Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada’s next governor general, Louise Arbour, in Ottawa on May 5, 2026. [Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press]

Law and order: Louise Arbour, Canada’s next governor general and former war crimes prosecutor, brings hope for peace

STORY BY RICHARD FOOT

The Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders were a turning point in history. They marked not only the end of the Second World War, but the hopeful beginnings of the postwar, rules-based international order.

More than a half-century later, the idea that the conduct of governments and armies should be subject to international law arguably reached its high point with the 1999 indictment of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević—the first time a sitting head of state had ever been indicted for war crimes by an international tribunal.

The lawyer behind that historic indictment was Canadian Louise Arbour, then chief prosecutor for the United Nations International War Crimes Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

As Canadians learned last week, Arbour’s latest undertaking will be serving as Canada’s 31st governor general.

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A recent aerial view of the former cafeteria building of WW II PoW Camp 30 near Bowmanville, Ont. [Jury Lands Foundation]

Marilyn Morawetz on a campaign to preserve Canada’s last surviving WW II prisoner-of-war camp

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

A community campaign to save Canada’s last surviving WW II-era prisoner-of-war camp has reached a new milestone, according to its stewards.

The historic Camp 30 site in Bowmanville, Ont., has languished for years due to various complications. Now, plans are underway to preserve its former cafeteria building after the local council approved fundraising efforts, effectively saving it from demolition.

Approximately $1.6 million will be required to complete the initial phase of the project being spearheaded by the Jury Lands Foundation. Established in 2014, the non-profit organization strives to protect as much of the aging property as possible, recognizing its infamy for the so-called Battle of Bowmanville, where German prisoners revolted against Canadian guards.

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