St. Catharines councillors voted unanimously Monday to begin the process of potentially removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s name from a residential street.

The motion, moved by Mayor Mat Siscoe, calls for a process to review and consider renaming Prince Andrew Court to include public consultation with affected residents and stakeholders, and have staff report back with recommendations, including options for alternative names and associated financial and administrative implications.

An amendment to the motion Monday night will also have staff report back on a policy regarding street renaming and city asset scenarios.

Siscoe told Global News last Thursday that Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest was the last straw for him.

“St. Catharines councillors and I have been having discussions for some time about whether the court should be renamed,” he said in a statement.

“Given today’s news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, I would say there is no reason to continue discussing.”

2:27
‘It is embarrassing’: Toronto business wants Prince Andrew Place renamed

Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince who was stripped of his royal titles because of his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

He was released later in the day after 11 hours in custody; he remains under investigation, Thames Valley Police said.

While Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein, concerns about his links to the late financier have dogged the Royal Family for more than a decade.

Siscoe said St. Catharines council has a responsibility to ensure that municipal place names reflect community values and maintain public confidence in civic institutions.

Several Canadian municipalities have landmarks that are named after Andrew, and St. Catharines is just the latest to seek a renaming.

In August 2022, Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth, N.S., was renamed Woodlawn High School.

Mississauga, Ont., council passed a motion in November 2025 to disassociate the name Duke of York Boulevard from the former prince. The motion included removing all plaques, honours and non-critical signage tied to the former royal on city property.

6:38
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested and released

The late Queen Elizabeth II forced her second son to give up royal duties and end his charitable work in 2019 after he tried to explain away his ties to Epstein during a catastrophic interview with the BBC.

But more details about the relationship emerged in a book published last year, and Charles stripped him of the right to be called a prince and ordered him to move.

Then came the unprecedented announcement last week that Buckingham Palace was ready to co-operate in the event of a police inquiry into Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein.

Charles was forced to act after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of Epstein documents that revealed the extent of his relationship with Mountbatten-Windsor and showed that their correspondence continued long after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges brought by federal prosecutors in New York in 2019. He took his own life in jail while awaiting trial.

— with files from The Associated Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is bringing the Liberals’ newest member of Parliament Matt Jeneroux along for his upcoming trip to India, Australia and Japan, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Tuesday.

The PMO said Jeneroux will be part of Carney’s delegation in his new role as “special advisor on economic and security partnerships” during the trip, which will last from Thursday to March 7.

Carney gave the title to Jeneroux while announcing the Edmonton Riverbend MP’s crossing from the Conservatives to the Liberals last week.

During a sit-down in Edmonton following the announcement, Carney cited Jeneroux’s experience serving on a number of parliamentary associations and working groups focused on international relations, including NATO, the United Kingdom, ASEAN and Japan.

“I’m very fortunate Matt is going to be lending some of that expertise directly to me as we’re building our partnerships,” Carney told reporters at that meeting.

Carney will travel to Mumbai and New Delhi, India; Sydney and Canberra, Australia; and Tokyo “to focus on expanding economic and business relationships, identify investment opportunities in Canada, and create new partnerships to benefit workers and businesses across our nations,” the PMO said Tuesday.

Jeneroux will be part of the delegation for all three legs of the trip, along with Defence Minister David McGuinty.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu will be part of an expanded delegation for the visit to India, along with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt.

Champagne will continue on to Australia with Carney, Jeneroux and McGuinty.

2:12
How Carney’s travel compares to other Canadian prime ministers

The India trip is the latest move by Carney to repair ties with the country following years of tense relations over allegations of foreign interference by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Global News reported Tuesday that police in Vancouver have warned a Canadian Sikh leader in British Columbia about a “credible threat” to his life.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

The Sikh activist, Moninder Singh, believes it is the latest attempt by the government of India to silence its Canadian opponents, after fellow activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed in Surrey, B.C., in 2023 — allegedly by Indian government agents.

Anand told reporters Monday that she “repeatedly raised issues relating to domestic rule of law” and transnational repression when she visited India in October 2025, and that those issues would be brought up again on this trip.

“That is always at the forefront of our minds,” she said.

“In addition, at this moment in time, we are ensuring that we diversify trade relationships. That has meant signing 12 trade agreements over the last six months over four continents. But the priority sequence is to ensure the safety and security and rule of law concerns of Canadians are advanced at all times.”

1:38
Anand to address transnational repression, Nijjar killing, trade during India trip

By the time he returns home from the three-country trip on March 7, Carney will have spent 68 days abroad in his first year as prime minister. That represents over 20 per cent of his time in office when subtracting the 36-day federal election campaign in 2025.

By comparison, former prime minister Justin Trudeau was abroad for 34 days, or 9.3 per cent of the time, while ex-prime minister Stephen Harper was abroad for 54 days, or 15 per cent of his first year, according to a Global News analysis.

Carney and the Liberals have said it’s necessary to diversify Canada’s international trade relationships in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats against Canadian sovereignty.

“This prime minister has made trade diversification a real centrepiece of his time in office. And so it makes sense that he’s going out there trying to make deals,” said Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor who briefly served as a foreign policy advisor to Trudeau.

Opposition MPs, however, have criticized the amount of time Carney has spent abroad along with the associated cost of that travel.

“He has flown enough kilometres to circle the earth four times, but after all that globetrotting, Canadians still get no deals, no relief, higher tariffs and higher bills,” said Conservative MP Carole Anstey in the House of Commons on Nov. 21.

— with files from Global’s Stewart Bell and Mackenzie Gray, and David Akin

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Sask Jazz Fest has announced the first artists for its 2026 lineup this summer.

The popular summer kick-off festival runs from July 5 to 11 with three ticketed days at Victoria Park in Saskatoon.

The first ticketed day is July 7 with three artists: headliner Modest Mouse at 9 p.m., Snacktime at 7 p.m. and The Naysayers at 5:30 p.m.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Tickets for July 7 went on sale Tuesday morning. The festival announced a new tiered ticket pricing structure for this year’s event that gives early ticket buyers an “exclusive deal.”

“There are 250 Tier 1 tickets available for July 7, at $65.00 (plus tax and service charge), followed by 250 Tier 2 tickets at $70,” the festival said. “From there, tickets cost the regular advance price of $80 until capacity and/or day of show (which increases to $90 DOS).”

The announcement comes after a rebrand launch last week, which renamed the event from Saskatchewan Jazz Festival to Sask Jazz Fest.

The festival said more headliners will be announced on March 3 and March 6.

An Ontario driver landed themselves in the penalty box an hour before puck drop between Canada and the U.S. Sunday for going 68 kilometres over the posted speed limit.

Greater Sudbury police said in a Facebook post Monday that the driver was nabbed just after 7 a.m. for going 148 kilometres per hour in a posted 80 km/h zone.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

They were charged with speeding, stunt driving, careless driving and possessing more than one licence; their vehicle has been impounded for 14 days, and their licence has also been suspended for 30 days.

“Someone was a little too excited for the hockey game yesterday morning,” police said in the post.

“Canada may have fallen short in the gold medal game, and yes, we’re all still grieving a little, but let’s not add traffic charges to the list of things we’re sad about. Stay safe out there, Sudbury.”

The driver is expected to appear in court in May.

Thousands of Canadians remain stranded in Mexico as widespread violence continued Monday in the popular tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta.

Explosions, gunshots and road blockades broke out following a Mexican military mission Sunday. Jalisco New Generation Cartel members were responding to the capture and death of leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”

“We could see kind of black smoke all over the place,” Saskatoon resident Norbet Virlics said.

Puerto Vallarta looked more like a war zone than a vacation destination to many of those under the shelter-in-place order in the hours the fighting spread throughout Jalisco state.

“The world changed yesterday,” said a resident of Prince Albert, Sask., Jon Foster. “You always knew it wasn’t necessarily fine, but now there is definite evidence.”

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Foster has been visiting the area for 40 years, but what has been unfolding around him has changed his sense of safety.

One of his Canadian friends staying in the same condo complex was on their way to meet him when their car was stopped by masked men.

“It happened just absolutely in a split second, that these people were on the vehicle immediately, had guns, had weapons, ordered them out,” Foster said.

“There were six motorcyclists. They ordered them out of the vehicle, immediately said, ‘Go stand over here,’ and within an incredibly short period of time had poured gasoline and torched it.”

The Canadian government says there are more than 26,000 Canadians stuck in Mexico.

Although airlines and hotels are attempting to accommodate the situation, with streets and stores closed, supplies will have to be monitored.

“It’s depressing because we’ve been coming here for 27 years and we used to spend a lot of time down in the Puerto Vallarta area,” said a Regina resident in Nuevo Nayarit, Darren Stoppler.

Some say the hardest part is getting reliable information when the situation is changing quickly.

“The toughest part is that most of our information comes from the internet, social media, and sometimes it’s really tough to believe what you see on there,” Virlics said.

Most major airlines have posted to their websites that they plan to resume flights over the next few days after consultation with the Canadian government and Mexican authorities.

“We’re cautiously optimistic that tomorrow will be better than today, and we know that today is better than yesterday,” Foster said.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The bodies of two snowmobilers who fell through the ice on a B.C. lake last week were found Sunday after the break in the ice refroze.

Anahim Lake RCMP said Monday that they first learned of the snowmobilers’ disappearance last Friday; the report officers received was that the snowmobilers had not been seen since Feb. 17.

While police were heading to the scene, neighbours began a search and found the bodies of the pair beneath the ice on Charlotte Lake.

Investigators believe the two and their snowmobiles broke through the ice on Feb. 17.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

“Due to the delay in the couple being reported missing, the lake surface had time to refreeze, concealing the break in the ice,” Anahim Lake RCMP said in a news release.

“On February 22, members of the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team with specialized ice‑diving training attended the scene and recovered both individuals.”

The pair have been identified as a 65‑year‑old man and a 58‑year‑old woman from 100 Mile House. Foul play is not suspected.

“Variable temperatures significantly increase the risks associated with any activity on frozen lakes or rivers, and we urge everyone to use extreme caution,” Anahim Lake RCMP Detachment Commander Sgt. Scott Clay said.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased during this difficult time.”

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

People opposed to the federal government’s firearms ban and compensation program are planning a rally Saturday in Quebec City to accuse Ottawa of unfairly singling out law-abiding gun owners.

The event will come about six weeks into the sign-up period for gun owners to declare interest in a federal program offering them money for turning in or permanently deactivating firearms that Ottawa says belong only on the battlefield.

The rally outside the Quebec national assembly also will take place just weeks after a mass shooting in British Columbia, which has led to some criticism of the timing.

Since May 2020, the Liberal government has outlawed about 2,500 types of firearms, including the AR-15 and the Ruger Mini-14.

Prohibited firearms and devices must be disposed of — or deactivated — by the end of an amnesty period on Oct. 30.

The National Firearms Association says disarming law-abiding Canadians in the hope that criminals will somehow be affected is ideological scapegoating, not public safety policy.

2:50
Doug Ford slams Carney’s gun buyback program, says bail reform needed instead

“Quebec is central to what happens next. Participation here will shape the future of this program nationwide. That is why numbers matter. Presence matters. Visibility matters,” the organization said in a statement posted on its website in support of the rally.

“If you believe lawful citizens should not be scapegoated — be there.”

An ad for the event featuring the firearms association’s logo reads, “If Quebec says no — it ends here.”

Another poster promoting the rally includes the slogan in French, “Our arms are not for sale.”

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Online messages indicate participants will arrive by bus from about two dozen Quebec communities.

“Quebec is ground zero for the gun grab,” Tracey Wilson of the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights posted on social media. “We MUST stand united with our friends and fellow gunnies in La Belle Province!! Come join me and thousands of my closest friends as we rally against the gun grab this Saturday.”

One gun rights advocate set up a GoFundMe page with the aim of raising $11,000 for the event.

9:22
Gun buyback under scrutiny as costs and impact are debated

Gun control advocates, meanwhile, question the wisdom of holding such a rally just weeks after the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., that claimed nine lives.

The event, which promises flags, music and food trucks, is “incredibly insensitive and disrespectful at a time when survivors, family members, the community of Tumbler Ridge, as well as countless other Canadians are experiencing trauma and grief,” gun control group PolySeSouvient said in a media statement.

The rally’s timing, its stated justifications and the celebratory atmosphere being promoted will be viewed as a slap in the face by mass shooting survivors and anyone whose life has been forever changed by easy access to guns, said PolySeSouvient.

“It is shameful that in the wake of this tragedy, the gun lobby remains steadfast in its efforts to prevent the successful removal from circulation of civilian versions of military weapons that are typically used in mass shootings and that have been prohibited for public safety reasons,” the group said.

In a video message posted to the organization’s website, National Firearms Association general manager Ginger Fournier says gun owners in Quebec are hunters, sport shooters, farmers, collectors, Indigenous community members and everyday Canadians who comply with licensing, training and background checks and secure storage requirements.

“They are not the problem and they should not be treated as one,” Fournier says.

In announcing the program last month, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the goal is to target only “firearms designed for war, for killing people. They have no place in our communities.”

Federal officials say some 19,000 firearm makes and models remain legally available for hunting and sport shooting in Canada.

Almost $250 million has been earmarked to compensate people who take part in the program. The government has said it expects the money will cover compensation for about 136,000 firearms.

1:31
Federal gun buyback program launches, drawing mixed reaction

Owners of outlawed guns have until the end of March to declare interest.

The government says that as of last Friday, gun owners had reported more than 32,000 prohibited firearms. That includes 13,219 from Ontario, 7,368 from British Columbia, 5,539 from Quebec and 2,730 from Alberta.

“I would consider it a good start,” said Simon Lafortune, a spokesman for Anandasangaree.

The Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights says the number of guns eligible for compensation is much higher than the federal government suggests. It says that, for example, there are more than two million firearms in Canada that were previously non-restricted and are now prohibited as a result of recent bans.

Anandasangaree recently indicated the government stands by its figure and said that “a range of misinformation” has come from the gun lobby.

Quebec supports the federal compensation program but a number of other provinces and territories — including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador — have snubbed the plan.

The RCMP and Quebec’s provincial police force will play key roles in collecting firearms eligible for compensation, but several other police services have said they will not help with the program.

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press

A public hearing into the police-involved death of Myles Gray resumes in Vancouver today, after a four-week adjournment triggered by an obscene remark and the subsequent resignation of counsel for the proceeding.

The delay allowed replacement counsel, Brock Martland, to get up to speed on the case by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner of B.C. involving seven Vancouver officers who deny misconduct in Gray’s 2015 beating death.

Former hearing counsel Brad Hickford resigned last month over a remark picked up by a microphone in the hearing room, describing someone as “stupid” and using an obscenity.

Gray’s family had sought the hearing after a discipline authority cleared the seven officers of misconduct in 2024.

Get daily National news

Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

A coroner’s jury concluded in 2023 that Gray’s death was a homicide after hearing that he died shortly after a beating by several officers, leaving him with injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles.

Hickford is under investigation by the Law Society of B.C. over the remark in the hearing room on Jan. 21.

His own lawyer, Richard Neary, initially said Hickford denied making the remark, but later said that while his client could not recall making it, it was possible he had done so unintentionally.

Hickford said in a statement that he was “bewildered and troubled” by the recording of the obscenity.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner says the hearing is expected to continue over three weeks, and more dates could be scheduled after that.

2:28
Myles Gray public hearing adjourned

&copy 2026 The Canadian Press