For decades, a distinctive castle overlooking Highway 97 in Peachland has served as a reminder of one of the Okanagan’s most colourful characters.

Eddy Haymour died Wednesday at the age of 96, leaving behind a remarkable story of ambition, controversy and a dream that never quite came to fruition.

For many locals, his name is synonymous with both the castle and Rattlesnake Island.

“Rattlesnake island and a bit of trouble, a lot of trouble,” said Okanagan resident Don Scramstad.

It was the island that captured Haymour’s imagination and ultimately became the focus of a decades-long dispute with the provincial government.

A Lebanese immigrant, Haymour purchased Rattlesnake Island in 1971 with plans to transform the five-acre property into a Middle Eastern-themed amusement park.
His ambitious vision caught the attention of filmmaker Greg Crompton, who produced the 2019 documentary “Eddy’s Kingdom.”
“As a filmmaker, when we were you know kicking around ideas, this one just seemed like such a compelling story to tell,” Crompton said. “So I was quite motivated personally but also as a filmmaker, I want to tell interesting stories. This is a very interesting story.”

But Haymour’s pursuit of his dream took an extraordinary turn.

His dispute with the province escalated dramatically in 1974, when he and his relatives took hostages at the Canadian embassy in Beirut.

For Crompton, it was Haymour’s unusual way of thinking that made him such a fascinating subject.
“He did all these like wild things but his rationale for it for me was maybe the most interesting part of him… was this character study of saying, “What? So, so you were wronged by the government but then you were going to get some grenades and chuck it into the legislature and and cause mayhem,” Crompton said. “Like it just, his thought process for me was maybe the most compelling.”

At the Peachland Museum, Haymour remains a prominent figure in the community’s history.

“He was zealously committed to his dream. That would be what I would say succinctly. It didn’t matter what obstacle was in his way; he pursued it to the end,” said Jeff Green, the museum’s assistant curator.

Although Haymour eventually won his legal battle with the province, his dream of developing the island never materialized.

He did, however, build his distinctive castle in Peachland, and beside it, a statue of himself pointing across the lake toward the island he had big dreams for.

“He was a visionary. He was impassioned about what he was doing,” said Tracy Janes,  a customer service agent at the museum. “Just everything about the man was larger than life.”

 

 

 

 

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the federal government has learned from past mistakes as it sets out its ambitious aim of eliminating homelessness within 10 years.

“For decades, governments and communities have tried to address this crisis. Too often, these efforts have been inadequately resourced, poorly co-ordinated and not sustained,” he said at a press conference Friday in Winnipeg.

Carney said he chose to make Manitoba his first stop after releasing the budget Thursday, because there’s already a plan in place.

“The government of Canada, the province of Manitoba, the City of Winnipeg and private philanthropy in recent months have all been coming together to develop a comprehensive plan that works.”

The budget estimated about 65,000 Canadians are homeless but critics say the figure could be much higher.

The federal government said its approach includes not only building enough affordable housing but also helping the vulnerable and providing health supports to help people escape homelessness long-term.

To fund the efforts countrywide, the federal budget offers $11.2 billion to tackle homelessness over four years, starting next year, and $17.8 billion over 10 years.

The partnerships with other levels of government would see the federal government fund construction costs, while provinces and other partners cover operations.

Winnipeg gets some of that money first, with at least $1 billion in new money going toward 2,000 new housing units and construction of a Centre for Mental Health and Addictions.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said the federal money is a “huge, humungous deal” for the province.

“Some people were saying this is a generational investment. I don’t know if every generation gets an investment like this.”

As part of the deal, Manitoba is committing $84 million a year to support what Ottawa has committed to build.

Kinew said while the province hasn’t chosen a location yet for the health-care campus, he’ll be pushing to have it done within the three years Carney has set as a goal.

“We’re going to get it done right, we’re going to get it done quick,” said Kinew.

The aim to move quickly comes as the provincial NDP works toward its shorter-term timeline of ending chronic homelessness by 2031.

Faster progress is possible because of unprecedented co-ordination among all levels of government, including Indigenous leaders along with other partners, he said.

“It’s the first time in our country’s history where every level of government has come together to tackle homelessness, including First Nations and Metis governments,” said Kinew.

“This is a fundamental step to succeed.”

The event Friday was held under the latticework of rafters at Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn, the former Hudson Bay store in the city being transformed into an Indigenous hub of housing and other services by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization.

Jerry Daniels, the organization’s grand chief, said he’s not sure what new housing funding will come their way, but that the announcement was welcome.

“I think it’s good for the people of Winnipeg,” Daniels said.

“We’re very hopeful for the people who are living on the street, and who are experiencing homelessness, going through addictions and experiencing mental health challenges.”

Jennifer Moore Rattray, CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg, said she was excited by the investments.

“We have a real opportunity in Winnipeg, in Manitoba and in Canada to actually end homelessness.”

She said there’s already tremendous co-ordination between Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations in the city and the province to reduce homelessness. What they haven’t had before was enough funding.

“We know what works in community. We have been doing it for years,” said Rattray.

“Now we actually have the investment.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Health Canada is warning consumers not to use unauthorized peptides after lab testing found bacteria in products sold online.

In Canada, injectable peptides are generally regulated as prescription drugs, which are advised to be used under the care of a licensed healthcare professional.

The health agency said it seized more than 11,400 vials of the drugs from Shanghai ERP Peptide Biotechnology Co. Ltd. (ERP Peptide) as well as two online retailers that sold ERP Peptide products.

During testing of the product, Health Canada said it found three different bacteria that could be harmful to humans.

Unauthorized products sold by ERP Peptide include Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, MOTS-C, NAD+, Retatrutide, Tesamorelin and Tirzepatide.

“Selling unauthorized drug products is illegal. Unauthorized products have not been assessed for safety, efficacy, and quality by Health Canada. They have not been demonstrated, through scientific trials, to provide the health benefits that they claim,” Health Canada said.

“While unauthorized peptides are often promoted for weight loss, muscle growth, anti-aging, or wellness, they may expose you to significant and unpredictable health risks.”

Those risks can include hormonal imbalance, mood swings, blood sugar imbalance, liver or kidney damage, blood clots, and growth of cancerous tumours, the health agency said.

Unauthorized drugs are also not tested for safety, quality, or sterility, it added. As a result, products may contain too little or too much of the active ingredient, use dangerous or unknown ingredients, lead to allergic reactions or medical interactions, or contain solvents, heavy metals, particles of glass and plastic, or microbials.

Health Canada said it has requested ERP Peptide to immediately stop selling illegal products into Canada and is working with the Canada Border Services Agency to stop unauthorized shipments from entering the country.

The agency is encouraging consumers to stop buying these products. If you have used them and develop a fever or pain and swelling at the injection site, Health Canada said to seek immediate medical attention.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The United States Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on eight Canadian businesses for allegedly helping to evade sanctions on Iran’s government.

The department says it sanctioned money services businesses in British Columbia and Ontario in co-ordination with Fintrac, Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog.

The U.S. Treasury said several of the entities being sanctioned also worked with Ryan Wedding, the alleged drug kingpin and former Canadian Olympic snowboarder.

The department names several companies based in Ontario and British Columbia, including the Million Exchange, NIA Nations Currency, Farah Exchange, Darvish Exchange and several numbered companies.

The department alleges that Wedding used several of these services to launder millions of dollars in drug money through the transfer of digital assets before he was arrested in January.

“Canada cannot be a safe haven for illicit financial facilitators that provide sanctions-evasion services to the Iranian regime and its proxies,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a news release.

“Treasury will pursue and disrupt the Iranian regime’s financial channels anywhere in the world.”

The sanctions are the latest in a series of moves by the United States to clamp down on financial transactions evading sanctions as it continues its war with Iran.

Wedding was arrested in Mexico in January this year and taken to the United States to face drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder charges.

He remains in federal custody awaiting two trials in March and October of next year.

A Mexican judge was arrested this week on allegations that he accepted a $2-million bribe in exchange for granting bail to a man accused of acting as second-in-command to Wedding.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Luis Benitez Alcantara is accused of unlawfully securing the release of Andrew Clark, a Canadian man alleged to have played a key role in a violent international drug trafficking ring.

Wedding is alleged to have ordered the murders of several people, including a witness who could testify against him in a 2024 narcotics case.
U.S. authorities have said Wedding had been on the run for years.

Wedding represented Canada in a snowboarding slalom during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Canadian and American law enforcement officials allege that after competing in the Olympics, he became deeply involved in drug trafficking.

He was convicted in the United States of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to prison in 2010. U.S. authorities have alleged that after Wedding’s release from prison, he resumed drug trafficking under the protection of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.

U.S. court documents said Wedding’s drug trafficking enterprise brought cocaine from Colombia into Mexico, then used semi-trailers to distribute the drug in the United States and Canada.

Eight people were also arrested in Canada a year ago as part of the U.S. investigation of Wedding.

— With files from Paola Loriggio in Toronto

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A B.C. tribunal ruling has denied a second penalty for a social media platform for not deleting intimate images.

Last year, the tribunal ruled that X must pay a $100,000 penalty for not deleting an intimate image after a protection order was issued requiring the social media platform to delete the image shared via an account.

But X instead blocked the image from being viewed in Canada, while leaving it available elsewhere.

It then challenged the decision, arguing that the tribunal cannot globally enforce a law created in B.C.

This week, the tribunal agreed, a second penalty was denied and the original fine is now under judicial review.

In his decision, vice-chair Eric Regehr wrote that “internet intermediaries can avoid administrative penalties if they can prove they took reasonable steps to address the distribution of unlawful intimate images on their platforms.”

Online safety advocate Carol Todd, who has been speaking out about the dangers of the internet since the death of her daughter Amanda, said she is disappointed, but not surprised by the ruling.

“Why does big tech and platforms like X get away with this, and thinking that, you know, our B.C., our legislation is nothing?” she said.

“Oh, it’s just, I get so angry.”

Experts say Canada needs stronger federal legislation to give authorities more power to hold those companies accountable.

“What we see, we’re actually moving to introduce federal legislation because what we currently have is not sufficient,” Heidi Tworek, a professor of history and public policy at the University of British Columbia, said.

“There was a change of one law to ensure that definitions of intimate images at the federal level also include synthetic images, so deepfakes. But there’s also (Bill) C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, which is working its way through Parliament, which will create a digital regulator at the federal level.”

Bill C-34 includes a ban on social media for kids under the age of 16.

The tribunal did reject X’s attempt to recover more than $100,000 in legal costs from the woman who brought the case forward.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A Halifax-area clothing brand is feeling the impact of the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States and is being forced to make changes to how it does business.

Fairechild creates outerwear from sustainable fabric made of recycled plastic bottles and produced by a German company. The small-batch operation has all its garments handcrafted at its Dartmouth, N.S., studio.

The company’s CEO, Tabitha Osler, estimates about half of Fairechild’s customer base is in the U.S.

But she says the cost of doing business with the U.S. has become too high and the company was recently hit with thousands of dollars in unexpected brokerage charges.

“We actually had to stop shipping to the States in August because we had been shipping to them using the rules that we felt were eligible on our type of product. And then just receiving all of these chargebacks of brokerage to us, probably $10,000 at least in the span of about two to three months, which we just had to absorb,” she said.

“We’ve had a pause (shipping to the United States) and we’ve been trying to figure out a way to collect duties more clearly, but also getting preferential origin for our product. So it’s been very complex, much more complex than it had been previously.”

She adds the company used to ship items through the U.S. to export elsewhere, which made “shipping costs much more manageable.” But the decision not to ship to the U.S. means sending products to Europe has now become more expensive.

“It’s just been a domino effect. And not something anyone can really do anything about, but you just start to question when it will end and how we’ll recover,” she said.

The clothing brand has also slowed down production and is relying on a federal government program to help navigate the downturn.

Osler says the company is now looking for Canadian suppliers and trying to expand its customer base in Canada and other markets.

Her experience isn’t isolated. The Canadian Apparel Federation says the current trade climate is eroding businesses’ ability to manufacture here.

“They’ll make it in China, they’ll make it in Portugal. They’ll make it in Italy, anywhere, because all those countries have much lower duties for many goods. This is absurd,” said Bob Kirke, executive director of the federation.

And Osler says she worries businesses like hers are getting closer to extinction.

“I feel like a dinosaur in the industry, like the last remaining dinosaur in Canada just marching along manufacturing here,” she said.

“But yeah, let’s keep us alive.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Warning: This story contains content that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.

Melody Hernandez said she is devastated and emotionally distraught after witnessing a horrific and deadly knife attack on her roommate last Saturday.

“It’s really awful. I can’t sleep during the night. It keeps playing in my mind what I saw,” she said, breaking down in tears.

Hernandez said that in the first week of September, her cousin reached out to her and asked if she had a spare room for a friend named Gregoria Alilio. Alilio and the cousin worked together at Multimatic Manufacturing, an auto parts company in Markham.

Hernandez said she met with Alilio and the two discussed why she was looking for a new place to live.

“When she came here, we had a chit chat, maybe three or four hours. We are talking and then she told me that I had a boyfriend, that’s why I’m looking for a place that I can be safe. I’m looking for a place that he cannot follow me,” she said.

Hernandez said she asked if they would be safe recalling that Alilio told her “the police gave a restraining order to him already, so he cannot come close to me.”

Hernandez said Alilio acknowledged that she was concerned.

“She told me that ‘I’m scared that he’s going to kill me,” she said.

Alilio moved into the North York apartment on Oct. 17.

On Saturday around 4 p.m., Hernandez said she got a text message from the roommate who had been out all day.

Hernandez said Alilio said she had nowhere to park because a car was in her spot in the building’s parking lot.

When she tried to call her, there was no answer, so she went onto the balcony of her second-floor unit overlooking the parking lot and saw Alilio sitting in the driver’s seat of her white SUV waving her down.

Hernandez said she then noticed a man standing next to the driver’s door of Hernandez’s vehicle, which was ajar.

She said she immediately thought of the restraining order.

“I was thinking right away that is the man because there’s no man in her life, only the ex-boyfriend,” she said.

Hernandez said she ran to the parking lot where she saw the man had his hands around Alilio’s neck.

“He’s choking her. Right away, I go to help her so I go to the side of the car. What I am going to do is grab him, but what I saw was him choking her and a knife pointing on the neck,” she said.

Seconds later, she said the man released Alilio’s neck and stabbed her three times in the stomach.

“I step back. I become so scared and then I want to call 911,” said Alilio.

She said she watched as the man continued to stab Alilio who was holding her arms up over her head, in an effort to defend herself.

Hernandez said Alilio then moved to the passenger seat before she watched the man tried to slit his own throat. She said he then began stabbing himself in his stomach.

The victim’s roommate says she began yelling for help but no one was around. She also said she hung up on 911 four times because at first she couldn’t get through to a live operator and was put on hold. Phone records reveal on the fifth try, two minutes after the first call, Alilio connected to an operator who told her first responders were on the way.

When police arrived, the man were pronounced dead at the scene. Alilio was taken to hospital where she later died in what police are investigating as a case of intimate partner violence.

Police did not release the suspect’s name but multiples sources confirm to Global News his name is Reydel Del Rosario.

On Sept. 1, Del Rosario was charged with assault, assault with a weapon, uttering death threats and theft not exceeding $5,000 in relation to an incident on Aug. 31. He was also charged with assault in relation to an incident earlier this year. The alleged victim was Alilio.

Del Rosario was released on his own recognizance that day with a number of conditions including he not be within 500 metres of Alilio, nor have any contact with her.

Alilio’s roommate says she wished she could have stopped the attack and is angry.

“She told me he was really obsessed with her. What kind of person is going to kill a person that you love? If you love someone, let them go.” said Hernandez.

“Why you need to kill her and then kill yourself, I’m so mad at him.”

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.

Are you or someone you know experiencing abuse? Visit the Department of Justice’s Victim Services Directory for a list of support services in your area.

Women, trans and non-binary people can find an additional list of resources online.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Canada’s 2026 budget, announced Thursday, proposes extending the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act to Jan. 1, 2029.

However, it would exempt new residential properties.

The current ban is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2027, but this proposal would extend it by two years, except when it comes to new builds.

Community planner and real estate consultant Michael Geller says the extension would benefit B.C.

“It’s something the development industry has been asking for because while the foreign buyers are not a significant segment of the market, in the past they were an important segment,” Geller said.

“And our housing markets are so weak right now; any benefit would be greatly appreciated.”

The foreign homebuyers ban was launched on Jan. 1, 2023, when the Bank of Canada was aggressively raising interest rates and as other global economic factors weighed on homebuyers.

According to Statistics Canada, non-residents made up a very small fraction of property owners in major markets like Ontario and B.C. in recent years.

Prior to the ban, non-residents in B.C. owned about 4.5 per cent of all properties in 2021, just over four per cent in 2022 and 2023, and 3.8 per cent in 2024.

Geller said that even if the ban is extended, B.C. still has a provincial sales tax of 20 per cent on foreign home buyers.

“So even if this federal ban is removed, a lot of foreign buyers are still going to be deterred by that 20 per cent tax, especially those who might be interested in buying a home to live in as a second home in British Columbia, because in addition to that tax, they would also have to pay the provincial speculation and vacancy tax,” he said.

“And if they’re in Vancouver, there’d be an additional empty home tax. And it’s these taxes which have created so much harm for the industry.”

The new BC Conservative government did not mention the foreign buyers tax or the speculation vacancy tax during the recent provincial election campaign.

Geller said if B.C. removed or modified the taxes, it would be a significant benefit.

“The more we could actually remove some of these taxes, if only for say two year period, I really believe that would spur a lot of new development and we need it,” he added.

-with files from Ariel Rabinovitch

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Jason Maas isn’t losing sleep over who starts at quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday.

Whether it’s Zach Collaros or Dru Brown under centre, the Montreal Alouettes head coach insists his team will be ready for Saturday’s East Division final at Percival Molson Stadium.

“What do I make of it? I mean, I don’t think too much into it,” Maas said of Winnipeg’s apparent QB mind games. “I know what (Collaros) has done for that franchise, and I think if there’s an ounce that he could play, he’s going to be listed as the starter.

“We’ll be ready to play their offence. I can assure you that.”

Collaros sat atop Winnipeg’s quarterback depth chart in Friday’s roster release, but he remained a game-time decision after suffering a rib injury late in the season.

The veteran pivot was initially supposed to ride solo as Winnipeg’s “starting quarterback” at a pre-game press conference, but Brown ultimately joined him on the podium.

“We’ll see how tomorrow goes, how the rest of the day goes,” Collaros said. “I would love to be out there, so if they give the opportunity, they ask me, I’m sure I would say I’m ready to go no matter how I feel.”

Collaros was injured in Winnipeg’s 34-10 win over the B.C. Lions on Oct. 23 and has barely practiced since. The 38-year-old American was limited during a closed practice Wednesday before sitting out Thursday’s session for what he described as a “maintenance kind of thing.”

All signs point to Brown getting the start Saturday afternoon, although Bombers’ head coach Mike O’Shea has until 30 minutes before kickoff to make a call.

And he intends to keep Montreal guessing until the last second.

“This is the way we’ve operated for a long time,” O’Shea said at Olympic Stadium. “You give a veteran player, especially of that calibre, every opportunity to play until he says he can’t.”

Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund said the Bombers’ quarterback uncertainty was of little concern, whether O’Shea is setting a smokescreen or genuinely keeping his options open.

“We don’t care,” said the 30-year-old from Dartmouth, N.S. “You still gotta win the game. Dru’s won them two really tough games. Both playoff games, when you think about it.

“It’s just outside noise. That’s for them. For us, we’re just focusing on playing Montreal Alouettes football.”

Though he threw two interceptions, Brown led the Bombers to a 25-22 comeback win over the Toronto Argonauts in last week’s East Division semifinal, connecting with Nic Demski for a 23-yard touchdown with 44 seconds remaining.

The former Ottawa Redblacks starter is now waiting to find out whether he’ll have a chance to help Winnipeg, which finished fourth in the West, become the first crossover team in CFL history to reach the Grey Cup.

“A football game duration is like three, three and a half hours, roughly, and the only difference is I don’t know if I’ll play or not,” he said impassively. “As long as you’re consistent in the way you prepare, whether you play or not, that helps me sleep well.”

No matter who starts under centre, Montreal has plenty of reasons to feel confident. The Alouettes led the CFL standings at 14-4 — including an undefeated 9-0 record at home — and most sportsbooks list them as 8.5-point favourites.

Quarterback Davis Alexander and receiver Tyson Philpot won the league’s outstanding player and outstanding Canadian awards, respectively, after leading an offence that topped the CFL in yardage. On defence, Montreal surrendered the second-fewest points per game (25.4).

Winnipeg, meanwhile, finished 9-9, scoring the third-fewest points in the league (26.5) while allowing the fifth-most (27.3) in a middling campaign.

Star Canadian running back Brady Oliveira even suggested the Bombers are playing with house money and pinned the pressure on the Alouettes — something Alexander was happy to accept.

“We’ve been the favourite in every single game all year besides one in B.C.,” Alexander said. “If that’s what pressure is, we will take on pressure.”

Maas echoed those words and then some.

“I could care less what Brady… I honestly couldn’t care less what they think,” the fiery coach said. “Our expectation is to go out and win. We have to play extremely well to do that. We know it’s going to be a dogfight, so I couldn’t care less what other people think.

“All the pressure’s on you. Good, put it on us. We put it on ourselves all year.”

Maas and the Alouettes have some East final demons to exorcise at home. In 2024, Montreal also clinched an early bye to the division final, but fell to visiting Toronto after committing six turnovers.

The Bombers have proven they can beat the Alouettes, handing Montreal its first loss of the season on Aug. 28 when Collaros threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns in a 44-28 home win.

Montreal responded with a 37-10 rout at Percival Molson Stadium on Oct. 3 as Brown completed 11 of 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.

The Alouettes don’t know who they’ll face Saturday afternoon, but they’re prepared for either scenario.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The man who carried out a deadly van attack in Toronto eight years ago is no longer challenging his more than two dozen convictions.

Ontario’s top court says Alek Minassian has abandoned the appeal of his convictions on 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 of attempted murder.

Minassian had filed a notice of appeal in July 2022, about a month after he was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

He was also sentenced to 20 years for 15 counts of attempted murder, to be served concurrently.

Eight women and two men died on April 23, 2018, when Minassian — enraged that women wouldn’t sleep with him and radicalized online — deliberately drove a rented van down a crowded sidewalk in his quest for infamy.

He admitted at trial that he planned and executed the attack, but argued that he should be found not criminally responsible due to his autism spectrum disorder.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued Minassian is a mass killer who knew right from wrong and happens to also have autism.

The presiding judge, Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy, rejected the defence’s argument that Minassian never developed empathy as a result of his autism and was unable to make rational decisions.

The 10 people killed in the rampage were Ji Hun Kim, 22; So He Chung, 22; Anne Marie D’Amico, 30; Andrea Bradden, 33; Chul Min “Eddie” Kang, 45; Renuka Amarasingha, 45; Dorothy Sewell, 80; Geraldine Brady, 83; Munir Najjar, 85; and Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Forsyth, 94.

Another victim, Amaresh Tesfamariam, died in 2021 from injuries sustained in the attack.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press