Thousands of Quebecers still in the dark as utility restores power after storm
MONTREAL (CP) – The lights are back on across much of Quebec, but just under 18,000 residents are still without power two days after the remnants of tropical storm Debby dumped record-breaking amounts of rain on the province.
An outage map from Hydro-Québec shows roughly 12,000 customers in the Eastern Townships, just under 3,000 in Montreal and nearly 700 in the Mauricie region are still without power as of 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning, but those numbers are down from some 55,000, 75,000 and 6,500 respectively on Friday.
The historic deluge knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Quebecers, with more than 550,000 customers left in the dark on Friday evening.
Hydro-Québec says the “vast majority” of those still without power can expect to have it restored by Sunday evening, but some may have to wait until Monday because of “accessibility issues.”
Environment Canada says Friday’s downpour shattered several single-day records for rainfall in the province, with the municipality of Lanoraie in the Lanaudière region of the province receiving 221 mm and the western tip of Montreal getting up to 173 mm.
The provincial power utility says it has deployed nearly 300 teams to restore power and is warning the public not to approach downed wires.
Sentencing hearing set for Coutts protesters convicted of mischief, weapons charges
By: Bill Graveland
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. (CP) – Two men convicted of mischief at the Coutts, Alta., border blockade are to learn their sentences later this month.
On Aug. 2, a jury also found Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert guilty of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and Olienick was convicted of possessing a pipe bomb. But they were acquitted of the more serious charge of conspiring to murder police officers.
In Lethbridge Court of King’s Bench on Monday, Crown prosecutor Steven Johnston and defence lawyer Katherin Beyak agreed the sentencing hearing would begin Aug. 26.
Four days were set aside. Court heard the first two days would involve a finding of facts heard in the case. After a one day break, it resumes Aug. 29.
Two other protesters had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder at Coutts in early 2022. In February, Christopher Lysak and Jerry Morin pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Lysak was sentenced to three years for possession of a restricted firearm in an unauthorized place, and Morin was sentenced to 3 1/2 years for conspiracy to traffic firearms.
CBC paid over $18 million in bonuses in 2024 after it eliminated hundreds of jobs
OTTAWA (CP) – The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. paid $18.4 million in bonuses this year after hundreds of jobs at the public broadcaster were eliminated.
Documents obtained through access to information laws show CBC/Radio-Canada paid out bonuses to 1,194 employees for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
More than $3.3 million of that was paid to 45 executives
That means those executives got an average bonus of over $73,000, which is more than the median family income after taxes in 2022, according to Statistics Canada.
More than $10.4 million was paid out to 631 managers and over $4.6 million was paid to 518 other employees.
The board approved the bonuses in June, but has refused to disclose how much was paid out even though members of Parliament have been asking for the figure since last December.
That’s when CBC announced it would be laying off employees to help balance its budget.
Ultimately 141 employees were laid off and 205 vacant positions were eliminated at CBC/Radio-Canada.
The public broadcaster calls the bonuses performance pay that count toward some employees’ total compensation as part of contracts that promise payouts when certain company goals are met.
Chief human rights commissioner resigns after investigation into Israel comments
OTTAWA (CP) – The recently appointed chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission says he has agreed to resign today after an investigation into comments he made in the past related to Israel.
The justice minister launched an investigation after Canadian Jewish organizations raised concerns about Birju Dattani’s past activities.
Dattani has previously denied allegations that he made anti-Israel statements, including what Conservatives characterize as a “justification of terrorism.”
Justice Minister Arif Virani told Dattani in a letter at the end of July that the results of the investigation raised serious concerns about his candour during the appointment process.
Dattani was due to start in the role last Thursday, but agreed to take a leave while Virani considered how he should respond.
Virani says the process to appoint a new chief commissioner will begin “as soon as possible.”
Quebec Liberals say province needs own constitution to affirm ‘who we are’
MONTREAL (CP) – The Quebec Liberal Party is proposing that the province adopt its own constitution, a project it says will be “unifying.”
On Monday, members of the party’s policy commission — Julie White and Antoine Dionne Charest, son of former Quebec Liberal premier Jean Charest — announced the idea in a video released on social media.
“A constitution allows us to affirm who we truly are, with our language, our civil law, and the powers of the Quebec government,” White says in the video.
Quebec refused to sign the Canadian Constitution, which was patriated from the United Kingdom in 1982. Since then, political leaders in the province have offered various ideas about Quebec’s place in the federation, some campaigning for sovereignty, and others advocating closer ties to Canada.
With polls showing support from the francophone majority in the single digits, the Liberals are once again calling for a constitutional debate. In the video, Dionne Charest says the proposal is in response to policies of the governing Coalition Avenir Québec that he says divide Quebecers, and to the Parti Québécois plan to “separate us from Canada.”
A constitution, he said, is “what unites us against the PQ, for whom immigrants and Canada are the source of all problems. It’s what protects us against the CAQ, especially against its laws that stigmatize Quebecers who speak a language other than French.”
Police find body of missing man in his 80s who was swept up in Quebec river
MONTREAL (CP) – Quebec provincial police say they have found the body of a man in his 80s who went missing late on Friday after a roadway collapsed and he was swept into the Batiscan River in the province’s Mauricie region.
Police say the man was discovered in the municipality of Lac-aux-Sables on Sunday morning and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man went missing on the day that post-tropical storm Debby drenched Southern Quebec, washing out roads, flooding basements and knocking out power across the province.
Emergency services were called to the scene in the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-Montauban around 11:30 p.m on Friday, but dangerous conditions in the area made it difficult for police to search the riverbanks.
Drones and a helicopter were deployed to assist in the search.
Police say they are investigating in collaboration with the coroner’s office to determine what led to the death.
