Corruption is Everywhere > Anti-corruption blogger murdered in China; Toronto cop at center of corruption investigation

 

Chinese anti-scam blogger killed by criminals hired online to silence his work

Phoebe Zhangin Shenzhen

Published: 2:30pm, 28 Oct 2026  Updated: 8:18pm, 28 Oct 2026

A Chinese investigative blogger who exposed telecoms fraud and other illegal activity was killed by criminals hired on social media, according to media reports, prompting calls for heavier punishment for the perpetrators.

The body of Wu Kai, who used the name “Huijian” on social media and had written for years about telecoms fraud in Southeast Asia, was discovered in southern China in November 2024. His death and details of the case were revealed this week.

In August 2024, Wu accused Liu Ren – a central figure in a conglomerate masterminded by Chinese tycoon Chen Zhi – of being a casino loan shark, beating someone to death, extorting protection fees from shops, operating telecoms fraud compounds and engaging in armed transnational crimes, according to a Jiemian News report on Tuesday.

Chinese state-media documentary offers behind-the-scenes look at scam centre crackdown

Liu was extradited from Cambodia to China in June this year. A police statement at the time said he had been ordered by Chen in 2016 to found a group called Jinbei, which operated telecoms fraud compounds in Cambodia and carried out fraud involving “extremely large amounts” of money starting in 2020.

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Toronto cop at centre of Project South corruption investigation denied bail for a 3rd time

Const. Timothy Barnhardt has been in custody since his arrest in early February

Nicole Brockbank · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2026 1:37 PM PDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes ago

A Toronto police officer described as the “genesis” of the Project South corruption investigation was denied bail for a third time Friday afternoon in Toronto.

Justice Philip Campbell made his ruling in Ontario Superior Court following a mandatory detention review hearing held earlier this week. 

Const. Timothy Barnhardt, 56, has been in custody since his arrest in early February.

The judge's reasons for his decision and details from the hearing are protected under a routine publication ban aimed at ensuring Barnhardt's right to a fair trial.

Barnhardt, 56, will remain in custody while facing 10 charges — the most of any of the seven Toronto police officers and one retired officer arrested in the police corruption and organized crime investigation led by York Regional Police. Two of the officers charged have since pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

• Vaughan real estate agent pleads guilty to extortion plot in Project South case

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The allegations against Barnhardt include trafficking police uniforms and drugs, supporting illegal cannabis dispensaries by accepting bribes in exchange for protecting against police investigation, and releasing confidential information to criminals, which police say helped facilitate targeted shootings.

None of the charges against Barnhardt and the others accused in Project South have been tested in court. 

In addition to the police officers, 20 civilians were charged in connection with the sweeping probe that began in June 2025 after York police officers uncovered an alleged conspiracy to kill a senior corrections officer at Toronto South Detention Centre. The charge against one civilian has since been stayed. Another pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this week. 

Brian Da Costa, a civilian and alleged drug trafficker charged in Project South, also remains in custody. (Pam Davies/CBC)

Investigators allege Barnhardt accessed private information about the senior corrections officer and provided it to a civilian, Brian Da Costa, who was then accused of releasing it to others charged in the murder plot. 

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  Toronto cop charged in Project South allegedly didn't care if selling information harmed people

From there, police-intercepted communications revealed to investigators that Barnhardt "routinely sold confidential database information to known criminal associate Da Costa, often at Da Costa's direction," according to an information to obtain (ITO) application filed in the case.

Barnhardt was previously denied bail in April, following a Superior Court review of the original decision to deny him bail soon after his arrest.

MAiD in Canada > Liberal Minister makes good decision regarding MAiD, but is it for the right reason or is he playing politics with Life and Death?

 

Ottawa Indefinitely Extends MAID Exclusion for Those Whose Sole Condition Is Mental Illness

Minister of Justice Sean Fraser arrives to a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 25, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Matthew Horwood

10/7/2026|Updated: 10/7/2026

The federal government will table legislation to indefinitely exclude people whose sole medical condition is a mental illness from receiving medical assistance in dying (MAID), Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced on Oct. 7.

Fraser said the decision reflected the recommendations of a special parliamentary committee on MAID, which recommended that people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness remain excluded from eligibility.

“It also reflects the engagement that I’ve had, that my department has had over the course of my time in this particular position. While there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach at this particular time,” Fraser said.

The committee studying MAID expansion had concluded that the “evidentiary and systemic conditions necessary for safe and equitable implementation cannot presently be met.” It cited challenges in determining whether a mental illness is irremediable, a shortage of mental health services for Canadians, and concerns that the expansion could disproportionately affect women.

Fraser said the federal government will table legislation in the fall that would maintain the exclusion of people whose sole medical condition is a mental illness from MAID indefinitely.

Under the current law, the exclusion is set to expire on March 17, 2027, after being extended twice following concerns from provinces, territories, and health-care stakeholders that more time was needed to prepare the health-care system for the complex assessments and cases involved.

The justice minister also said Liberal MPs would vote later in the day against Conservative MP Tamara Jansen’s private member’s Bill C-218, which would prevent the expansion of MAID to people whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental disorder. Fraser said the government shared Jansen’s view on maintaining the exclusion but had concerns that the bill’s wording could “close off access to people who suffer from serious degenerative neurological disorders.”

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Fraser said the legislation the government plans to introduce on MAID would permit advance requests for Canadians diagnosed with serious illnesses who may lose the capacity to consent in the future.

He said provinces would be able to decide whether to allow advance MAID requests. Quebec already permits advance requests under provincial legislation for people with serious and incurable illnesses, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

When asked by reporters whether Canadians with a mental illness seeking MAID could take the issue to the Supreme Court, Fraser said that if such a case arose, “we would respect what decisions that they take.”

The justice minister was also asked whether the federal government would consider further restrictions on MAID, given that a bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales was recently defeated in the House of Commons.

“At present, I don’t anticipate that there’s going to be further restrictions,” Fraser said.

The Conservative Party has opposed the expansion of MAID and called for stronger federal monitoring and public reporting, minimum national standards for oversight, updated guidance and training, and a review of the effectiveness and enforceability of existing MAID safeguards.

The Conservatives have also highlighted cases in which disabled Canadians and veterans were allegedly offered MAID without requesting it. Several veterans have provided testimony at parliamentary committees saying they were offered the procedure unprompted. Other concerns have been raised about whether MAID has been provided in cases where patients did not meet the eligibility requirements.

Jansen told reporters she was “extremely disappointed” that Liberal MPs planned to vote against Bill C-218 and characterized it as a “political game.” She said the Conservatives were willing to work with the government on the wording of her bill.

“We’ve said, ‘Hey, if you want to change it, we’re willing to do that.’ And now all of a sudden, that’s the reason why they can’t go forward with supporting C-218,” she said.

Speaking alongside Jansen on Oct. 7 on Parliament Hill, Conservative MP Michael Cooper expressed his disapproval of the Liberals’ proposal to allow advance MAID requests for individuals with serious degenerative neurological disorders. He described Fraser’s latest announcement as “playing politics with life and death.”

“The minister has quite deliberately tried to tie in to—where there is clear consensus, where there is a clear path, which is to put an indefinite pause—an entirely new issue, which are advance requests,” Cooper said.

The federal government legalized MAID in 2016 after Parliament passed Bill C-14, amending the Criminal Code in response to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that found the existing prohibition on assisted dying unconstitutional. Parliament expanded MAID eligibility in 2021 through Bill C-7 to include people whose natural death is not “reasonably foreseeable.”

Since MAID was legalized in Canada, 76,475 people have received euthanasia, according to the latest available Health Canada data for 2024.

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