WATCH LIVE MPs debating second Conservative motion of non-confidence in PM Trudeau
Members of Parliament are debating the second Conservative motion of non-confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of the week.
The mayor of a French town making headlines for the trial of dozens of men accused of rapes that occurred there over almost a decade has apologized for comments that appeared to downplay the case.
“I have been criticized for minimizing the seriousness of the heinous crimes of which the defendants are accused,” Louis Bonnet, the mayor of Mazan in southern France, said in a statement Thursday. "I understand that these remarks are shocking and I sincerely apologize.”
Dominique Pelicot, 71, told the court this week in the nearby city of Avignon that for nearly 10 years he drugged his wife and invited dozens of men to rape her as she lay defenceless.
In an interview with the BBC, Bonnet said the case could have been far more serious.
“There were no children involved, no women were killed, the family will have a hard time but they can rebuild. After all, nobody died,” he told the broadcaster.
Gisèle Pelicot, who was married to her husband for 50 years and had three children with him, has become a hero to many rape victims and a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France for waiving her anonymity in the case, letting the trial be public and appearing openly in front of the media.
Her ex-husband and the 50 other men on trial, who range in age from 26 to 74, face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
“This terrible story has deeply wounded our community," the mayor said in the statement. "But I am fully aware that this wound is in no way comparable to the suffering of Gisèle Pelicot and her family.”
This courtroom sketch by Valentin Pasquier shows Gisèle Pelicot, left, and her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot, right, during his trial, at the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Valentin Pasquier)
Members of Parliament are debating the second Conservative motion of non-confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of the week.
Scammers are increasingly using emails to extort money from victims by threatening to reveal compromising photos, videos and personal information to their friends and family members, according to a new warning from Mounties in Metro Vancouver.
An Air Canada flight headed to Toronto from Frankfurt diverted to Edinburgh due to an emergency Thursday, the airline says.
A partial masking mandate has returned to Nova Scotia hospitals and provincially run healthcare facilities for visitors and healthcare workers.
Canadian singer K’naan has been charged with sexual assault after being arrested by police in Quebec City.
Tropical storm force winds began battering Florida on Thursday as Hurricane Helene prepared to make landfall, with forecasters warning that the enormous storm could create a "nightmare" surge along the coast and churn up damaging winds hundreds of miles inland across much of the southeastern U.S.
An NDP MP has introduced a bill that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying it would help stop harm caused toward survivors, their families and communities.
A Canadian pharmaceutical company is warning consumers not to use some of its eye drops because of potential microbial growth that may result in eye infections.
Vancouver police blocked traffic and the SkyTrain's Millennium Line suspended service to VCC-Clark Station due to an "unstable crane" in the area Thursday.
Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.
Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.
A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.
Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.
Before influencers on social media, Canada’s Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary’s Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.