Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Despite her historic performance at the Tokyo Olympics, swimmer Penny Oleksiak admits she experienced her fair share of nerves going into the games after the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined athletes for much of 2020.
“Getting those nerves again was like, honestly, kind of a shock to the system. I wasn't as ready for it as I thought because I was getting so nervous and I was like how do I deal with this,” Oleksiak, now the most decorated Olympian in Canadian history, told CTV National News.
“We haven’t really been able to compete on a big level in so long, so I think just getting up there with people who are the best of the best is a little bit intimidating.”
Oleksiak and teammates Kyle Masse, Sydney Pickrem, Maggie Mac Neil captured a bronze medal in the medley relay Sunday, setting a Canadian record and producing a historic seventh career medal for the 21-year-old Oleksiak.
But, like the thousands of other athletes competing in Tokyo, the Games represented Oleskiak’s first opportunity to race on the world stage since the Knoxville Pro Series in January 2020 – more than a year and a half ago. It’s a challenge she says she was better prepared for thanks to the opportunity to focus on her mental health during the months-long lockdown.
“I was training so much I didn't really have time to focus on my mental health. Once COVID hit, I took it as a chance to really focus on my mental well-being. I was really just trying to make the most of it and really figuring out my priorities and what makes me happy in my life,” she said.
“I think that's really motivating for me going back into training, working with people and making sure that I had ways to help myself.”
Oleksiak exploded onto the swim scene at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She was just 16-years-old at the time.
In Rio, Oleksiak tied with American Simone Manuel for gold in the women's 100-metre freestyle in Olympic-record time, took silver in the 100-metre butterfly and anchored the Canada's freestyle relay teams to a pair of bronze medals.
In Tokyo, Oleksiak added a bronze in the 200-metre freestyle and silver in the four-person 100-metre freestyle relay in addition to the bronze medley relay, making her the most decorated Canadian athlete.
“I don't know if I've been able to totally soak it in yet. I'm honestly just kind of happy that the meet is finally over,” she said.
“It's like the longest week ever and to be able to get that last medal with the relay girls I'm so happy with that. I can't wait to get home and be around my family and my friends and really just soak in every moment of it.”
Teammate Masse echoed Oleskiak’s sentiment, speaking of the bond between the Canadian women.
“Being a part of a relay team is so special and the bond we've formed together, getting the opportunity to train together, is even more special,” Masse told CTV National News.
“Obviously, we had high expectations and we wanted to get on the podium for the last time and bring Penny that seventh metal and create history and create a legacy. So, there was definitely nerves there, but I think it's all about channeling those nerves and pumping each other up and supporting each other, to just really go out there and have fun and race as fast as we can.”
And despite her excitement to return home, Oleksiak already has her eyes set on the next Olympics.
“I'd honestly still say it's only the beginning for us,” she said. “We have a really young team this time around and I'm just excited to see what's going to happen in 2024, 2028 with all the talent that we have on the team.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.