Lawyers for Umar Zameer to speak after OPP investigation, Ford's call for judge apology
CBC
Lawyers for a man acquitted in a high-profile Toronto murder trial where a police officer was killed are holding a news conference Thursday to address a recent Ontario Provincial Police report that re-examines evidence from the trial.
Umar Zameer’s lawyers Nader Hasan and Alexandra Heine will also address the recent comments made by Premier Doug Ford.
CBC News will be streaming that news conference live in the player above at 11 a.m. ET.
At an unrelated news conference Wednesday, Ford called on the judge in Zameer’s trial to apologize to the witness officers who she accused of possible collusion.
Ford’s remarks echo those made by Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell at a Tuesday news conference.
“The premier and the police association have framed this case as the judicial system versus the police,” said Shakir Rahim, lawyer and Director of the Criminal Justice program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
He said the OPP’s report itself claims that the judge’s decision was made based on the evidence presented in the trial and did not have access to any new evidence used by recent investigators.
“In this case, where there has been no allegation of impropriety made against the judge … it makes that kind of intervention by the premier wholly inappropriate,” Rahim told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Thursday.
“It is very unclear why there should be any obligation on a judge to apologize.”
Comments like this against a judge and judicial result will undermine the public’s confidence in the administration of justice, said Rahim.
He said it’s important for judges to make their decision free from political or societal pressures.
The long-awaited OPP report released on Tuesday found Toronto Police Service officers involved in the investigation into the 2021 death of Det. Const. Jeffrey Northrup did not lie. It also raised “significant concerns” with the collision theories posed by two separate expert witnesses in Umar Zameer’s trial, including a Toronto police officer.
The report, which was requested by Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw, comes years after Northrup was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Zameer in an underground parking garage at Toronto City Hall on July 1, 2021.
Zameer, who was charged with first-degree murder, pleaded not guilty and testified he didn't know Northrup and his partner — who were in plainclothes during the incident — were police officers. He was acquitted in 2024.
Cataract surgeries at Charlottetown’s outpatient clinic are expected to resume in April, after procedures scheduled for March were cancelled due to the clinic reaching its annual funding target earlier than expected.
Shannon Elgazzar can see planes taking off from Cairo International Airport from her balcony.
Yellowknife city council has voted in favour of signing an agreement with the federal government that's aimed at bringing piped water and sewer service to the city's airport.
While Canada's economy is far more reliant on exports to the U.S. than vice versa, Canadian negotiators have crucial ammunition in their efforts to land a trade deal that reduces or eliminates tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nova Scotia PC MLA Rick Burns says he and his wife are victims of blackmail after hackers accessed and shared videos and intimate images on his personal devices this week.
The Saint John Board of Police Commissioners and Chief Robert Bruce have lost a bid to permanently deny public access to all court documents related to conduct complaints nine officers filed against the chief.
With the looming October election, Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard has delivered a modest budget as the province aims to withstand ongoing trade disruptions and mounting geopolitical pressure.
A student in Rivers, Man., says he is stunned the small community was the site of a high-profile arrest after police say a teenage boy was planning simultaneous school attacks with another youth in Nova Scotia.
Saskatchewan expects to run deficits until the end of the decade, according to the 2026-27 provincial budget tabled by Finance Minister Jim Reiter on Wednesday.
Investigators say a fatal crash last April of a small plane on a training flight near Abbotsford, B.C., was likely caused by the pilot not following "best practices" for mountain flying.
Developers in Charlottetown may soon be able to build taller buildings where they haven’t before after the province signed off on the city’s official plan.
Jennifer Pan has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2010 death of her mother, nearly a year after the Supreme Court of Canada ordered a new first-degree murder trial for the Markham, Ont., woman in a case that drew international attention and spawned a Netflix documentary.
The Yukon Legislative Assembly's spring session begins on Thursday with the Yukon Party government set to table its first main budget since being elected last fall.