BREAKING
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Polish lawmakers held an emotional debate Thursday on proposed legislation dubbed "Stop LGBT," which would ban pride parades and other public gatherings deemed to "promote" same-sex relationships.
The lawmakers are due to vote Friday on whether to reject or continue work on the proposal, which is a citizen's legislative initiative that was submitted to parliament by conservative activists.
One of the activists who presented the bill, Krzysztof Kasprzak, opened his speech to lawmakers by describing the LGBTQ2S+ rights movement as a form of totalitarianism. He compared it to Nazism, and accused it of seeking "to overthrow the natural order and introduce terror."
Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, a left-wing deputy speaker of parliament, called it the "most disgusting speech" he had heard in his time in parliament.
A string of opposition lawmakers -- on the left, center and even from a conservative group -- denounced the proposed legislation as inhumane, homophobic or a violation of the right to assembly guaranteed in Poland's constitution.
It got the praise of lawmakers on the far right, while Piotr Kaleta, a lawmaker with the ruling right-wing conservative party, Law and Justice, held up photos allegedly showing scenes from pride parades that he described as shocking.
"We want normality in Poland," Kaleta said. "If you accuse us of being in the Middle Ages, then we want to be in these Middle Ages."
It was not clear if the proposal had the backing to move forward.
Poland's right-wing nationalist government is already involved in a bitter dispute with the European Union over judicial independence and law primacy. So Warsaw might not want to open another front with its EU partners, most of whom strongly oppose any discrimination against lesbians, gay men and bisexual and transgender people.
Under Polish law, citizens can submit legislative proposals to parliament if they get the signatures of at least 100,000 eligible voters. The Life and Family Foundation, which lobbied successfully for a recent restriction on abortion rights, gathered 140,000 signatures for its "Stop LGBT" proposal.
In a statement Thursday, the human rights group Amnesty International said that if adopted as law, the proposal would place the rights of LGBTQ2S+ people in Poland "at greater risk than ever."
"We call on Polish (lawmakers) to recognize that love is love, and reject this hateful proposal which is discriminatory to its core," said Amnesty's Nils Muiznieks.
"This initiative may not have originated with the Polish government, but let us be clear: the government's normalization of hateful rhetoric has created an environment in which people feel empowered to spew bigotry," Muiznieks added.
In recent years Polish lawmakers, including the president, have lashed out at what they call "LGBT ideology," presenting it as something that prematurely sexualizes young people and threatens the country's traditional Roman Catholic values.
Most of the anti-LGBT rhetoric has come during election campaigns, though two years ago dozens of Polish communities passed resolutions declaring themselves to be free of "LGBT ideology" or adopted family charters stressing that families are based on unions of men and women.
But recently, facing the threat of a loss of EU funding, some Polish regions have revoked the anti-LGBTQ2S+ resolutions.
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.
The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.