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Don Cherry BLASTS Ron MacLean for throwing him under the bus for the second time
https://thepostmillennial.com/don-cherry-blasts-ron-maclean-for-throwing-him-under-the-bus-for-the-second-time
Don Cherry says he no longer considers longtime co-host Ron MacLean a friend, citing disappointment and hurt feelings over how MacLean handled Cherry’s controversial departure from Hockey Night in Canada.
In a recent interview at his home with Toronto Sun's Joe Warmington, the 91-year-old legend in broadcasting was straight up when asked about his relationship with MacLean, his former loingtime co-anchor on Coach’s Corner.
"I'm very disappointed in Ron, disappointed he would bring this up," Cherry said, referring to MacLean’s public comments suggesting Cherry’s firing in 2019 offered him a convenient exit. Continue…
Canadian Pilot’s Personal Items Returned to Family After UK Investigation
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/canadian-pilots-personal-items-returned-to-family-after-uk-investigation-5886706
The personal belongings of a Canadian World War II pilot killed overseas have been returned to his family after they were discovered during a criminal investigation in the United Kingdom.
Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) said the pilot, Gilbert Frederick Brown, had been killed in a mid-air collision in 1943.
Some of his belongings were not collected from the crash site at that time, the DND said in a July 4 news release. The personal items then became part of a criminal investigation connected to the illicit excavation of World War II crash sites in the UK.
Following the investigation, officials with the UK military returned the artefacts to Canada, DND said. The Directorate of History and Heritage was able to locate some of Brown’s family, who are now living in the United States.
The family said they were still connected to the story of Brown, who they referred to as “Uncle Gil.”
“Seeing these items gave great visual impact to the fact that Uncle Gil’s life as a Canadian aviator had been sacrificed for the cause of freedom, leaving behind his young wife and three-month-old baby son,” his niece Lorel said. Continue…
Ontario Hospital Files Lawsuits Totalling $60 Million Over Alleged Fraud Involving Staff, Contractors
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/ontario-hospital-files-lawsuits-totalling-60-million-over-alleged-fraud-involving-staff-contractors-5886651
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has filed a civil lawsuit against former employees, claiming they defrauded the facility of tens of millions of dollars over the past 10 years.
A statement of claim filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on July 9 is seeking $50 million in damages and an additional $1.5 million in punitive damages from former executives Dipesh Patel, Derek Lall, and Nilesh Modi. The lawsuit also names director of BH Contractors Paresh Soni and construction firms BH Contractors and GBI Construction.
The hospital claims the defendants engaged in fraudulent procurement practices and construction contracting practices between 2013 and 2024. It’s accused the former employees of awarding contracts with inflated pricing to companies that were run by the LHSC’s then-vice president of facilities management, Patel.
“The Fraudulent Scheme was a calculated, multi-year campaign of deceit and theft, deliberately engineered to misappropriate public funds for personal and unlawful gain,” the lawsuit states.
A second lawsuit filed by LHSC alleges several other employees covered up the scam. That lawsuit is seeking $10 million in damages.
LHSC accuses the defendants in the first filing of failure to declare conflicts of interest in procurement matters, circumventing procurement safeguards, and submitting fraudulent documents that included inflated invoices for work that was not performed. Continue…'
Foreign Affairs Minister Anand Says Indo-Pacific Strategy Will Have Economic Focus but Maintain Values
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/anand-says-indo-pacific-strategy-will-have-economic-focus-but-maintain-values-5886769
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says the economy is becoming the primary focus of Canada’s relationships in the Indo-Pacific — a shift that appears linked to Canada’s recent moves to overcome its security dispute with India.
Anand was in Japan and Malaysia this week for her first trip to the region since taking over as foreign minister in May. Her message coming out of that trip was that Canada’s foreign policy is shifting — though not abandoning — the priorities set by the previous Liberal government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
“It is important for us to revisit our policy — not only in the Indo-Pacific but generally speaking — to ensure that we are focusing not only on the values that we have historically adhered to,” Anand said Thursday in a teleconference from Malaysia.
“Foreign policy is an extension of domestic interest and particularly domestic economic interests. This is a time when the global economy is under stress.”
The Trudeau government put language on environmental protection, labour standards and gender equality in its trade agreements.
Goldy Hyder, head of the Business Council of Canada, said that made Canada appear “a bit preachy” to other countries. He said Canada has to be respectful in the way it stands up for democratic values. Continue…
National Defence Considering Purchase of Fighter Drones That Could Fly With F-35
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/national-defence-considering-purchase-of-fighter-drones-that-could-fly-with-f-35-post-5886773
The Department of National Defence is looking at the possibility of complementing its incoming F-35 fleet with uncrewed combat aircraft.
Unclassified documents obtained by The Canadian Press show the department is researching various options for acquiring the emerging technology.
The documents suggest that purchasing a fleet of aerial combat drones that could fly alongside fighter jets could cost as much as $16 billion and would require hundreds of staff.
That cost estimate is in the upper range. The price tag and other aspects of the emerging technology remain uncertain, and the fact that the government is researching combat drones doesn’t guarantee that Canada will buy any.
David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said Canada’s allies are already headed in this direction, so at a minimum Ottawa will want to better understand how its closest military partners will use similar technology.
He said combat drones could give the air force more flexibility to contribute to allied operations and could act as a force-multiplier that would beef up the “mass” of the air force. Continue…
Federal Investigators Deployed to Probe WestJet Engine Fire at Vancouver Airport
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/federal-investigators-deployed-to-probe-westjet-engine-fire-at-vancouver-airport-5886883
Federal investigators have been deployed to Vancouver International Airport after a “small engine fire” onboard a WestJet flight from the United States.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it happened late Saturday as the plane arrived at the gate.
WestJet spokeswoman Julia Kaiser says the plane flew in from Tampa, Florida, and had a “small tailpipe fire” in one of its engines after shutting down.
She says about 50 passengers were still on board at the time and crews used the inflatable evacuation slides to get them to safety, adding that nobody was hurt.
Airport spokeswoman Chloe Reynaud says its own first responders also were on scene and the fire was put out by the aircraft’s onboard systems.
Kaiser says the plane has been taken in for maintenance, and Renaud says there are no impacts to other flights or the airport’s operations.
“YVR personnel, as well as emergency services, WestJet staff and our airport partners, worked to reunite passengers with their baggage and provide any other needed supports,” Reynaud said in a statement Sunday.