Board orders deportation for trucker in horrific Humboldt Broncos crash
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
Members of Nunavut's legislative assembly have passed a bill that will change the way police oversight works in the territory.
The bill amends the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Agreement Act to add provisions for independent investigations into serious actions involving police officers.
Nunavut currently has agreements with police forces in Ottawa and Calgary to do such reviews in the territory.
Earlier this year, the Ottawa Police Service cleared the Nunavut RCMP of any wrongdoing in the shooting death of 31-year-old Abraham Natanine in Clyde River. The service also cleared officers who were caught on camera knocking down a man with the door of an RCMP vehicle during an arrest in Kinngait last year.
Under the new legislation, the Nunavut government can appoint civilian investigative groups, but it doesn't close the door on appointing a police force to look into actions by officers.
"A contracted investigative body and a contracted police force has the power to investigate serious incidents in Nunavut for the purpose of determining whether an offence under federal law has occurred," the bill reads.
There's also a provision for civilian monitors and cultural advisers on investigations done by other police forces. It states those roles cannot be filled by police officers.
"These appointed individuals will ensure that the investigation is completed in a manner free of bias and is appropriate to the community and culture of those involved," Justice Minister George Hickes told the standing committee on legislation Monday.
It will not be mandatory for investigative bodies to appoint civilian monitors or cultural advisers.
"When a civilian monitor is appointed for an investigation ... the contracted police force conducting the investigation shall permit the civilian monitor to assess the impartiality of the investigation," the bill reads.
Civilian monitors will be able to make recommendations to contracted police forces if they have concerns about an investigation's impartiality. Civilian monitors will have to provide a report on the impartiality of an investigation to a designated authority and to the contracted police force that did the investigation.
The bill was first introduced in December and was amended by Nunavut's standing committee on legislation.
Cathy Towtongie, member of the legislative assembly for Rankin Inlet North-Chesterfield Inlet, said amendments included requirements for the justice minster to table an annual report and copies of agreements between the Nunavut government and independent investigative bodies.
The committee also added a requirement for written reasons to be provided and made public in circumstances where a contracted investigative body is not appointed. A cultural adviser must also advise contracted investigative bodies, that amendment states.
Towtongie said the committee received several commitments from the minister, which include formally consulting with Nunavut's privacy commissioner on agreements with independent investigative bodies.
The minister, she said, also committed "to work toward achieving a long-term goal of establishing a Nunavut-based civilian oversight body."
Hickes called it "a massive step forward for policing oversight across Nunavut."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2021.
------
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
The truck driver who caused the horrific bus crash involving the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team has been ordered to be deported.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
Exhausted and short on options after consulting two veterinary clinics, Kristie Pereira made the gut-wrenching decision last year to take her desperately ill puppy to a Maryland shelter to be euthanized.
A gunman who is accused of killing a young Ontario man and shooting four of his family members at their small Mississauga restaurant in 2021 was allegedly part of a trio who had pledged allegiance to the listed terrorist group Islamic State, a Crown attorney said in an opening statement in the Brampton murder trial this week.
A sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was once thought to be a thing of the past is now a public health priority for North American doctors.
A pair of Purolator transport truck drivers from Guelph, Ont. are being hailed as heroes for their efforts in helping a person in crisis.
Stopping short of offering the assurance U.S. senators are seeking, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is aware there's more work to do in order to see Canada meet NATO's defence spending target.
A toddler has died after being struck by a recycling truck in a Barrie, Ont. neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon.
As avian flu spreads south of the border, Canadian officials are now testing samples of milk sold in grocery stores across the country.
When one is extended an invitation to the Royal Garden Party in London, England, there's undoubtedly no shortage of pomp and circumstance. Barrie, Ont. natives Megan Kirk Chang and her husband Brandon experienced just that as they entered the prestigious event hosted at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
The proprietors of Regina's sole discount theatre are aware they're carrying on a significant legacy.
When Jujhar Mann said he wanted to be a pastry chef on a grade school career project, he didn't imagine that pursuing his dream would land him on a popular Netflix baking competition.
A city known for its history, ties to outer space and southern barbecue, is also home to a Winnipeg chef dishing out dozens of perogies.
A Montreal photographer captured the moment a Canada goose defended itself from a fox at the Botanical Garden.
Public libraries in Atlantic Canada are now lending a broader range of items.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.