WINNIPEG — Lawyers for a man who alleged he was repeatedly sexually assaulted as a child by a now-dead Catholic priest in rural Manitoba and Winnipeg in a 2023 lawsuit recently reached a confidential settlement with the Archdiocese of St. Boniface.

Terms of the settlement, which was reached in the fall after a private judicially assisted dispute resolution in front of a Court of King’s Bench justice in September, are not included in public court records reviewed by the Free Press.

The lawsuit, which was filed in June 2023 and named the archdiocese and archbishop as defendants, was officially discontinued in November.

The plaintiff, now in his early 60s, claimed the alleged abuse began when he was eight-years-old in 1972 and lasted until 1982.

China is again denying claims of forced labour in the country as calls grow for Prime Minister Mark Carney to clarify Canada’s stance on the issue amid fallout from comments made by Liberal MP Michael Ma that appeared to cast doubt on reported human rights abuses.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada pushed back on the allegation that forced labour is used in the production of Chinese electric vehicle components in a social media post Friday night, calling it a “blatant lie” that some are using to undermine the Canada-China EV deal.

The comments from the embassy came a day after Ma apologized for a tense exchange during a committee hearing where he asked an expert if she’d seen forced labour in China with her own eyes or if she had relied on “hearsay.”

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa, had told committee members that Chinese vehicles are made with products of slave labour performed by members of the Uyghur minority, referring to research by Human Rights Watch.

EDMONTON — Alberta’s premier says she welcomes diverse opinions in her caucus after a legislature member of her United Conservative Party opined a referendum on separation is good for the province.

Danielle Smith also reiterated on her provincewide radio show Saturday her government supports Alberta staying in Canada, and she has taken steps to obtain provincial autonomy, such as signing the Alberta-Canada energy memorandum of understanding with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“There are others who … don’t believe these grievances can be addressed or will be addressed, and they’ve lost hope in Canada. It’s my job … to find these issues and to solve them one by one by one,” she said.

“So one voice in our caucus has a different perspective and we are a caucus that allows for diversity of opinions, but I can tell you our caucus and our government supports my view that we are in support of Alberta’s sovereignty within a united Canada.”

Canada’s national lawyers group has rebuked a call from four premiers for Ottawa to overhaul how it appoints provincial superior court and appeal judges.

The premiers of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec wrote this week in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney that they want to see only judges appointed who are first approved and recommended by the provinces.

The premiers say doing so would boost public confidence in the courts and “help ensure the judiciary reflects the communities it serves.”

Their call was quickly brushed aside by federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser.

Ottawa OPENS IMPORTED VEGGIES INQUIRY

OTTAWA — The federal government has launched a trade inquiry on global imports of frozen and canned vegetables.

A statement from the Department of Finance says the government sought the inquiry in response to a request from the Canadian Association of Vegetable Growers and Processors.

Domestic producers say Canada has seen a surge of low-priced imports that are disrupting the market.