Top News Advisory for Wednesday, July 16, 2014 – CP

Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire 
Jul 16, 2014 18:19 

Wednesday, July 16 p.m.

Here are the latest Top News stories from The Canadian Press. All times are Eastern unless otherwise stated. Coverage plans are included when available. Entries are subject to change. Contact the National Desk at 416-507-2150.

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TOP NEWS AT THIS HOUR:

Economy not strong enough to stand on own without low-interest-rate boost, says Bank of Canada

BoC-Interest-Rates

OTTAWA _ Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says the economy is still not strong enough to stand on its own and will likely need the boost from super-low interest rates for longer than he thought even three months ago.The central banker said at a news conference following release of the institution’s monetary policy report and interest rate announcement Wednesday that the long-expected global recovery has been a “serial disappointment.” PHOTO. AUDIO. Moves Business and National.

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Minimum wage unchanged between 1975 and 2013

StatsCan-Minimum-Wage

TORONTO _ The average minimum wage has remained unchanged in real terms for almost four decades, but economists say more recent increases are likely to continue in the coming years.Statistics Canada said Wednesday the average minimum wage was $10.14 in 2013 and the 1975 wage, expressed in 2013 dollars, was $10.13. PHOTO. AUDIO. Moves Business and National

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Sick leave doesn’t cost extra: report

Civil-Service-Sick-Leave

OTTAWA – It costs taxpayers almost nothing extra to pay sick leave to federal civil servants, says a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Office. The findings are ammunition for public-sector unions in their battle with the Treasury Board over proposed changes to government sick-leave policies. PHOTO. AUDIO.

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Tories hold the line on open nominations

Conservative-Nominations

OTTAWA _ Conservative Party brass are holding a hard line on the promise of open nominations before the 2015 election, proposing disqualifications in one high-profile riding and placing a senior official on leave in another. On Wednesday, rank-and-file members in Alberta were informed that a member of the party’s governing council would be stepping away from her post while her husband runs for nomination.

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NDP calls for external probe of tax agency

Charities-Politics

OTTAWA _ The NDP is calling for an independent probe into the Canada Revenue Agency’s targeting of some Canadian charities for their political activities.In a letter Wednesday to Revenue Minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the party says the alleged misuse of tax agency audits against political opponents of the government is muzzling charities and draining them financially.

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Immigration minister promotes entrepreneur visa

StartUp-Visa

VANCOUVER _ Canada’s immigration minister is heralding the federal government’s 16-month-old visa program for entrepreneurs after accepting the first two applicants.Chris Alexander told a Vancouver news conference that a startup visa program has generated enormous interest though he couldn’t specify how many applications have been received.

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B.C. wildfire forces evacuation of Hudson’s Hope

Wildfires-BC

VANCOUVER _ An evacuation order has been issued for the District of Hudson’s Hope in northeastern British Columbia as the Mount McAllister wildfire threatens the community.About 1,150 residents have been told they must immediately leave the area and go to an emergency social-services reception centre to register. Will be writethru. Moves regional and national.

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Garbage fire continues to smoulder in Iqaluit

Iqaluit-Dump-Fire

IQALUIT _ A smouldering blaze in the Nunavut capital’s garbage dump continues to spew acrid fumes onto the city, where the roads are dotted with Inuit children on their bicycles, enjoying the summer’s 19 hours of daylight.City officials say a lack of money and manpower prevents them from dousing the fire in Iqaluit almost two months after it started

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First Nations mull options on education bill

First-Nations-Education

OTTAWA _ Chiefs attending an annual gathering of the Assembly of First Nations are mulling several counter-proposals to a controversial Conservative bill to reform aboriginal education.But none of the draft resolutions put forward at the three-day meeting in Halifax recommends accepting the legislation as it is now written _ potentially setting the stage for a showdown with the Harper government over First Nations education. PHOTO.

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Aboriginal leaders renew calls for inquiry

AFN-Meeting

HALIFAX _ Aboriginal leaders are renewing calls for a national public inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women as hundreds of First Nations leaders gathered Wednesday in Halifax.Cheryl Maloney of the Nova Scotia Native Women’s Association said she is not optimistic that the federal government will change tack and launch such an inquiry. PHOTO. VIDEO. AUDIO.

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Brief court appearance for Douglas Garland

Alta-Missing-Grandparents

CALGARY – A man charged with murder in the disappearance of a Calgary boy and his grandparents has made a brief appearance in court. Douglas Garland wore a blue jail jumpsuit and appeared via closed-circuit TV in front of a packed public gallery. PHOTO, AUDIO, VIDEO.

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Man once linked to terror plot sentenced

Terror-Plot-Arrests

NEW YORK _ A former Canadian resident who was arrested in connection with an alleged terror plot to attack a Via Rail train has been sentenced in the United States to the 15 months he has already served. Ahmed Abassi, 27, who had been studying engineering at Laval University before his 2013 arrest in New York, is being held for deportation to Tunisia.

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Mother pleads guilty to abusing twins

CRIME-Twins-Abuse

EDMONTON _ An Edmonton mother charged with neglecting her two-year-old twin girls to the point where one of them died has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.The woman, who can’t be named to protect the identity of the surviving twin, also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and failing to provide the necessities of life.

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Straight to trial for Bosma suspects

Missing-Man

TORONTO _ Two men charged in the death of a Hamilton man, who disappeared after taking a pair of prospective buyers on a test drive, are headed straight to trial on first-degree murder charges.Dellen Millard and Mark Smich are accused of killing Tim Bosma, whose remains were found about a week after he vanished on May 6, 2013, burned beyond recognition at a southwestern Ontario farm belonging to Millard. PHOTO.

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Secrecy urged around non-conviction records

Police-Records-Check

TORONTO _ People who have had contact with police in Ontario that did not end in a conviction should no longer fear release of the potentially sensitive information during standard record checks under updated guidelines released Wednesday.Civil liberties, mental-health and other advocacy groups praised the updated approach urged by the Ontario Association of Police Chiefs as a significant step toward protecting innocent people from the harm such disclosure can cause, but said legislation is needed to force compliance.

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RCMP provide update on Moncton shootings

NB-Shooting-Manhunt

MONCTON _ The RCMP in New Brunswick says it has completed door-to-door canvassing in the Moncton neighbourhood where they were investigating the fatal shootings of three fellow Mounties last month.Marlene Snowman, the superintendent of the Codiac Regional RCMP detachment, provided an update Wednesday six weeks after constables Douglas Larche, Fabrice Gevaudan and Dave Ross were shot dead.

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Transgender policy at Vancouver Catholic schools

Gender-Catholic-Schools

VANCOUVER _ Catholic schools in Vancouver have adopted a policy to accommodate transgender students after a human rights complaint from the family of a young transgender girl.Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese says it adopted the policy in response to the complaint from Tracey Wilson, now 11, who attended one of its schools.

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Flood evacuees one step closer to new home

Mba-Flood-Evacuees

WINNIPEG _ More than 1,000 aboriginal flood evacuees who have been out of their homes since a flood in 2011 devastated their Manitoba community are one step closer to getting a new $100-million reserve.The residents of the chronically flooded Lake St. Martin First Nation have been dispersed around the province for the past three years. Most are living in hotels or temporary accommodation in Winnipeg. AUDIO.

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Quebec cabinet minister apologizes to predecessor

Que-Legis-Defamation

QUEBEC _ Quebec’s international relations minister is apologizing to her Parti Quebecois predecessor for comments she made about his frequent trips to France.Jean-Francois Lisee threatened on Tuesday to sue Christine St-Pierre if she didn’t retract her remarks within a week. AUDIO.

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Rogers, Telus tighten info disclosure policy

Rogers-Privacy

OTTAWA _ Two major telecommunications firms _ Rogers and Telus _ say they will no longer routinely give basic customer information to police and security agencies without first seeing a warrant.The moves follow a recent landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision affirming the right to online privacy.

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Israeli army agrees to ‘humanitarian’ pause

ML-Israel-Palestinians

GAZA _ The Israeli military says it has agreed to a U.N.-brokered five-hour pause in its strikes on the Gaza Strip to allow Palestinians to restock supplies.The military said in a statement Wednesday that it would hold its fire for five hours starting at 10:00 a.m. (0900 GMT, 5 a.m. EDT.) PHOTO. AUDIO.

See also:

ML-Palestinians-Nowhere-To-Go (Nowhere to go for Gaza civilians urged to evacuate)

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Assad declares victory, push to topple him tenuous

ML-Syria

BEIRUT _ In a lavish ceremony, a smiling and confident President Bashar Assad was sworn in for a third seven-year term on Wednesday, praising his supporters for “defeating the dirty war” and denouncing insurgents who have “failed in trying to brainwash you or break your will.”As he declared victory, the Western-backed push to topple him or reach a political deal seem increasingly elusive. And while new conflicts in the region have grabbed attention, Syria’s 3-year-old civil war is grinding on without reprieve, with 170,000 dead and a third of the country displaced. PHOTO. AUDIO.

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EU leaders order tougher sanctions against Russia

EU-Europe-Ukraine

BRUSSELS _ European Union leaders have ordered tougher sanctions against Russia because of its actions in Ukraine, asking the asked the European Investment Bank to sign no new financing agreements with Moscow.The leaders also agreed to act together to suspend financing of the new European Bank for Reconstruction and Development operations in Russia. They announced the decisions during a summit Wednesday in Brussels. PHOTO.

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Number of people with HIV unchanged since 2012

EU-MED-Global-AIDS

LONDON _ The number of people living with HIV worldwide has remained virtually unchanged in the past two years and AIDS-related deaths are at their lowest since peaking almost a decade ago, according to a report from the United Nations AIDS agency released Wednesday.Officials declared that ending the AIDS epidemic is possible even though they acknowledged the number of new infections _ more than 2 million last year _ was still very high. UNAIDS estimated there were about 35 million people living with HIV last year and in 2012. PHOTO. AUDIO.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS

More men taking replacement testosterone: study

Testosterone-Replacement-Therapy

TORONTO _ A new study says the number of older men taking replacement testosterone in Ontario has skyrocketed over the last 15 years, despite a lack of evidence that the therapy is effective and safe.The Toronto study found that the use of testosterone replacement therapy in men aged 66 and older rose 310 per cent between 1997 and 2012. Will be updated; Moves both National and Lifestyles. AUDIO.

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BUZZ

Lake Ontario shark video a marketing ploy

Lake-Ontario-Shark

TORONTO _ It turns out a video which had many wondering whether a shark was lurking in the waters of Lake Ontario was all an elaborate marketing ploy.Discovery Canada, which is owned by broadcasting giant Bell Media, says a finned creature which momentarily surfaced while three men fished off a dock was in fact a life-like prosthetic model of a shark. AUDIO.

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Toothy visitor sends family fleeing to patio

Bothersome-Bears

WEST VANCOUVER _ When a black bear ambled in the front door of a West Vancouver home, the family fled out the back in the latest incident involving bothersome bruins.West Vancouver police say the uninvited guest appeared Tuesday afternoon when the family scurried to the balcony of their British Properties home as the outgoing omnivore strolled through the door, left open for ventilation.

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Dislocated shoulder eliminates couple from ‘Amazing Race Canada’ leg

TV-Amazing-Race-Canada

TORONTO _ The second leg of “The Amazing Race Canada” turned on a shoulder. Fortysomething Halifax married couple Jen and Shawn King were the second team to be eliminated from the reality-show sprint after a surfing challenge left Shawn writhing on the beach, a bone protruding prominently through his skin. PHOTO

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Another delay in Justin Bieber’s Florida case

US-Justin-Bieber-Arrest

MIAMI _ Justin Bieber’s lawyers and Florida prosecutors said Wednesday they need more time to work out a possible plea deal on charges that the pop star drove under the influence and resisted arrest.Assistant State Attorney David Gilbert and Bieber attorney Mark Shapiro asked for an additional three weeks. Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield reset the matter for Aug. 5. PHOTO.

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Toronto teen plans to wear straitjacket for 14 days for Parkinson’s charity

Straitjacket-Charity-Stunt

TORONTO _ Toronto-based magician/actor Mark Correia strapped on a straitjacket for charity on July 8. The 18-year-old Oakville, Ont., native is raising funds for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. His goal is to keep it on for 14 days and raise $25,000. By Tuesday afternoon, he’d raised $5,000. PHOTO. VIDEO.

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Google Elephant: B.C. man offers hi-tech help

Elephant-Google

VANCOUVER _ Forget Google Earth. Try Google Elephant.Thanks in part to a tech-savvy PhD student at the University of British Columbia, rangers in northern Kenya are tapping into technology to combat poaching.

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FDNY calendar has its first female firefighter

US-FDNY-Calendar

NEW YORK _ The Fire Department of New York’s famous calendar has a new look.For the first time, a female firefighter appears in the charity calendar of hard bodies. PHOTO.

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(The Canadian Press)