Cause of water main break that flooded Montreal neighbourhood remains unclear: mayor
MONTREAL (CP) – The mayor of Montreal says the cause of a major water main break Friday morning near the city’s Jacques Cartier Bridge remains unknown.
Valérie Plante says 50 buildings were flooded when millions of litres of water erupted onto city streets, and 16 households have asked the Red Cross for emergency housing.
She says workers are now removing debris from roads in the area, but it will take time to get the parts to repair the two-metre-wide pipe.
Plante says she’s relieved the city didn’t have to shut off the drinking water supply to any customers, although Montreal did issue a boil-water advisory for about 150,000 homes for more than a day.
Chantal Morissette, director of Montreal’s water department, says the pipe that burst was among the city’s most vulnerable and had suffered corrosion over the years.
Plante also gave an update on the damage caused by torrential rain that hit Montreal on Aug. 9, saying more than 3,300 private buildings and about 60 municipal buildings were flooded.
Joly announces $1M to help stem mpox in Africa as Liberals craft continental plan
OTTAWA (CP) – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will provide $1 million to help stem mpox in Africa as her government assembles a long-delayed plan on how to engage with the continent.
The funding will go to the World Health Organization as it tries to contain the spread of the virus formerly known as monkeypox, which has been spreading rapidly across Africa.
Joly is visiting a vaccination co-ordination centre in Ivory Coast, ahead of a visit to South Africa for two days starting Wednesday.
The visit to the West African nation is aimed at exploring shared counterterrorism priorities and affirming Canada’s ties with both French-speaking countries.
Joly’s office says she will also discuss economic partnership between Canada and South Africa and mark 30 years since the end of apartheid.
The trip comes days after the Liberals launched consultations for what they are now calling their approach to Africa, which includes where to best station diplomats and what issues to focus on.
Sectors that earned most corporate capital gains created no jobs over 5 years: report
By: Nojoud Al Mallees
OTTAWA (CP) – Two sectors were responsible for the majority of corporate capital gains earned in Canada over five years but added no new jobs over that time span, a new study found.
The Centre for Future Work and l’Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques, two progressive policy think tanks, published a report that delves into the companies and individuals that earn capital gains in Canada.
The analysis comes after a heated debate in the country over the Liberals’ decision to increase the inclusion rate on capital gains, which are profits made on the sale of assets.
Business groups staunchly opposed the increase, arguing that it would be a tax hike on all Canadians, directly or indirectly, because it would hurt innovation and business investment.
But the report’s author, economist Jim Stanford, says his analysis suggests that favourable tax treatment of capital gains disproportionately benefits the wealthy and does not help the economy.
Pro-Palestinian encampment dismantled at Vancouver Island University
NANAIMO (CP) – A months-long pro-Palestinian encampment at Vancouver Island University has been dismantled following a court order, but protesters suggest more demonstrations could be on the way.
Protesters had until 9:30 a.m. Sunday to get off a grassy area in the university’s quad in Nanaimo, B.C. after the province’s Supreme Court granted the university an injunction last week.
In a video statement posted on the protesting group’s Instagram account, an unidentified protester said people in “hazmat suits” arrived when the injunction took effect and began dismantling the encampment, which has been in place for 110 days.
The court ordered that no further encampments be established within the same specific area for 150 days.
The protester in the video said as demonstrators “go on to other forms of protest, or perhaps a second encampment on a different patch of grass” they have to live with the knowledge that the university went to court to remove students rather than listen to their concerns.
Calgary pipe woes flag ‘dire need’ for infrastructure upgrades: municipalities group
By: Bill Graveland
CALGARY (CP) – The condition of infrastructure across the country is dire and action needs to be taken now to prevent the kind of massive water pipe break that continues to plague Alberta’s biggest city, says the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Geoff Stewart was in Calgary as part of the federation’s annual general meeting in June when the break occurred, leading to months of water restrictions and other onerous measures.
Montrealers woke to their own infrastructure failure Friday when a break in a major underground water main near the Jacques Cartier Bridge unleashed what nearby residents described as a “wall of water.” Streets and homes were deluged, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings and leading to a boil-water advisory for 150,000 homes.
Low water levels affecting salmon migration in B.C. streams: DFO
By: Brieanna Charlebois
KAMLOOPS (CP) – Low water levels brought on by years of severe drought, paired with meagre snowpack and rainfall, are leaving B.C.’s salmon in a compromising position during their spawning migration, a fisheries expert warns.
Researchers are also trying to understand the effects of last year’s devastating wildfires in B.C.
Salmon need a steady stream of cool, fresh water to survive and reach their spawning grounds, but Murray Manson, the section head of the Fisheries Department’s Habitat Restoration Centre of Expertise, told a briefing Friday that he is expecting fish to start appearing in some low-water areas.
Concerns persist despite a cool spring that left B.C. in a more “fortunate” position than expected, Manson noted.
Some regions, like the Fraser River basin, that were predicted to see historically low salmon runs are currently in a state of “wait and see,” Manson said.
The department said in a statement that drought and heat can have a range of negative effects that are likely to hit salmon survival in B.C. this year.
It said low water levels can block salmon from spawning areas and expose them to predators while hot water can harm fish health, reducing spawning ability and make salmon vulnerable to illness.
Four found dead in homicide investigation in McCreary, Man.
WINNIPEG (CP) – Mounties in Manitoba are investigating four deaths in and around the small community of McCreary, northwest of Winnipeg.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Richard Sherring said around 10 a.m. Friday, officers acting on a tip found the body of a 41-year-old man on a road who had died from a self-inflicted injury.
Based on that finding, they went to a nearby home where they found the bodies of a 66-year-old woman, and two men, aged 65 and 35. Those deaths are being investigated as homicides.
Officers found the three bodies after being asked to search for another woman, aged 37, who was later found safe. Police said she was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Mounties said all those involved were known to each other, but did not provide further details on identification or the circumstances of the deaths.
Sherring said officers are not looking for any suspects.
