By Canadian Press

Year in review: A look at news events in May 2022

Dec 16, 2022 | 8:22 AM

A look at news events in May 2022:

1 – Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said Canada’s residential school system was a cultural genocide. And after listening to residential school survivors share their stories during his visit to Saskatchewan’s James Smith Cree Nation, the head of the Anglican Church said he could understand why many survivors feel it was an actual genocide. Welby apologized that the church allowed “terrible crime” to happen at the schools.

3 – The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the authenticity of a leaked draft opinion suggesting the court may be poised to overturn the landmark case that legalized abortion nationwide. John Roberts ordered an investigation into who what he called an egregious breach of trust. 

4 – More than 100 Canadian boxers were calling for the resignation of Boxing Canada’s high performance director Daniel Trepanier. The athletes wanted an independent investigation into the sport’s culture and safe sport practice. In a letter to Sport Canada, they said Boxing Canada had cultivated a toxic culture of fear and silence. The athletes said a comprehensive collection of boxers’ experiences was submitted to Boxing Canada’s board of directors last year, and no formal investigation was launched to look into allegations.

6 – Mattea Roach, a 23-year-old tutor from Toronto, had her winning streak on “Jeopardy!” snapped at 23. She lost the game by only one dollar. 

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8 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reopened Canada’s embassy in Kyiv in an unannounced visit to Ukraine, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in person for the first time since Russia began its invasion in late February. Appearing with Zelenskyy at a news conference, Trudeau expressed unwavering support for the embattled country. He also announced $50 million in new Canadian military support for Ukraine, including drone cameras, satellite imagery, small arms and ammunition, as well as funding for demining operations. 

11 – A federal study revealed that the U.S. government supported more than 400 Native American boarding schools that for over a century sought to assimilate Indigenous children into white society. It also identified more than 50 associated burial sites, a figure that could grow exponentially as research continues. The investigation had so far turned up over 500 deaths at 19 schools, though the Interior Department said that number could climb to the thousands or even tens of thousands.

12 – Anti-abortion demonstrators by the thousands hit Parliament Hill. The annual rally was held as debate renewed after a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft decision that would overturn the landmark 1973 case in the U.S. on abortion rights. 

13 – A 21-year-old Russian soldier was on trial in Kyiv for the killing of an unarmed Ukrainian civilian. It was the first war crime prosecution of a member of the Russian military after 11 weeks of bloodshed in Ukraine. The captured soldier was accused of shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the head through an open car window during the first days of the war.

15 – David Milgaard, the victim of one of Canada’s most notorious miscarriages of justice, died at 69. Milgaard was only 16 when he was charged in the murder of Saskatoon nursing aide Gail Miller and spent 23 years in prison on a wrongful conviction.  

16 – The COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. hit one million. 

18 – The 21-year-old Russian soldier on trial in Kyiv pleaded guilty to killing a Ukrainian man in the early days of the invasion. 

18 – Parliament created a day to recognize the genocide of Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Lawmakers unanimously adopted a motion to make May 18 of each year Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. 

18 – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney stepped down as leader of the United Conservative Party. Kenney said the 51.4 per cent support he garnered in a leadership review was not what he hoped for or expected. Kenney won enough votes to keep his job as leader, but left questions about how many party and government members would continue to follow him.

19 – The U.S. Soccer Federation reached milestone agreements to pay its men’s and women’s teams equally. The American national governing body became the first in the sport to promise completely matching compensation. The move ended years of often acrimonious negotiations.

19 – The federal government banned Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE from the 5G network after other countries made the same decision. Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the government would also introduce new legislation to protect critical infrastructure. China’s ambassador to Canada warned in 2021 the country would pay a price for blocking Huawei. 

19 – The Public Health Agency of Canada said two cases of monkeypox in Quebec were the first confirmed cases in the country. 

20 – Russia claimed to have captured Mariupol. The report came after a nearly three-month siege that reduced much of the strategic Ukrainian port city to a smoking ruin and over 20,000 civilians were feared dead. 

21 – Australia’s centre-left opposition party toppled the Conservative government. Prime minister-elect Anthony Albanese used his election victory speech to promise sharper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. He also acknowledged Indigenous People’s rights. 

21 – Canada’s trade minister and trade ministers from four other countries walked out of an APEC economic meeting in Bangkok when Russia’s minister got up to speak, a protest against the invasion of Ukraine. 

23 – The Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a Ukrainian civilian was sentenced to life in prison. The sentencing came as the Kremlin mulled holding trials of its own, particularly against the captured Ukrainian fighters who held out at Mariupol’s steel plant. 

24 – Defence Minister Anita Anand announced up to $98 million in new military aid for Ukraine. She said the government had bought more than 20,000 rounds of 155-millimetre artillery — rounds that are compatible with guns that Canada and its allies had already provided to Kyiv. 

24 – Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in a deadly elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Authorities identified 18-year-old Salvador Ramos as the suspected shooter. 

26 – Canada Soccer cancelled a planned friendly match with Iran in the face of growing criticism. The governing body gave no reason for the cancellation of the game scheduled for June 5 in Vancouver. But the idea had drawn criticism since it was first announced, given the Canadians who died on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. The plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile minutes after taking off from Tehran in January 2020.

27 – The World Health Organization said nearly 200 cases of monkeypox had been reported in more than 20 countries not usually known to have outbreaks of the disease. 

30 – Retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour called for major changes in the Canadian Armed Forces following decades of scandals and criticism. Her yearlong review found dramatic changes were needed to how the military recruits, trains and promotes members, and the way sexual harassment and assault cases are reported, monitored and handled. Arbour made 48 recommendations. 

30 – The federal Liberals tabled gun control legislation that included a national freeze on handguns. The government said they can’t be bought, sold, traded or imported. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the bill would also take away gun licences from people involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, such as stalking. The government also planned to fight gun smuggling and trafficking by increasing criminal penalties.

31 – European Union leaders reached a compromise to impose a partial oil embargo on Russian oil imports into the bloc. The embargo covered Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing a temporary exemption for imports delivered by pipeline. That was crucial to bringing landlocked Hungary on board a decision that required consensus. The agreement covered more than two-thirds of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine.

31 – Auditor general Karen Hogan released a scathing indictment of Veterans Affairs Canada. She said the federal government was failing to keep its promise to care for veterans and called for a real plan to ensure that sick and injured ex-soldiers aren’t forced to wait months and years for the support they need. 

The Canadian Press