life and death

life and death


After Tumbler Ridge, B.C.’s throne speech was cancelled — here’s what it said

In a typical year, the spring sitting of the B.C. legislature starts with a throne speech. The speech from the throne — as the document is formally known — is delivered by the lieutenant-governor on behalf of the provincial government. It is a snapshot of the political moment, a mixture of policies and milestones the […]

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Tracking Hospital Overdoses Isn’t Easy as It Seems: Dr. Bonnie Henry

The Tyee has spent over half a year trying to figure out how many people are overdosing while they are patients at British Columbia’s hospitals. In February, we published a summary of what we’d managed to learn after filing seven freedom of information requests, or FOIs, and elevating two of those requests to complaints with […]

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Videos show US citizen’s shooting death in Texas last year by federal immigration agent

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released videos showing the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal immigration agent in Texas last year call into question assertions by the Department of Homeland Security that a driver intentionally rammed an agent with his car immediately before he was killed. The videos, including from officer body cameras, […]

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After guilty plea in Indian plot to kill Sikh activist, Ottawa condemned for push to withhold ‘sensitive’ information in Nijjar murder trial

The man who U.S. prosecutors allege conspired with an employee of the Indian government to kill the leader of a Sikh separatist movement in New York pleaded guilty on February 13 to his role in a foiled assassination plot that Canadian government officials say is part of a wider, transnational effort by the Hindu nationalist […]

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Witness who saw friend fatally shot by immigration agent in Texas last year dies in car accident

WASHINGTON (AP) — The passenger in the car when Texas driver Ruben Ray Martinez was fatally shot last year by a federal immigration agent gave a lengthy statement to lawyers for the slain man’s family disputing the government’s version of events. That witness died Saturday in a fiery car crash in San Antonio, according to […]

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Texas man was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent last year during a stop, new records show

WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly released records show a U.S. citizen was shot and killed in Texas by a federal immigration agent last year during a late-night traffic encounter that was not publicly disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security. The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would mark the earliest of at least six deadly […]

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Fighting Cancer, Facing Deportation and Denied Health Care

Francisco Barahona is recovering at home with a shattered arm after Surrey Memorial Hospital, he says, refused to treat him on the weekend because of unpaid past bills.  The 53-year-old’s health has been deteriorating over the past three years as a cancer hollowed out his bones and he couldn’t afford health care. Now the government […]

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Families of 2 men killed in boat strike sue Trump administration over attack they call ‘unlawful’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in a Trump administration boat strike last October sued the federal government on Tuesday, calling the attack a war crime and part of an “unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign.” The lawsuit is thought to be the first wrongful death case arising from the three […]

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Tennessee judge grants expanded media access to state-run executions

A judge ruled Friday that Tennessee prison officials must grant expanded access to media members to view state-run executions, after a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press sued on claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting. Before Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles’ order, reporters witnessing lethal injections were limited to […]

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Oakland police won’t release body camera video of ex-NFL player Doug Martin’s in-custody death

The Oakland Police Department has declined to provide the public with access to police body camera videos that would show what happened on Oct. 18, the morning former Oakland Raiders running back Doug Martin died while in the custody of several OPD officers. In response to a public records request by The Oaklandside, the department […]

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Maya, 17, got mental health records by FOI, then killed herself. Her mom wants reform

Maya Cassady was just two months away from graduating high school with honours when she obtained her mental health records through a freedom of information request. Just hours after reading the contents, which included doctors’ ponderings about a diagnosis, the 17-year-old took her own life.  It was March 30, 2023. Since Maya’s death, her mother, […]

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Ontario to strengthen dangerous driving laws in honour of father killed this year

Dangerous driving penalties are set to soon be strengthened in Ontario, as the government has tabled a bill in honour of a father of three who was killed by an alleged dangerous driver. Andrew Cristillo, 35, was killed Aug. 3 in a head-on crash in Whitchurch-Stouffville that also left his wife and their three young […]

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