Trudeau: U.S. standing down plan to send soldiers to backstop northern border

Churchill draws scientists from around the world researching impacts of climate change

CHURCHILL — There is something special about this town.

People who have been here know, though it is challenging to describe. Those who haven’t are told tales of a nearly mystical small community, the unique geography and the magnificent wildlife.

Exactly what makes it such a special place is hard to define, but whatever that intrinsic character is, it acts as a magnetic force for humans and animals alike.

Every summer — as if on cue — the sleek white backs of more than 50,000 beluga whales begin peeking out of the waters of southwestern Hudson Bay as they return to the estuaries of northern Manitoba. Their fidelity to this summer habitat is centuries old, passed on from one generation to the next. This loyalty to the region ensures for as long as this site is safe, these alien-like, curious whales will continue to return.

U.S. standing down on border troops: Trudeau

OTTAWA - The United States appears to have backed off on its plan to send soldiers to the Canada-U.S. border, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had been floating the idea to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials keep migrants from crossing the border between official entry points, ostensibly to limit the possible spread of COVID-19.

But Trudeau's equivocal language Wednesday suggests the idea might not be off the table.

"The ongoing conversations we have with the American administration continue on a broad range of subjects, and we have heard that that is not something they are continuing to pursue," the prime minister said.

Stable incomes, not more weapons, provide security

Even amid a global arms race, a hike in Canadian defence spending should be a tough sell, David Olive writes.

Suspension upheld for teen hockey player involved in hazing

A high school hockey player who was found to have been involved in sexualized hazing of rookie teammates lost his suspension appeal.

The youth player was barred from Hockey Canada-sanctioned activities. He was handed the four-year and nine-month suspension from sanctioned hockey after an interim ban issued in March 2024.

He appealed his suspension late last year to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, an independent conflict tribunal, but the centre upheld the youth’s suspension, according to a written decision issued earlier this year.

An independent investigator who probed the hockey player’s actions described the youth as a veteran player who both participated in and co-ordinated the “assigning” of rookie team members to veteran players to perform tasks for them. He himself was “assigned” a rookie, the decision said.

Crusaders football celebrates 95th anniversary

Few understand better than Stacy Dainard how steeped the St. Paul’s High School football program is in history.

The head coach of the Crusaders’ varsity team for the last 25 years has watched the institution’s presence on the gridiron blossom over four decades since he donned the maroon and white as a player from 1984-87.

Dainard figures he will harken back to those days more this weekend when a flock of Crusaders alumni from across the country gather to commemorate the football program’s 95th anniversary.

“We were a competitive team. We had some very committed coaches and some very committed student-athletes,” said Dainard, who reached the provincial championship in each of his first three seasons as a student-athlete. “It was a good time. Football wasn’t as big as it is now, or at least high school football wasn’t as big as it is now. But it was a very competitive league.”