Movie pulled after premiere in festival’s Midnight Madness program The People’s Joker, an unauthorized reimagining of Batman’s universe through the eyes of a transgender woman, has been pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival over rights issues after a single screening. TIFF says on its website that the filmmaker pulled the Gotham City-set independent movie over the concerns, and the customer relations team will get in touch with ticketholders. Neither representatives for The People’s Joker nor Warner Bros. Discovery, which holds the film rights to the DC Comics universe, immediately responded to aRead more

Warning: This story contains graphic details The man behind an incel-inspired attack at a Toronto massage parlour two years ago has pleaded guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder — citing the man responsible for the city’s deadly van attack as “inspiration.” The accused, who was 17 at the time of the killing, cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Now 20, he made his plea at Ontario Superior Court before Justice Suhail Akhtar on Wednesday morning, where court heard he had been thinking of carrying out his violent actions for months. SlumpedRead more

Call comes from diverse groups including Canadian Chamber of Commerce, local governments and researchers A broad coalition on climate adaptation and disaster resilience says air conditioning should become a human right on par with winter heating — one of a series of hard targets it says Canada needs to meet in the next few years as climate change impacts increase. “We’re focusing on the immediate term,” said Blair Feltmate, head of the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. “What is still missing with the federal government is aRead more

Comments arose during a panel discussion of police accountability The chairman of Nova Scotia’s mass shooting inquiry has raised concerns that budget constraints could tether investigations by the watchdog agency that oversees complaints against the RCMP. Michael MacDonald asked participants in an online roundtable discussion in Dartmouth, N.S., Wednesday whether funding concerns are a “blatant affront” to the independence of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. While the oversight agency has the power to start its own inquiries, agency chairperson and panel member Michelaine Lahaie confirmed she must send aRead more

Number of veterans seeking reimbursement for medical pot grew from 100 in 2014 to more than 18,000 last year An internal audit by Veterans Affairs Canada suggests the federal government has all but lost control as it shells out hundreds of millions of dollars for veterans’ medical marijuana each year without proper oversight, direction or evidence of health benefits. Quietly published this week, the audit’s results come amid an explosion in the number of veterans seeking reimbursement for their medical pot, from around 100 in 2014 to more than 18,000Read more