Jasper residents take stock of wildfire destruction
By: Fakiha Baig
JASPER, ALTA. (CP) – When Alice Foubert entered her home in Jasper, Alta., for the first time since a wildfire roared into the community, the rancid smell from her fridge made it difficult for her to recognize where she was.
“It felt like a shell of home,” the 25-year-old said in an interview Monday.
“My heart just sank. I’m used to my cats being in there to greet me but the streets were also pretty empty and it just didn’t feel like home.”
Foubert was among dozens of residents roaming the town Monday on foot, in cars or on bikes. Some were out walking pets.
They were assessing the grey rubble left behind by a wildfire that destroyed a third of the town structures almost a month ago.
The wildfire is now being contained and residents of the picturesque Rocky Mountain town were allowed to return on Friday.
But officials said Monday tourists and visitors, except members of the media, won’t be welcome for the foreseeable future.
B.C. police drop surnames in missing person alerts to avoid ‘negative lasting impact’
By: Dirk Meissner
SAANICH, B.C. (CP) – – It could be a weekend teenage runaway. An elderly loved one, lost and disoriented. Or it could be the first indication of murder.
The first call to a police department to report a missing person sets in motion a series of investigative and public actions to find them, then, once found, protect their identity from becoming part of a permanent public record, said Insp. Drew Robertson of the Saanich Police Department.
The department that polices Greater Victoria’s largest municipality recently moved to exclude surnames from public alerts requesting help finding missing people, in a bid to avoid causing them future harm. In so doing, it joins a growing number of law enforcement agencies across Canada, and has drawn praise from British Columbia’s privacy commissioner.
Others, including the RCMP, continue to publicize surnames, citing a need for clarity.
The Toronto and Calgary police services moved to first-name-only missing persons reports earlier this year.
The shift has the support of B.C.’s information and privacy commissioner.
Legault announces six-month freeze on some temporary foreign workers applications
MONTREAL (CP) – Quebec Premier François Legault is announcing a six-month freeze on certain temporary foreign worker applications in Montreal.
The premier says the moratorium will apply to new applications and renewals, but nurses, teachers, construction workers, food transformation workers and those making at least $57,000 a year will be exempt.
Legault says the total number of temporary immigrants across the province has doubled to 600,000 from 300,000 in just two years, putting a strain on housing as well as social services such as health and education.
The premier said there are about 12,000 temporary foreign workers in Montreal and acknowledged that today’s announcement is just a “first step” towards reducing the total number of temporary immigrants.
He says more than two-thirds of the province’s non-permanent residents fall under federal jurisdiction, and the province is asking Ottawa to halve their numbers, from 420,000 to 210,000.
Legault says the province will also table a bill this fall to give the province the power to limit the number of international students in certain schools.
Canada Border Services Agency says systems outage impacting airport customs kiosks
OTTAWA (CP) – The Canada Border Services Agency says it’s dealing with a partial systems outage that’s affecting customs processing at Canadian airports.
The CBSA shared the news in a post on X today but did not say what caused the outage.
The border agency says it’s working with partners to fix the issue and apologizes for any inconvenience the outage may cause.
Toronto’s Pearson airport says the outage is impacting customs kiosks in two terminals.
The airport says travellers using those terminals may experience longer wait times at customs.
A spokesperson from Montreal’s Trudeau airport says customs processing is slower than usual but there is no major impact to the airport so far.
Criticism of new Senate appointment includes that of a federal cabinet minister
By: Steve Lambert
WINNIPEG (CP) – The appointment of longtime broadcaster Charles Adler to the Senate is being criticized in some quarters, including by a member of the federal cabinet.
Adler, who spent decades hosting talk-radio shows, was named to the Senate on the weekend by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and will represent Manitoba.
Dan Vandal, the minister of northern affairs, has issued a brief one-sentence statement that says there are many Manitobans better suited to represent the province.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is calling on the prime minister to revoke the appointment and is accusing Adler of having used grossly offensive language about Indigenous people on air.
Adler declined an interview request and said he would not comment.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs complained in 1999 about Adler using terms such as “boneheads” to refer to Indigenous leaders on his talk show on radio station CJOB in Winnipeg.
The complaint was rejected by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, a voluntary self-regulatory organization for private broadcasters, the following year.
Tories delete Canadian dream video featuring what Liberals say are Russian jets
By: Mickey Djuric
OTTAWA (CP) – The Conservative Party of Canada has deleted a video that was meant to promote its Canadian values but featured images of what the Defence Minister’s office says are Russian fighter jets.
The party acknowledged on Monday that mistakes happen, while also pointing out that the Liberals have dealt with a stock image backlash in the past.
The video in question was posted by the party on X on Saturday with the slogan “Canada. Our Home” and featured a speech delivered by leader Pierre Poilievre from the Calgary Stampede.
In the video, Poilievre describes a Canadian man driving on a highway on his way to work after dropping off his kid at school, and spots a brand new fighter jet in the sky.
The two jets that appeared in the video as Poilievre delivered that line were Russian Su-17 and Su-27 jets, according to Defence Minister Bill Blair’s spokesman.
“Shockingly, Mr. Poilievre’s dream for Canada includes Russian fighter jets flying over our glorious Prairies on a ‘training mission,'” Daniel Minden said in a statement Monday.
“This comes as Russia continues its illegal, unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine and the international rules that keep us all safe.”
Canada’s assisted-dying law faces constitutional fight for excluding mental disorder
By: Stephanie Taylor
OTTAWA (CP) – A man who says he suffers from chronic and worsening mental health issues is among those launching a court challenge of the federal government’s assisted dying law, which excludes people suffering solely from a mental disorder.
An application filed by Dying with Dignity in Ontario Superior Court on Monday argues that it is discriminatory to bar people with mental disorders from being eligible for an assisted death when it is available to people who suffer physically.
The organization is asking the court to immediately quash the mental-health exclusion.
Plaintiff John Scully said going to court is his last hope.
No medication, treatment or therapy has eased the post-traumatic stress disorder the former war correspondent suffers from, along with depression and anxiety. All are made worse by sleep deprivation.
