Tracy Duncan's slaying is Ottawa's fourth femicide this year
Police have identified four Ottawa deaths as 'femicides' this year, exceeding the total of three femicides reported in all of 2024.
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The Ottawa Police Service became the first Canadian police force to use 'femicide' in its public statements in 2022, even before adopting a formal definition.
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A femicide is generally defined as 'the killing of women and girls because of their gender,' often driven by gender roles, discrimination towards women and girls or unequal power relations between women and men.
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The four Ottawa deaths declared femicides so far this year:
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• Tracy Duncan ,54, was found dead at her residence on Carousel Crescent in Gloucester at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday. Stephen Doane, 57, was arrested by police and was charged with second-degree murder.
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• Renée Descary, 51, was stabbed to death on Heney Street in Lowertown on April 1. Oliver Denai, 24, was charged with second-degree murder.
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• Brenda Rus, 60, was found dead in a residence on Brentbrook Crescent in Barrhaven on April 6. Robert Rus, 61, was charged with first-degree murder.
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• Rachelle Desrochers, 54, was reported missing in April and had last been seen March 14 at a McDonald/s restaurant on Elgin Street. Investigators said they had reason to believe she was killed and her body was in a local landfill, where search efforts were ongoing. Joshua Blair, 25, was charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a body on May 26.
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A Christmas 2024 slaying was also later determined to be a femicide. Jolene Arreak died in a home on Spadina Avenue on Hintonburg on Dec. 25. Manasi Foo, 35 was charged with second-degree murder and the attempted murder of a surviving victim, who was treated in hospital and released.
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According to preliminary Ottawa figures for last year, released in January, 6,636 intimate partner violence (IPV) incidents were reported in 2024, resulting in 3,355 charges laid, an increase from the the previous year.
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Toronto Sun
32 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Prime Minister Mark Carney visits military cemetery in Brussels ahead of EU-Canada summit
Published Jun 23, 2025 • 3 minute read Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (R) and his wife Diana Fox Carney (2nd R) attend a wreath laying during a visit to the Schoonselhof cemetery, on the sidelines of an EU-Canada summit, in Antwerp, on June 23, 2025. Photo by JASPER JACOBS / AFP BRUSSELS — Prime Minister Mark Carney began official events for his four-day trip to Europe Monday by visiting a military cemetery in Belgium before a meeting with European counterparts at the EU-Canada summit. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Carney said on social media Sunday he was in Brussels to launch 'a new era of partnership' between Canada and the European Union to benefit workers, businesses and security 'on both sides of the Atlantic.' Carney started the day with a visit to the Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery, where 348 Canadian soldiers are buried. Carney toured the cemetery alongside his wife, Diana Fox Carney, and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Carney also took part in a wreath-laying ceremony with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and National Defence Minister David McGuinty. Stephane Dion, special envoy to the European Union and Europe, also attended. Carney is expected to meet later Monday with De Wever, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At the EU-Canada summit, Anand and McGuinty are expected to sign a security and defence agreement with the European bloc — an agreement one European official described last week as one of the most ambitious deals the continent's powers have ever signed with a third country. The security and defence agreement opens the door to joint purchases of weapons with European countries and participation in the ReArm Europe initiative — which will allow Canada to access a 150-billion-euro program for defence procurement called Security Action for Europe. Canada will need to sign a second agreement with the European Commission before it can take part in the program. A government official briefing reporters on the trip said the partnership is expected to make procurement easier and more affordable, while also allowing Canada to diversify its sources of equipment. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. At the EU-Canada summit, leaders are also expected to issue a joint statement pressing Russia to end its war on Ukraine through measures like further sanctions, and calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The joint statement is also expected to touch on climate change, trade and digital and tech policy. De Wever said Canada's partnership with the EU is critical now because 'we've woken up in a world that doesn't look that friendly anymore.' 'We're living in a world where we have an imperialist power in the east who uses military force, we have a peculiar figure in the White House who is choosing the road of protectionism and even isolationism. So those who like a rules-based world, a multilateral world, should find each other's company now,' the Belgian prime minister said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. De Wever said allies will need to spend more on defence and should do so wisely by developing their industrial defence bases together. 'Those countries who still like multilateralism are the countries that have to look up each other's company and make good agreements,' he said. Carney posted on social media early Monday that he spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump overnight. He said the conversation addressed the need to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East. Carney said he and Trump also spoke about trade and their shared commitment to a stronger NATO. 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Canada Standard
39 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
'Call upon Canadian friends to deepen bilateral collaboration in countering terrorism, extremism', Union Minister Hardeep Singh
Cork [Ireland], June 23 (ANI): Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri paid tributes to the victims of the Kanishka bombing and gave a call to bring an end to terrorism and extremism. Calling Canada a valued partner and friend of India, he called upon them to deepen the bilateral collaboration in countering this. Puri made the remarks on Monday from the Ahakista Memorial in Cork, Ireland. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, paid homage to the victims of the Kanishka Bombing. On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182 was blown up by the Canada-based Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa near Cork, Ireland, resulting in the deaths of all 329 passengers on board. On the solemn event, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri remembered the victims with deep sorrow and heavy hearts, who passed away forty years ago. In his speech, he asked the world to come together not only in mourning but also in collective proactive efforts to counter terrorism. 'On behalf of India, I call upon the global community to remember our shared responsibility. I call upon our Canadian friends in particular to deepen our bilateral collaboration in countering this. Canada is a valued partner and a friend of India. We share vibrant cultural and economic relations with each other, and we are bound by democratic traditions, and those ideals require us to act together against all forms of extremism and terrorism. When separatist violence, and separatist voices find sanctuary, when extremist figures glorify violence-- they threaten not just the people whose lives they take away, they threaten societies at large.' He said that by working together, sharing intelligence, shutting off funding channels, countering radicalization, it can be ensured that those who continue to promote hate and terror cannot succeed. 'India stands ready to do more. Our security agencies, our intelligence operators, and our diplomatic channels remain committed to partnering with Canada and all other countries. Let us redouble our efforts to ensure that what happened on June 23, 1985 is never repeated, not here, not in India, not anywhere in the world.' Calling the air crash as one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in aviation history, Puri said that it has left scars that have not healed even after 40 years. In his remarks he underscored, 'Let this commemoration send a powerful, united message that those who chose the path of terror will never prevail over the enduring bonds of humanity, democracy, and friendship. Our nations have mourned together for 40 years, and we will continue to honour the memory of those who lost by striving for peace, security and justice. May the memories of all those who perished remain forever in our hearts'. An Indian delegation arrived in Ireland to attend the 40th anniversary of the memorial of the Kanishka terror attack. The delegation led by Hardeep Singh Puri includes BJP MLA in Delhi Assembly, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Minister of State in the Uttar Pradesh government, Baldev Singh Aulakh, BJP MLA from Sadulshahar in Ganganagar, Rajasthan Assembly, Gurveer Singh Brar, BJP MLA from RS Pura in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Narinder Singh Raina, BJP MLA from Kashipur in the Uttarakhand Assembly, Trilok Singh Cheema- BJP MLA from Kashipur in Uttarakhand Assembly, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and India's Ambassador to Ireland, Akhilesh Mishra. This event not only commemorates the 329 innocent victims of the 1985 terror attack but also reinforces the global commitment against terrorism. (ANI)
Canada Standard
39 minutes ago
- Canada Standard
Jaishankar pays tribute to victims of Kanishka bombing, calls it
New Delhi [India], June 23 (ANI): On the 40th anniversary of the Kanishka bombing, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid homage to those who lost their lives in the attack and described it 'as one of the worst acts of terrorism.' He emphasised that the anniversary of the attack is a 'stark reminder of why the world must show zero tolerance towards terrorism and violent extremism.' In a post on X, Jaishankar stated, 'On the 40th anniversary of Air India 182 'Kanishka' bombing, we honour the memory of the 329 lives lost in one of the worst acts of terrorism. A stark reminder of why the world must show zero tolerance towards terrorism and violent extremism.' Meanwhile, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, Irish Prime Minister, Micheal Martin, and Canadian Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, laid a wreath at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork in Ireland, to pay homage to the victims of the Kanishka bombing. On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 was blown up by the Canada-based Khalistani terrorist group Babbar Khalsa near Cork, resulting in the deaths of all 329 passengers on board. An Indian delegation arrived in Ireland to attend the 40th anniversary of the memorial of the Kanishka terror attack. The delegation led by Hardeep Singh Puri includes BJP MLA in Delhi Assembly, Arvinder Singh Lovely, Minister of State in the Uttar Pradesh government, Baldev Singh Aulakh, BJP MLA from Sadulshahar in Ganganagar, Rajasthan Assembly, Gurveer Singh Brar, BJP MLA from RS Pura in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Narinder Singh Raina, BJP MLA from Kashipur in the Uttarakhand Assembly, Trilok Singh Cheema- BJP MLA from Kashipur in Uttarakhand Assembly, BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and India's Ambassador to Ireland, Akhilesh Mishra. During the event, Mayor of the County of Cork, Councillor Joe Carroll, laid a wreath at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork. People in large numbers were present at the event to pay tribute to the victims of the Kanishka bombing. School students paid musical tribute to victims at the Ahakista Memorial in Cork. Speaking at the event, Micheal Martin said, 'Very honoured to be here in Ahakista this morning on this 40th anniversary of that terrible day in 1985 that saw the Air India flight cruelly and horrifically brought down off our coastline. It's always a privilege and honour to attend this sober commemoration and to witness the dignity, dedication and care with which you remember your loved ones who died so horrifically 40 years ago today.' He noted that the passing of time since the bombing in 1985 does not dim the scale of the loss and atrocity. He stated that they feel the enormity of the loss when they see the faces and read the stories on the memorial in Ahakista. He stated, '329 innocent people lost their lives over the skies of Ireland that morning, and the passing of time does not dim the scale of loss and this atrocity. We feel the enormity of your loss when we see the faces and read the stories on the memorial here, before us. Especially moving are these simple descriptions: student, child, so many young lives taken far too soon. While the scale of this horrific act is of global significance, we should never forget that it is an intensely personal tragedy. The loss and grief felt by you, the families and loved ones of the people who died that June morning in 1985 is deeply personal. One only needs to come here on any year and listen to you speak, witness you placing flowers into the sea or laying wreaths to understand how powerful that grief endures.' (ANI)
