Durham police officer charged with assault after incident during arrest - CP24

Durham Regional Police say an officer on the force has been charged in connection with an incident that occurred on-duty, during an arrest. Const. Brandon Welsh Battiste from West Division has been charged with one count of assault. He has served with Durham police for three years.

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Published: October 16, 2026 at 10:34a.m. EDTDurham police say nearly 500 arrests have been made along with more than 800 criminal charges targeting a network of individuals, including repeat offenders involved in “criminal activity” throughout downtown Oshawa. The months long operation, dubbed Project Atlantis 2, ran from April through September 2026 and focused on theft, stolen property, illicit drugs and “other actions contributing to community disorder” in the downtown core. How to set CP24 as your preferred source on GoogleHow to set CTV News as your preferred source on GoogleSpeaking at a news conference on Friday, Durham police Insp. Jeff Hoover said officers made 490 arrests involving 224 individuals, laid 808 criminal charges and issued 406 provincial offence notices. “Those numbers are significant, but they also provide important insight into the type of activity our officers were encountering,” Hoover said.

On Monday, Albertans vote on whether to stay in Canada or hold another binding referendum on quitting Canada. If the vote goes as polls suggest, a majority of Albertans will mark an X to stay in Confederation, and Premier Danielle Smith has said if that’s so, she expects everyone to accept it and move on. Leaders of the independence movement contest that. And political watchers are divided about whether separation — previously a fringe sentiment — will now be a prominent, permanent feature of Alberta’s political landscape, as in Quebec. Julian Castro-Rea, a political-science professor at the University of Alberta who studies the separation debates in Quebec and Alberta, believes as long as Alberta feels alienated from the Canadian capital — feeling that Ottawa benefits from Alberta’s resource economy without giving back — the movement will have fuel. “Even if the referendum is lost, the westernization will still be around, because it’s kind of a way which, traditionally, Albertans have related to the rest of Canada,” says Castro-Rea, who believes western alienation may remain indefinitely. Story continues below advertisement

It’s no secret the long-held Canadian consensus on immigration has fractured — pulled apart by a rapid increase in new arrivals post-pandemic and growing affordability challenges. Now, that fracture is starting to show up at the ballot box. The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Quebec on a platform that included promises of tighter immigration controls, which the party linked to protecting French culture and easing pressure on public services and housing. And when Albertans head to the polls Monday to vote on whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, they’ll also be answering five separate questions on immigration being pushed by the government of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Those questions include:— Should the province should have more say over economic immigration?— Should provincially funded services should be restricted to citizens, permanent residents and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status? Story continues below advertisement