Brief
Nunavut teen charged after Mountie stabbed
CAMBRIDGE BAY, Nunavut — Police have charged a Nunavut teen after a Mountie was stabbed numerous times while responding to a firearms complaint.
The constable is recovering in an Edmonton hospital after being flown by air ambulance from Cambridge Bay via Yellowknife.
RCMP say officers went to a home in Cambridge Bay on Sunday to investigate reports of a youth waving a pistol, which turned out to be a pellet gun.
The constable was stabbed after Mounties went inside the home to make an arrest. Police say Buddy Mala, who is 18, has been charged with assaulting a peace officer with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Mala is in custody pending a June 27 court hearing in Iqaluit.
Canadian, Russian officials talk terrorism despite tensions
OTTAWA — Canadian and Russian officials quietly met in Ottawa this week to discuss ways to fight terrorism — the first such meeting in years. Global Affairs Canada says the meeting was part of a regular discussion between Canadian officials and counterparts from different countries. But the talks are notable given persistent tensions between the two countries, including Canada’s condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Canada has deployed troops to Latvia and Ukraine over fears of Russian action in eastern Europe, while some in government have raised the spectre of potential Russian interference in the next election.
Still, the meeting was timely, given that a suicide bomber struck the St. Petersburg subway system two months ago, killing 16 people, including the perpetrator.
The Liberals promised during the last election to re-engage with Russia, but have since backed off such comments and instead taken a harder line with the country.
B.C. prosecutors appeal animal cruelty sentences
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Prosecution Service has filed an appeal of sentences handed to three dairy farm employees who abused milk cows.
The service says the sentences imposed last month should be increased based on what it believes were errors in law and because of the public interest in the case that involved hidden-camera video taken at Chilliwack Cattle Sales Ltd.
It says the alleged errors leading to the B.C. Supreme Court sentences relate to mitigating and aggravating factors, and whether it was correct to equate the duration of the illegal acts with the moral blameworthiness of the offenders.
Jamie Visser and Chris Vandyke were given 60 days each in jail, prohibited from having animals in their custody for three years and sentenced to six months’ probation while Travis Keefer was handed a seven-day sentence after they pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges.
Video played in court showed a cow being lifted by a chain around its neck using a tractor and other employees repeatedly beating and kicking cows as people nearby cheered and laughed.
The dairy farm company and its owners in the Fraser Valley were fined $75,000 each after pleading guilty last year to causing an animal to continue to be in distress.
The Canadian Press