Afternoon front page: Google reviews of Canadian hospitals mostly negative; Carney’s vanishing conditions for recognizing a Palestinian state; and more

Patient feedback in the Google review comments involving Canadian acute care hospitals ranged from “the most frustrating experience in my life” to “great care and attentive physicians and staff.” Photo by Peter Power/Postmedia News

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It’s Friday, August 7. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

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About half of Google reviews of Canadian hospitals are negative, study finds

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Because people with a negative experience are more likely to leave an online review, the results are not a fully representative sample of the patients treated in hospitals, said a lead author of the study. And three-quarters of the reviews were “actionable,” he added, meaning they could be used to meaningfully improve care on the ground.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand listens as Prime Minister Mark Carney announces that Canada will recognize a State of Palestine in September 2025, providing the Palestinian Authority makes significant reforms and holds an election in 2026. Photo by Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images

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Matthew Taub: A year later, what happened to Carney’s conditions for recognizing Palestine?

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“Ottawa has still not demonstrated that Carney’s predicates were ever genuine conditions. Canada granted recognition first and left elections, reform and demilitarization for later. Conditions that do not have to be met are not conditions. They are political cover,” Taub states.

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A screenshot from an online video posted by the Edmonton Police Service that encourages citizens to report hate. Photo by Edmonton Police Service/Instagram

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Rob Breakenridge: Cops have better things to do than police social media

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“There’s an important distinction to be made between criminal threats or promoting hatred, and offensive, yet non-criminal, comments, jokes or insults. It’s strange that this would have to be pointed out,” says Breakenridge. “If we allow non-criminal matters to become the purview of the police, we’re putting ourselves on a worrisome path.”

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“I really felt like the Liberal Party had not reconciled enough with its past,” says Eric Lombardi, who is running for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. Photo by John Lappa/Sudbury Star/Postmedia/File

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Scott Stinson: Meet the outsider Ontario Liberal candidate who says the party has lost its way

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Stinson profiles Eric Lombardi, a “classic outsider candidate” for the leadership of the Ontario Liberals, who is willing to criticize those that have gone before him instead of making his entire campaign about the evils of Premier Doug Ford. “We’re losing the foundation of liberal values in the small-L sense, and I think that there’s an appetite for change, something different,” Lombardi says.

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A large crowd at the Edmonton Heritage Festival at Hawrelak Park on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. Photo by Greg Southam/Postmedia

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Man arrested after knife attack at Israeli tent in Edmonton Heritage Festival

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Social media footage showed the shadow of an individual attempting to slash an Israeli tent with a knife. The video then cut to security officers detaining the assailant in the main festival area, as chants of “All the Zionists are racists” were heard in the background.

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“I want everybody, Jew and non-Jew alike, to tell the world we’re not going to cower,” says Jack Berkovits. Photo by Handout

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Toronto jeweller offers free Star of David necklaces to Jews, others

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“I’m of the opinion that the vast majority of people in Toronto do not hate us, and certainly not to the point where they want us to leave or they want us to die,” Jack Berkovits of Omni Jewelcrafters said. But for some Jews, wearing Judaica or not is sometimes a matter of discretion. “There is a difference between being cautious and being ashamed,” says one man.

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