on Alberta independence.

"If you know a group of people, especially political types, want something like separation, they should create a party or make it a platform in an existing party and put it to the voters in an election; anything else is running over the actual democratic system in a parliamentary democracy," McGowan said. 

As reported by Canadian Catholic News which obtained the BC Health Ministry's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Oversight 2024 Year End Report, more than half of euthanasia cases in BC required follow-up by BC's MAiD oversight unit.

Of the 4,169 MAiD request cases reported in 2024 in the province, almost 52% of them, or 2,807, had "outcomes of cases required follow-up" by oversight.

The report claims "follow-up" means obtaining missing information or clarifying existing information from medical practitioners.

Of these reported error cases, 12.5%, or 353, "required education to practitioners and pharmacists," to understand the "legal requirements and professional standards" for MAiD after they already qualified and administered euthanasia to people.

Of the 4,169 cases in 2024, 72% of these individuals died from MAiD, 23% died from other causes, 4% were found ineligible to access it, and 1.4% of people withdrew their request.

These statistics are similar to those in 2023, when BC Catholic found of the 3,808 MAiD cases that year, 2,833 included errors in their management, including "reporting issues," and "completion errors" in paperwork, leading to reviews in oversight.

The lack of adequate oversight by practitioners administering MAiD is something the Special Joint Parliamentary Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying mentioned in its report recommending the feds should not expand MAiD for patients whose sole underlying medical condition is mental illness.

Committee co-chair Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski wrote a "supplementary opinion" in the report, in which he stated he "heard disturbing stories of questionable conduct by some MAiD providers."

“It is not hard to conclude that some providers take an exceedingly expansive interpretation” of MAiD-eligibility rules and exhibit “a seemingly cavalier attitude towards end of a life,” Powlowski stated.

He declared the committee had heard "scant, if any evidence" to prove regulatory bodies for MAiD "provide adequate safeguards" or have "seriously pursued allegations of misconduct by MAiD providers."

“Several witnesses suggested the criminal system, the medical colleges, and at times the government ministries responsible for MAiD provision … all allegedly treat enforcement as someone else’s responsibility,” he stated.

The investigation began on June 17 after employees at a jewellery store in the northwest shopping centre reported that several pieces of jewellery worth nearly $4,000 had been stolen.

According to the Calgary Police Service, surveillance footage showed six members of the same family entering the store together.

While several adults engaged staff in conversation, police allege a 16-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy stole multiple pieces of jewellery before leaving the business.

The remaining family members exited the store shortly afterward.

Employees discovered the jewellery was missing and contacted police.

Officers later located the two youths believed to have taken the jewellery along with one adult family member elsewhere inside the mall.

The remaining suspects were found inside a truck parked outside the shopping centre.

Police determined the vehicle had been stolen and, after searching it, recovered additional stolen merchandise believed to have been taken from other stores.

As a result of the investigation, a 16-year-old girl has been charged with theft under $5,000 and failing to comply with an undertaking.

A 25-year-old woman, a 34-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy have each been charged with three counts of possession of stolen property over $5,000 and two counts of possession of stolen property under $5,000.

The 34-year-old woman also faces one count of disobeying a court order.

An eight-year-old and a nine-year-old were released into the custody of their father, who was not charged.

Police are withholding the identities of the accused because of the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and the involvement of young persons.

Insp. Colleen Bowers said distraction thefts are becoming more common and described the case as particularly concerning because children were allegedly involved in committing the offences.

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact the Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.

"We attacked very powerfully last night," the president said as he opened a morning press conference alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Overnight the Americans had reportedly launched strikes on over 80 Iranian targets as a response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

"They're a bunch of scum; if you want to know the truth, they're scum," Trump said.

"We don't like 'em, I don't like 'em, and they're evil people...they've killed thousands and thousands of our soldiers."

The last claim would be a stunning revelation, as, according to all sources, only 16 American soldiers have been killed in the war, but it is likely this is just another example of Trump's panache for hyperbole.

The Americans had reportedly targeted 60 small boats that were part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's naval contingent as a response to Iranian actions. Iranian sources say that the Iranian military will be targeting American bases in Bahrain and Kuwait in response, with air raid sirens reported to have been heard at multiple American bases around the region.

Another notable moment during Trump's media tirade was when he accidentally said "Islamic Republic of Japan" when talking about the Iranian regime, a gaffe that went uncorrected.

Trump, still sitting next to the chief of NATO, continued his obviously irritated diatribe, saying that he was "very upset with NATO," with the president expressing his dissatisfaction with the lack of perceived support from fellow NATO members in his conflict with Iran.

He took specific aim at the United Kingdom's initial refusal to allow American planes to use British bases at the start of the war as a major annoyance, despite British PM Keir Starmer inevitably allowing American planes to utilize British facilities.

He then continued by restating his desire to annex Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark, saying that the Arctic territory was "very important for the United States, but it’s not important for Denmark.”

He then targeted Spain, who had refused to agree to his increase of defence spending target to 3.5% of GDP and, as such, has become a recent target of the American administration.

"Spain doesn’t agree to anything, and you shouldn’t carry them. I don’t want to do any trade with them, alright?" he said to his secretary of the treasury, Scott Bessent.

The Spanish seemed to take the president's latest comments in stride, with a source from the Spanish government saying that Spain "maintains an excellent social, cultural and economic relationship with the US, and we have no intention of changing that."

In response to the latest change in the ongoing conflict between the Americans and Iran, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said that the actions of the Iranians were "irresponsible" and that the US has responded "as appropriate."

"It's evidently a fragile situation," the prime minister continued.

The NATO summit is set to conclude on Wednesday with the Iranian war update and the American leader's outburst being the two main takeaways from the two-day summit.

The development could pave the way for Russia’s return to FIFA competitions for the first time since the country was banned following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“FIFA has been made aware of the decision taken by the IOC to provisionally lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee,” the governing body said in a statement to Sky News.

“FIFA will analyse the decision before deciding on next steps in coordination with the relevant stakeholders.”

Russian national and club teams have been barred from FIFA and UEFA competitions since 2022, after several European countries refused to play against Russian opponents following the invasion.

The ban prevented Russia from participating in qualification for both the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cups, as well as the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The IOC announced Monday it had lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and withdrawn its recommendation that international federations ban Russian teams, leaving the decision to each individual sport.

“The decision on whether to host events and sports competitions in Russia, to invite Russian government or state officials to competitions, or to allow the display of the Russian flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications, is at the discretion of each international federation,” the IOC said.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has previously signalled he is open to Russia’s return.

“This ban has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred,” Infantino told Sky News in February.

“We have to look at” restoring Russian teams, he added.

FIFA has already approved Russia’s under-15 boys’ national team to compete at a FIFA youth tournament later this year in Azerbaijan.

UEFA attempted to reinstate Russian youth teams in 2023 but abandoned the plan after several European football associations threatened to boycott the competitions.

Any decision to restore Russia’s senior national teams would require coordination between FIFA, UEFA and European national football associations, many of which continue to oppose Russia’s return.

A video of the incident, which has circulated widely on social media, appears to show the suspect following two women wearing hijabs through the store while repeatedly telling them to "get the f--- out of the country."

Police say the incident occurred around 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Costco warehouse in Bayers Lake. Investigators believe hate was a motivating factor and have assigned the case to the Halifax Regional Police Hate Crime Unit.

The footage shows another woman confronting the man and telling him to leave the family alone. He responds by asking whether she "owns Nova Scotia" before suggesting that if she did not, she could leave as well.

After noticing another customer recording the encounter, the man appears to approach the camera and allegedly strike the person filming, the video then goes dark and the man is heard repeatedly shouting threats.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) responded to the video calling it a racist and Islamophobic attack targeting Muslim shoppers.

"We are deeply disturbed by the racist and Islamophobic attack targeting hijabi Muslim women, as well as the physical assault and hateful slurs directed at a Muslim man at Halifax Costco this past weekend," the organization said in a statement.

Ali Duale, operations manager of the Ummah Masjid and Community Centre, said the video was "heartbreaking" and described the incident as an "act of anti-Muslim hatred."

Federal Immigration Minister and Halifax West MP Lena Metlege Diab also condemned the incident, saying she was "disturbed" by the video circulating online and adding that "no one should be harassed for how they look or how they worship."

Police described the suspect as a bald white man between 30 and 40 years old wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans and black boots.

"Crimes and incidents motivated by hate are taken very seriously. If someone finds themselves exposed to behaviour that is offensive, threatening or intimidating, they are encouraged to report it to police." the Halifax Regional Police said in a statement.

"Even if an investigation does not find criminal wrongdoing, it is important to have it on record."

As of Tuesday, no arrests had been reported from the incident.

In the video, the woman says the men were filming her children without permission while they were playing. 

She repeatedly demands that the men provide their names and asks whether they “do this often,” while the men remain calm and tell her they are allowed to record in a public space.

“These guys started recording my children at the water park,” the woman says in the video. 

“My son has no shirt on. I told them to stop, and they didn’t.”

The woman continues to follow the men through the park and onto the street, saying she wants to report them to authorities. 

She also questions where they are from and says, “Why are you guys coming to our country doing this?”

The men do not appear to threaten the woman in the video. One of them can be heard telling her to call the police.

The confrontation escalates as the woman demands to know whether the men deleted any images or video of her children from their phones. 

She also asks for their address and tells someone nearby to call the police.

In Canada, people are generally allowed to record video in public places where there is “no reasonable expectation of privacy,” although specific circumstances can affect how the law is applied.

It is not clear from the video why the men were recording, whether police were called, or whether any further action was taken.

The Western Standard reached out to the Saskatoon Police Service, who said that nothing was reported to them.

The global operation, known as Operation Torch, was led by the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service and targeted individuals alleged to have used cryptocurrency to gain access to child sexual abuse material on dark web forums.

Among those arrested was 40-year-old Rocco Caterina of Stony Plain, who was taken into custody at his home on May 27 by ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit.

Caterina has been charged with possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material. Investigators allege he paid for access to a dark web service that hosted child sexual abuse material.

According to a statement released July 8 by the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service, investigators identified suspects around the world who allegedly used cryptocurrency to purchase access to online forums containing child sexual abuse material.

Caterina was later released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on July 15, 2026.

According to ALERT spokesman Mike Tucker, Caterina is the son of former Edmonton councillor Tony Caterina, who was on council from 2007 to 2021, and failed in his bid for mayor last fall.

His son also ran for council in 2017 but failed to win a seat.

Operation Torch has so far led to the arrest of 28 suspects worldwide. Authorities say the investigation remains ongoing, with coordinated enforcement actions carried out in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

“We have collaborated closely with law enforcement services in 13 other countries in order to coordinate the arrests of the identified users of the forums using this cryptocurrency as the required method of payment,” said Police Prosecutor Terje Michelsen of the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service.

Police are asking anyone with information related to child exploitation offences to contact local law enforcement or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

ALERT, which carried out the Alberta arrest, is funded by the Alberta government and combines specialized law enforcement resources from across the province to investigate serious and organized crime.

According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the committee voted 5-4 to effectively kill a motion that would have examined the federal government’s proposed condo conversion partnership with the British Columbia government and required Housing Minister Gregor Robertson to testify before MPs.

Conservative MP Aaron Gunn argued the proposal amounts to a taxpayer-funded rescue package for developers who overbuilt during the housing boom.

“It creates no new units of housing while rewarding those who built and priced condos that nobody could afford,” Gunn told the committee. “It’s not only bad economic policy, it’s unethical, it’s immoral and it’s wrong.”

Gunn's motion sought details on the Partnership on Condo Conversion program, which would see governments purchase approximately 2,200 unsold condominium units in Metro Vancouver and convert them into affordable housing.

The Conservative MP questioned why the proposal surfaced after the federal election campaign and called for greater transparency regarding who pushed for the program and who stands to benefit.

“If the Liberals didn’t campaign on this policy, why are they suddenly deciding to pursue it now?” said Gunn.

“Whose idea was it? Who lobbied for it? Is this being planned for more Canadian cities? And maybe most importantly, which well-connected developers, big banks and foreign investors stand to benefit the most?”

The criticism was echoed by New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan, who broke with the position of British Columbia’s NDP government and described the proposal as a bailout for the development industry.

“Make no mistake, this latest announcement on condo conversion is a massive bailout for developers even though the Prime Minister wants to pass it off as affordable housing,” Kwan said. “No one is buying it.”

Kwan questioned how the arrangement was developed and warned taxpayers should not be forced to absorb losses resulting from speculative investments.

“Developers took risks during a period of speculation and soaring prices,” she said. “Taxpayers should not be expected to absorb those risks when the market bottoms out.”

The federal government has not publicly detailed how taxpayers would recover the funds spent on the purchases, which developments would be selected or which developers would immediately benefit from the transactions.

Conservative MP Gabriel Hardy also raised questions about the timing of the announcement. He noted the June 18 unveiling came just weeks after Brookfield Asset Management announced a billion-dollar joint venture with Concert Properties, a major British Columbia developer.

Before entering politics, Carney served as chair of Brookfield and held millions of dollars in company shares.

“Brookfield Asset Management is on the list of witnesses we’re requesting,” Hardy said. “The Prime Minister is always involved in everything.”

Bloc Québécois MP Luc Thériault said the circumstances surrounding the proposal warranted closer scrutiny.

“Politics and ethics go hand in hand,” Thériault said, adding that conflicting accounts from federal and provincial leaders regarding who initiated the proposal left key questions unanswered.

Despite those concerns, Liberal MPs voted to adjourn debate on the motion, preventing the committee from pursuing the matter.

Liberal MP Linda Lapointe defended the government's approach, accusing opposition members of seeking political advantage.

“We are trying to find creative solutions,” Lapointe said. “Your priority is to play political games.”

Liberal MP Wade Chang argued the proposal remains under development by the British Columbia government and said details have yet to be finalized.

“The condo conversion program has not even been finalized,” Chang told the committee. “The BC government has said details will become available in the coming weeks.”