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Former Conservative MP, cabinet minister Chuck Strahl dies

By: Anja Karadeglija

OTTAWA (CP) – Former Conservative MP and cabinet minister Chuck Strahl has died at the age of 67.

Strahl was first elected in 1993 and represented the B.C. riding of Chilliwack–Fraser Canyon until his retirement in 2011.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called Strahl a “dear friend” in a social media post Wednesday.

First elected as a Reform Party MP, Strahl held multiple cabinet portfolios in the government of former prime minister Stephen Harper. That included posts as the minister of agriculture, transport and what was then called Indian affairs and northern development.

His son, MP Mark Strahl, said in a statement from the family posted on social media that Strahl died after a battle with mesothelioma.

They said despite his political success, Strahl never lost sight of the importance of family, friends and his Christian faith.

Born to a logging family, Strahl was married to his wife, Debby Bateman, for nearly 50 years, and the two had four children and 13 grandchildren, the statement said.


Jasper townsite reopens Friday, but only to residents for now

By: Aaron Sousa

JASPER, ALTA. (CP) – Residents of Jasper, Alta., will be the only ones allowed in when the wildfire-hit town reopens Friday, Parks Canada and municipal officials said Wednesday.

Re-entry is to be limited to the town’s east entrance, which is to be patrolled by RCMP officers tasked with turning away non-residents. Jasperites will have to show proof of residence before receiving a re-entry guide and entering the town.

Mayor Richard Ireland told a virtual news conference that residents have been concerned about visitors intruding on their privacy as they learn first-hand the state of their homes and businesses in the popular Rocky Mountain tourist spot. 

He said Friday is expected to be a day of raw emotion and asks non-residents, including media, to be respectful. 

Roughly 5,000 residents, along with 20,000 more visitors, were forced out of the area on July 22, just days before a wind-whipped fire roared in and destroyed a third of town buildings.


Quebec premier François Legault on defensive for his response to torrential rainfall

MONTREAL (CP) – Quebec Premier François Legault is defending himself for not having visited flood-stricken communities until almost one week after torrential rain flooded basements and washed out roads across the province. 

The premier spoke to reporters for the first time this morning since last Friday’s rainfall during a visit to Louiseville, Que., a hard-hit municipality northeast of Montreal. 

Legault says his priorities were restoring power to the 550,000 customers who were left in darkness after the downpour and fixing damaged roads that left hundreds of houses isolated.

The premier also hinted he may expand eligibility for government funding for people whose homes were damaged by flooding. 

Louiseville Mayor Yvon Deshaies has been calling for the army to help the cleanup effort in his community. 

But Legault says the army isn’t needed to recover from the storm, which dumped up to 200 millimetres of rain within 24 hours last week. 


Saskatchewan First Nation calls for help after community evacuated due to wildfire

By: Jeremy Simes

SANDY BAY, SASK. (CP) – The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says crews have spent more than a month fighting an escalating fire near Sandy Bay, Sask., a day after area residents were ordered to evacuate and in the face of accusations it didn’t act sooner.

The agency said Wednesday it has worked to suppress the fire near the community in the province’s northeast since July 10. It said it has also used helicopters and air tankers. 

On Tuesday, officials with the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation said the agency has refused to hire hundreds of qualified First Nations firefighters due to a lack of proper equipment.

Chief Peter Beatty said First Nations have access to the necessary gear, including hats and boots, and are also properly trained, but the agency is not deploying them.

Duane Hiebert, emergency response manager for the First Nation, said the fire, about 130 square kilometres in size, is seven kilometres from the village. Unfavourable winds are expected to push flames closer, he added.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said the fire poses a risk to a provincial power station near the community. It has identified the cause as lightning.


Canada must respond to mpox crisis in Africa to prevent spread here, experts say

By: Nicole Ireland

(CP) – The World Health Organization’s declaration of mpox as a global public health emergency means Canada must do its part to help stem outbreaks of the virus in Africa, experts say. 

The WHO’s declaration on Wednesday comes as mpox — formerly known as monkeypox — has surged in Congo and emerged in neighbouring Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, none of which have had reported cases of the virus before.  

Other African countries have had outbreaks of different clades — or types — of mpox. An emergency committee of independent experts told WHO’s director-general they were concerned about the “potential to spread further across countries in Africa and possibly outside the continent,” a news release said. 

Although the current risk in Canada is low, the declaration of an international emergency is a signal for all countries to report their own cases of mpox, as well as share resources to help the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention bring the outbreaks under control, Pai said in an interview.


Liberal government refuses to say if it approved bonus for CBC CEO Catherine Tait

By: Mickey Djuric

OTTAWA (CP) – The Liberal government is refusing to say if it approved a bonus for the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., as Opposition Conservatives demand answers and New Democrats call for a ban on bonuses. 

It is up to the federal government to approve a bonus for Catherine Tait following a review of her performance and recommendation by the board of directors at CBC/Radio-Canada.

CBC deferred questions to the federal government. Canadian Heritage, which oversees the Crown corporation, then deferred questions to the Privy Council Office, which supports the cabinet and the prime minister. 

Citing privacy laws, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office said it cannot disclose details, even though some of that information from past years has been made public.


Manitoba government follows other provinces in restricting cell phone use in schools

WINNIPEG (CP) – The Manitoba government is following other provinces in restricting the use of cellphones in classrooms beginning this school year. 

There is to be a ban for students in kindergarten to Grade 8, while those in high school will be restricted from using their devices during class time but are free to use them during breaks and lunch. 

The province says exemptions are to be made for medical or accessibility reasons. 

The bans are designed to reduce distractions and help students focus in class.

Some Manitoba school divisions already had their own bans in place. 

Saskatchewan announced its decision last week to prohibit the use of the devices for the 2024-25 school year, following Alberta, B.C., Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia.


Canada demands investigation into water well destroyed by Israeli troops in Gaza

By: Dylan Robertson

OTTAWA (CP) – The Canadian government is still calling for an investigation into Israel’s destruction nearly a month ago of a large water facility in an area of the Gaza Strip where Ottawa is known for supporting Palestinians.

The office of the International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says the incident adds to a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation.

The Israeli military says it’s looking into what happened last month when its soldiers were filmed planting explosives and destroying a water-processing facility in the city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering.

The facility is in the Tel al-Sultan district, in a neighbourhood the Palestinian delegation in Ottawa says is popularly known as Canada because of the country’s support for various projects in that area over decades.

The facility is often called the Canada Well, though in recent years it has operated on funding from the United Nations and Japan.

Global Affairs Canada says it has not been able to confirm claims that the well was created with federal funding. 

Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is Canada’s independent national news agency.

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