In the news today: U of T seeks court injunction to clear encampment

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

U of T seeks court injunction to clear encampment as protesters stay put

The University of Toronto is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on campus earlier this month. The university has filed a notice of motion in court aimed at bringing about an end to the demonstration while saying the encampment was causing irreparable harm to the institution. The protesters have said they are prepared to fight back with their own legal team and refused to leave the site, ignoring a Monday morning deadline set in a trespass notice issued last week.

Ontario legislator to make history at Queen’s Park with speech, questions in Oji-Cree

A First Nation legislator in Ontario is set to make history today when he rises at Queen’s Park to speak in his language, Oji-Cree. For the first time in its history, the Ontario legislature will allow, interpret and transcribe a language other than English and French. New Democrat Sol Mamakwa sparked the change after convincing Government House Leader Paul Calandra to allow him to speak in the language his parents taught him. The legislature has brought in interpreters who will translate Mamakwa’s words in real-time to English, which will then be translated into French.

Red Lobster in Ontario court about U.S. bankruptcy

A lawyer for Red Lobster Canada, Inc. says he will ask an Ontario court today to recognize and enforce the chain’s U.S. bankruptcy protection proceedings, a process which documents show could include selling Canadian assets. An affidavit filed in an Ontario court from the chief executive of Red Lobster Management LLC says the goal of the U.S.proceedings is to orchestrate a sale of most or all of the company’s assets, including those owned by Red Lobster Canada. The filing from Jonathan Tibus says the seafood restaurant company operates 27 Canadian locations across Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and has 2,000 Canadian employees, who are mostly part-time and non-unionized.

Gildan shareholders to vote on board

Gildan Activewear Inc. shareholders will have a chance this morning to weigh in on a slate of directors put forward by activist investors. Shareholders of the Montreal-based apparel manufacturing company will be able to vote on whether the eight nominees should be elected to the board. Included in the group is Glenn Chamandy, Gildan’s co-founder, who took the helm of the company last week after being ousted from the top job last year amid accusations that he was no longer fit to run the firm. Activist shareholders, including Browning West, pushed for Chamandy’s return for months, even as former Fruit of the Loom executive Vince Tyra took over Gildan’s CEO post.

Pregnant people with disabilities face care gaps

A new report says one in eight people who are pregnant in Ontario has a disability, but many face barriers to accessible care, as well as disrespectful attitudes from doctors and other care providers. Lead author Hilary Brown from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences says people with disabilities have been overlooked in reproductive health care because of societal assumptions that they won’t have children. Brown says some disabled participants in the study told researchers that nurses and doctors assumed they wanted to get abortions when they were seeking pregnancy care. The report published on Tuesday calls for more education and training about disabilities for physicians, nurses and other care providers who work with pregnant people.

New grassland conservation area in southeast B.C.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada says a new conservation area north of Cranbrook, B.C., will protect important bird habitat and preserve grasslands in the province’s southeast. The conservancy says money from the federal government and private donors went to buying up 271 hectares of land in the Skookumchuk Prairie in the province’s southeast corner. Richard Klafki, a B.C. program director with the Nature Conservancy, says the land which also includes wetlands and forests is a “key biodiversity area,” and came up for sale when the former owner, a local rancher, decided to downsize.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2024.

The Canadian Press