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The reporter acted badly after he was bumped into four or five times. As much as both the fire chief and the Bylaw Enforcement officer were in the wrong, the reporter loses credibility when he reacts.Drag Queen event becomes verbal clash between fire captain and journalist
Goodwill and a show of decency from all would have gone a long way to de-escalate incident
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Jun 01, 2026 • 4 minute read
Drag Queen event poster
A poster for the Drag Queen event at the public library in Cannington that ended up in a verbal clash between a fire captain and an independent journalist who was cover the event. Photo by FACEBOOK
Drag performers. A fire captain. An independent journalist and a bylaw officer.
Welcome to Cannington, Ont., where there was no fire Saturday.
But there were fireworks.
If in Ontario the law allows a public library to have children read stories by men dressed up to look like women, it should also be legal for journalists to cover it. Sometimes, however, things are not so simple in today’s complicated world. Sometimes these lines get blurred and there is confusion about just what the rules are and what they are not.
Sometimes tempers flare. This is what happened in Brock Township in Durham Region on Saturday. It’s not always quiet in a small town. May 30 in quaint Cannington, Ont., is proof of that. The stage for creating drama was both inside and outside the family-friendly ‘Drag Queen Storytime’ event at the Timothy Findley Memorial Branch of the Brock Township Public Library.
Harsh words exchanged
It seemed to all stem from an independent journalist trying to film what appears to be a progressive Pride flag on both the door of an ambulance parked in front of the fire hall next to the library and a smaller version of the same flag tucked into the uniform of a bylaw and animal control officer.
At that point, a fire captain, who identified himself as Christopher George, is seen on video with a cup of coffee in one hand, approaching the photographer and appearing to walk toward him in a robust manner to get him to leave the property. There were harsh words between the two men — including each threatening to have the other arrested.
“I am sorry you are so full of hate, so full of anger,” the fire captain said to the journalist. “It must be hard to live a life like that.”
The photographer is heard to use foul language in the interaction but did not appear to breaking any laws. There was also a verbal exchange between the person filming and a bylaw officer who indicated could be “trespassed” because he was a “public nuisance.”
But on social media, the Truth North Transparency X account, which displays other interactions with law enforcement and states “I am a public photographer who exposed the entitlement and ignorance of those who surround us everyday,” posted about this incident with the comment “while filming outside of a Drag Queen Story Time” he said he was assaulted.
No comment from police
Durham Regional Police have so far not commented if they are investigating this allegation.
The mayor of the Township of Brock, however, said he is looking into this.
“I have just learned of this incident as it just came to my attention this Saturday afternoon,” Brock Township’s Mayor Michael Jubb told the Toronto Sun. “I will be speaking to Township staff about the incident and seek further details. From that we will decide on and take steps to address the incident accordingly.”
He will have the advantage of having his own video footage to study since Sarah Jones, manager of bylaw and animal services, is seen saying she has a full recording of what happened there on her body camera.
There are different points of view on what transpired. Whatever your opinion, one key point is that no law prohibits anyone from filming on public property. If there is a dispute about whether the person is on public or private property, it becomes a police matter.
This was the event the public library in Cannington that resulted in harsh words between a fire captain and an independent journalist who was in town to cover the event -- Facebook
This was the event the public library in Cannington that resulted in harsh words between a fire captain and an independent journalist who was in town to cover the event. FACEBOOK
The minute you start pushing somebody back, it could become a charter of rights issue. Usually, a middle ground can be found. For example, one could politely ask the person to please stand on the sidewalk and film from there. In a free society, as much as someone may not want to be photographed, it’s not within their purview to remove or stop a corporate, state or independent journalist from documenting the moment.
Police run into this problem, too. They set up boundaries and zones, but in the end, as long as they are lawful, the photographer or videographer has the same right to be there as everybody else at the event. When someone uses profanity or shows disrespect to a person in uniform, there also must be a reminder that the person they are insulting is a human being, as well, and also on the clock and doing what they believe to be their job.
Respect must go both ways. De-escalation is always better than conflict. Sometimes, there’s opportunity for all sides to get what they want with no hard feelings. But there are people who foster conflict to get clicks on social media — just as there are some in uniform quick to exercise their authority. But there is no one better or more important than anybody else at something like this.
Mutual respect needed
Just different perspectives. There should be room for all opinions, with no power games. Just mutual respect.
Mostly, people on all sides just want to find a way to do what they are being paid to do and without incident. It would have been a better approach in Cannington to politely ask the videographer to cover the story from the sidewalk and for him to do that. Perhaps from this video, there could be lessons learned and new approaches tried. If so, it might not make great material for social media.
But goodwill lasts longer than a post on X.
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WARMINGTON: Drag Queen event becomes verbal clash between fire captain and journalist
A 'Drag Queen Storytime' event in Cannington, Ont. led to a heated exchange between a fire captain and and independent journalist. Read on.torontosun.com
Whatever happened to grabbing a couple of 24s and going separate ways , forgetting everything the next morning .
Here’s a weird one. The conflation of sex — a fixed biological reality — with gender is why we are in this absurd situation to begin with. Sex is definable, distinct, and a protected characteristic in Canada’s charter. “Gender,” whatever that happens to mean to whoever utters the word, is not. The AHRC similarly conflated “sex” and “gender” in dismissing Lowrey’s complaint.
In an affidavit filed with her application for judicial review, Lowrey described entering the Bonnie Doon female change room with her daughter only to find “a bald man wearing only a black thong outlining his penis and a pair of artificial rubber breasts slung around his neck.” Lowrey wrote that she wound up calling police after the leisure centre staff told her that the person in the thong was perfectly entitled to be in the women’s area, fetish gear and all.
apple.news
It is a direct threat to women and girls for the city to say I have to see his penis and his fetish gear, let him look at me and my girl child if we change, and if we feel frightened our only alternative is to just stop using the facility. This denies us a public service on the basis of our female sex” claimed academic Kathleen Lowrey, whom a the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) refusal to hear a complaint about women’s sex-based rights, twice, before the City of Edmonton also dismissed her and her claim on a technicality. The entire case is dead.
Lowrey, who is not a lawyer and is self-represented, filed her application against the AHRC alone. She argued that she merely wanted her original complaint to be heard. In a written statement she prepared for the application hearing, and provided to the Post, she argued that “the relief (she is) seeking in (her) originating application is not from Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre and/or the City of Edmonton. It is simply for the AHRC to hear (her) arguments.”
In an affidavit filed with her application for judicial review, Lowrey described entering the Bonnie Doon female change room with her daughter only to find “a bald man wearing only a black thong outlining his penis and a pair of artificial rubber breasts slung around his neck.” Lowrey wrote that she wound up calling police after the leisure centre staff told her that the person in the thong was perfectly entitled to be in the women’s area, fetish gear and all.
Amy Hamm: Court letting 'fetish gear' in woman's changeroom conflates sex, gender — National Post
Edmonton judge won't force Alberta Human Rights Commission to hear case
Lowrey, who is not a lawyer and is self-represented, filed her application against the AHRC alone. She argued that she merely wanted her original complaint to be heard. In a written statement she prepared for the application hearing, and provided to the Post, she argued that “the relief (she is) seeking in (her) originating application is not from Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre and/or the City of Edmonton. It is simply for the AHRC to hear (her) arguments.”
This is truly sick!!Here’s a weird one. The conflation of sex — a fixed biological reality — with gender is why we are in this absurd situation to begin with. Sex is definable, distinct, and a protected characteristic in Canada’s charter. “Gender,” whatever that happens to mean to whoever utters the word, is not. The AHRC similarly conflated “sex” and “gender” in dismissing Lowrey’s complaint.
In an affidavit filed with her application for judicial review, Lowrey described entering the Bonnie Doon female change room with her daughter only to find “a bald man wearing only a black thong outlining his penis and a pair of artificial rubber breasts slung around his neck.” Lowrey wrote that she wound up calling police after the leisure centre staff told her that the person in the thong was perfectly entitled to be in the women’s area, fetish gear and all.
It is a direct threat to women and girls for the city to say I have to see his penis and his fetish gear, let him look at me and my girl child if we change, and if we feel frightened our only alternative is to just stop using the facility. This denies us a public service on the basis of our female sex” claimed academic Kathleen Lowrey, whom a the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) refusal to hear a complaint about women’s sex-based rights, twice, before the City of Edmonton also dismissed her and her claim on a technicality. The entire case is dead.Amy Hamm: Court letting 'fetish gear' in woman's changeroom conflates sex, gender — National Post
Edmonton judge won't force Alberta Human Rights Commission to hear case
Lowrey, who is not a lawyer and is self-represented, filed her application against the AHRC alone. She argued that she merely wanted her original complaint to be heard. In a written statement she prepared for the application hearing, and provided to the Post, she argued that “the relief (she is) seeking in (her) originating application is not from Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre and/or the City of Edmonton. It is simply for the AHRC to hear (her) arguments.”
Self-pitying Burlington couple who murdered boy, 12, sentenced to life in prison
The months-long court proceedings were also an indictment of child services in two different jurisdictions
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Jul 03, 2026 • Last updated 10 hours ago • 3 minute read
Brandy Cooney, left, and Becky Hamber
Brandy Cooney, left, and Becky Hamber on their 2014 wedding day. Photo by FACEBOOK
A Burlington couple convicted of first-degree murder in the horrific abuse death of their adopted son was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Numerous victim impact statements left the Milton courtroom in tears as twisted Becky Hamber, 47, and Brandy Cooney, 45, of Burlington finally faced the music.
While the lesbian couple will serve the time, the months-long court proceedings were also an indictment of child services in two different jurisdictions.
‘Hated and resented the children’
“This is a highly aggravating case,” Justice Clayton Conlan told the court, adding Cooney and Hamber’s moral blameworthiness is “as high as could possibly be imagined.”
In May, the couple was found guilty of murder, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and failure to provide the necessaries of life at a judge-alone trial. Conlan said at the time the pair “hated and resented the children”
On Dec. 21, 2022, a 12-year-old boy – identified only as L.L. – died of malnourishment at the Burlington home where he lived with Hamber, Cooney and his brother, J.L., who testified the siblings were made to wear wetsuits.
Brandy Cooney is the first of the two Burlington mothers on trial for murder to take the stand in her own defence. Read on.
Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney. FACEBOOK
Hamber and Cooney were trying to adopt the boys.
Throughout the emotional trial, court heard about the harrowing abuse the two Indigenous boys endured, although Hamber and Cooney denied their heritage.
“The life of one young child has been snuffed out at the hands of these offenders,” Conlan said, adding J.L.’s life has been altered forever.
While the life sentences without parole for first-degree murder were automatic, Conlan also sentenced the duo to three years for forcible confinement, two years for assault with a weapon, and five years for failure to provide the necessities of life.
An unidentified boy walking on stairs.
The boys under the care of Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney were forced to do stair climbs. Photo by Court evidence
Emotional victim impact statements
The sentences will be served concurrently to their 25 year sentences.
Among those who read victim impact statements were J.L., the boys’ former foster mother and their biological mother.
Hamber and Cooney also addressed the court, triggering widespread discomfort. Mostly, it seemed, they felt sorry for themselves.
Addressing Cooney, Hamber said: “None of this is what we planned for, but we are still blessed in many ways. We have the truth always.”
Brandy Cooney, left, and Becky Hamber and pictured in a GoFundMe image.
Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney are pictured in a GoFundMe image.
And she apologized for the harm she caused, cloaking the torture death in the guise of “good intentions.”
Hamber added in her stomach-churning ode to Cooney that she looked forward to their future – together. She also said she was made to look “evil and psychotic.”
“Justice has not been served here overall,” Hamber sniffed.
Cooney also obfuscated and minimized her role in the ghastly tragedy. She read a poem and described her circumstances as Kafkaesque.
‘Wrongful conviction doesn’t help’
“Trauma and grief affect my everyday life” Cooney moaned, describing her ordeal as a “political bureaucracy nightmare.”
Only Cooney and her wife, she stated, are still fighting for the boys.
“Wrongful conviction doesn’t help J.L.,” she added, saying she hopes witnesses will come forward to free herself and Hamber.
After reading a poem to J.L. over the Crown’s objections, groans filled the courtroom. One of L.L.’s teachers, Sara Biasetti told CBC News outside the courthouse she found it “sickening” to listen to the killer couple.
‘Fed off each other’
Victim impact statements were packed with anger and emotion, with Hamber and Cooney described as “sadistic” people who “fed off each other.”
Hamber’s lawyer Monte MacGregor said outside court his client was entitled to appeal but he typically did not do them. The highly-regarded legal eagle said he hoped all parties with a hand in this human disaster are held accountable.
But he didn’t think Hamber’s denial of her guilt and responsibility would be particularly helpful to any future parole gambit, although it is her right.
When the long ordeal whimpered to its conclusion, cops led Hamber and Cooney out of the courtroom to begin serving their life sentences.
One person in the gallery waved at the pair and offered a bitter, “bye bye.”
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
torontosun.com
The months-long court proceedings were also an indictment of child services in two different jurisdictions
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Jul 03, 2026 • Last updated 10 hours ago • 3 minute read
Brandy Cooney, left, and Becky Hamber
Brandy Cooney, left, and Becky Hamber on their 2014 wedding day. Photo by FACEBOOK
A Burlington couple convicted of first-degree murder in the horrific abuse death of their adopted son was sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Numerous victim impact statements left the Milton courtroom in tears as twisted Becky Hamber, 47, and Brandy Cooney, 45, of Burlington finally faced the music.
While the lesbian couple will serve the time, the months-long court proceedings were also an indictment of child services in two different jurisdictions.
‘Hated and resented the children’
“This is a highly aggravating case,” Justice Clayton Conlan told the court, adding Cooney and Hamber’s moral blameworthiness is “as high as could possibly be imagined.”
In May, the couple was found guilty of murder, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and failure to provide the necessaries of life at a judge-alone trial. Conlan said at the time the pair “hated and resented the children”
On Dec. 21, 2022, a 12-year-old boy – identified only as L.L. – died of malnourishment at the Burlington home where he lived with Hamber, Cooney and his brother, J.L., who testified the siblings were made to wear wetsuits.
Brandy Cooney is the first of the two Burlington mothers on trial for murder to take the stand in her own defence. Read on.
Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney. FACEBOOK
Hamber and Cooney were trying to adopt the boys.
Throughout the emotional trial, court heard about the harrowing abuse the two Indigenous boys endured, although Hamber and Cooney denied their heritage.
“The life of one young child has been snuffed out at the hands of these offenders,” Conlan said, adding J.L.’s life has been altered forever.
While the life sentences without parole for first-degree murder were automatic, Conlan also sentenced the duo to three years for forcible confinement, two years for assault with a weapon, and five years for failure to provide the necessities of life.
An unidentified boy walking on stairs.
The boys under the care of Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney were forced to do stair climbs. Photo by Court evidence
Emotional victim impact statements
The sentences will be served concurrently to their 25 year sentences.
Among those who read victim impact statements were J.L., the boys’ former foster mother and their biological mother.
Hamber and Cooney also addressed the court, triggering widespread discomfort. Mostly, it seemed, they felt sorry for themselves.
Addressing Cooney, Hamber said: “None of this is what we planned for, but we are still blessed in many ways. We have the truth always.”
Brandy Cooney, left, and Becky Hamber and pictured in a GoFundMe image.
Becky Hamber and Brandy Cooney are pictured in a GoFundMe image.
And she apologized for the harm she caused, cloaking the torture death in the guise of “good intentions.”
Hamber added in her stomach-churning ode to Cooney that she looked forward to their future – together. She also said she was made to look “evil and psychotic.”
“Justice has not been served here overall,” Hamber sniffed.
Cooney also obfuscated and minimized her role in the ghastly tragedy. She read a poem and described her circumstances as Kafkaesque.
‘Wrongful conviction doesn’t help’
“Trauma and grief affect my everyday life” Cooney moaned, describing her ordeal as a “political bureaucracy nightmare.”
Only Cooney and her wife, she stated, are still fighting for the boys.
“Wrongful conviction doesn’t help J.L.,” she added, saying she hopes witnesses will come forward to free herself and Hamber.
After reading a poem to J.L. over the Crown’s objections, groans filled the courtroom. One of L.L.’s teachers, Sara Biasetti told CBC News outside the courthouse she found it “sickening” to listen to the killer couple.
‘Fed off each other’
Victim impact statements were packed with anger and emotion, with Hamber and Cooney described as “sadistic” people who “fed off each other.”
Hamber’s lawyer Monte MacGregor said outside court his client was entitled to appeal but he typically did not do them. The highly-regarded legal eagle said he hoped all parties with a hand in this human disaster are held accountable.
But he didn’t think Hamber’s denial of her guilt and responsibility would be particularly helpful to any future parole gambit, although it is her right.
When the long ordeal whimpered to its conclusion, cops led Hamber and Cooney out of the courtroom to begin serving their life sentences.
One person in the gallery waved at the pair and offered a bitter, “bye bye.”
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
Self-pitying Burlington couple who murdered boy, 12, sentenced to life in prison
A Burlington couple convicted of first-degree murder in the deadly abuse of their adopted son was sentenced to life in prison. Read more.
