COVID-19
Coronavirus invasion of major league baseball was bound to happen sooner or later
Well, we knew something like this coronavirus invasion of major league baseball was bound to happen sooner or later. Now, all we can do is hope that other sports organizations do not go through similar messes.
But don’t bet against it happening somewhere else, and soon.
My guess from the beginning was that baseball would be first on the list of pending and potential disasters. Operating without the semblance of a safety “bubble” was accurately described as either arrogant or foolhardy — of course all players would avoid mingling in the public or attending places where individuals sing or dance or cavort in nameless ways.
Hockey, so far, owns the biggest safety record: thousands of tests and no positive findings. In addition, few of the NHL’s players have openly elected to step away from the test, quarantine and isolate-when-necessary philosophy introduced by commissioner Gary Bettman, whose political instincts have ranked him among the least popular and most effective leaders in the sport’s history.
In a Bettman-directed universe, favoured hockey stories would all be politically correct, linked only to hard-fought victories, lovable team pets, young children and well-publicized contributions to charity by league, franchise or a smiling individual.
Today, it is obviously unfair to take offence at his quiet-at-all-cost stance. As long as occasional players choose to come forward when COVID-19 affects them, much of the media, and therefore most of the dedicated, banner-waving outsiders will be content with whatever information becomes public.
No such refuge is possible for baseball, despite the good fortune provided when Canadian decision-makers ruled against the possibility that U.S teams could cross a mostly-locked border and fly freely through our land for as long as necessary to complete a 60-game season and possible playoff games. Try to imagine the fuss that would be brewing at this moment if anyone who had been within reach of the Miami Marlins was scheduled to land at Pearson Airport in Toronto any time in the near future!
On Tuesday, it was reported that four more Marlins had been found with the infection, bringing the team total to 17; two coaches and 11 players were infected previously. At least half-a-dozen games have been cancelled or postponed, with more schedule changes expected.
Predictably, players who first objected to the baseball plan to operate without clear protection spoke out quickly. Los Angeles Dodgers lefthander David Price was among the first to remove himself from the season.
“Now we’ll really get to see if baseball is going to put players’ health first,” he said. “Part of the reason I’m at home right now is because players’ health hasn’t been put first.”
Washington manager Dave Martinez, whose Nationals are in a four-game home-and-home series with the Toronto Blue Jays, also commented: “My level of concern has gone from an eight to about a 12. I’m going to be honest with you: I’m scared.”
“Cheer up, things could be worse.” So, we cheered up. Things got worse.
COVID-19
Court compels RCMP and TD Bank to hand over records related to freezing of peaceful protestor’s bank accounts

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that a judge of the Ontario Court of Justice has ordered the RCMP and TD Bank to produce records relating to the freezing of Mr. Evan Blackman’s bank accounts during the 2022 Freedom Convoy protest.
Mr. Blackman was arrested in downtown Ottawa on February 18, 2022, during the federal government’s unprecedented use of the Emergencies Act. He was charged with mischief and obstruction, but he was acquitted of these charges at trial in October 2023.
However, the Crown appealed Mr. Blackman’s acquittal in 2024, and a new trial is scheduled to begin on August 14, 2025.
Mr. Blackman is seeking the records concerning the freezing of his bank accounts to support an application under the Charter at his upcoming retrial.
His lawyers plan to argue that the freezing of his bank accounts was a serious violation of his rights, and are asking the court to stay the case accordingly.
“The freezing of Mr. Blackman’s bank accounts was an extreme overreach on the part of the police and the federal government,” says constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury.
“These records will hopefully reveal exactly how and why Mr. Blackman’s accounts were frozen,” he says.
Mr. Blackman agreed, saying, “I’m delighted that we will finally get records that may reveal why my bank accounts were frozen.”
This ruling marks a significant step in what is believed to be the first criminal case in Canada involving a proposed Charter application based on the freezing of personal bank accounts under the Emergencies Act.
Alberta
COVID mandates protester in Canada released on bail after over 2 years in jail

Chris Carbert (right) and Anthony Olienick, two of the Coutts Four were jailed for over two years for mischief and unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose.
From LifeSiteNews
The “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy
COVID protestor Chris Carbert has been granted bail pending his appeal after spending over two years in prison.
On June 30, Alberta Court of Appeal Justice Jo-Anne Strekaf ordered the release of Chris Carbert pending his appeal of charges of mischief and weapons offenses stemming from the Coutts border blockade, which protested COVID mandates in 2022.
“[Carbert] has demonstrated that there is no substantial likelihood that he will commit a criminal offence or interfere with the administration of justice if released from detention pending the hearing of his appeals,” Strekaf ruled.
“If the applicant and the Crown are able to agree upon a release plan and draft order to propose to the court, that is to be submitted by July 14,” she continued.
Carbert’s appeal is expected to be heard in September. So far, Carbert has spent over two years in prison, when he was charged with conspiracy to commit murder during the protest in Coutts, which ran parallel to but was not officially affiliated with the Freedom Convoy taking place in Ottawa.
Later, he was acquitted of the conspiracy to commit murder charge but still found guilty of the lesser charges of unlawful possession of a firearm for a dangerous purpose and mischief over $5,000.
In September 2024, Chris Carbert was sentenced to six and a half years for his role in the protest. However, he is not expected to serve his full sentence, as he was issued four years of credit for time already served. Carbert is also prohibited from owning firearms for life and required to provide a DNA sample.
Carbert was arrested alongside Anthony Olienick, Christopher Lysak and Jerry Morin, with the latter two pleading guilty to lesser charges to avoid trial. At the time, the “Coutts Four” were painted as dangerous terrorists and their arrest was used as justification for the invocation of the Emergencies Act by the Trudeau government, which allowed it to use draconian measures to end both the Coutts blockade and the much larger Freedom Convoy occurring thousands of kilometers away in Ottawa.
Under the Emergency Act (EA), the Liberal government froze the bank accounts of Canadians who donated to the Freedom Convoy. Trudeau revoked the EA on February 23 after the protesters had been cleared out. At the time, seven of Canada’s 10 provinces opposed Trudeau’s use of the EA.
Since then, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau was “not justified” in invoking the Emergencies Act, a decision that the federal government is appealing.
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