Seven stories in the news today, July 22

Seven stories in the news today from The Canadian Press:

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PREMIERS STILL WORKING ON INTERPROVINCIAL TRADE

Canada’s 13 premiers have one more day to close what they keep calling a tantalizingly near deal to open provincial borders to trade. But that long-awaited goal may have actually receded during Thursday’s talks in Whitehorse. An Alberta government spokeswoman acknowledged Premier Rachel Notley and Saskatchewan colleague Brad Wall had referred differences on markups on beer to officials after failing to resolve them in a private meeting.

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Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Short-term rental rules coming into effect in British Columbia

15h ago

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Board may as well not have asked public about school's name

19h ago

STATSCAN LOOKS TO TEXTING TO FILL GAPS

Forget checking your mailbox for future Statistics Canada questionnaires and instead be ready to check the text-message inbox on your cell phone. Texting questions to Canadians is one of several options the agency is considering to confront an alarming drop in response rates to surveys —  declines that are “threatening the quality of official statistics” and could “soon lead some to question the usability of the data itself.”

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TRUSTED TRAVELLER PROGRAMS TO BE TIGHTENED

Smuggling drugs, hate propaganda or people across the border could get you a lifetime ban from a trusted traveller program like Nexus under planned new rules. The Canada Border Services Agency has launched a month-long consultation on proposals that clearly spell out what will bar people from joining a program — or get them kicked out. Nexus, with more than 1.3 million members, is jointly administered by the Canadian and U.S. border agencies.

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MMIW INQUIRY WILL EXAMINE POLICE CONDUCT

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says policing will have to be closely examined in the upcoming inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women. Bennett tells the The Canadian Press the “uneven application of justice” — including everything from the quality of police searches to investigations themselves — will require review because outcomes appear to differ if victims are indigenous women.

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SAJJAN: TRUMP’S NATO COMMENTS ‘NOT HELPFUL’

Donald Trump’s comments that, if elected president, the U.S. wouldn’t automatically come to the aid of allies are “not helpful,” Canada’s defence minister says. Trump caused a stir this week when he said some NATO members aren’t spending enough on defence, and are instead relying on the U.S. to protect them. That would change if he’s elected, Trump told the New York Times. Harjit Sajjan told The Canadian Press Canada has “nothing to embarrassed about.”

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AIR TRANSAT TO COMPENSATE PASSENGERS FOR CANCELLED FLIGHT

Air Transat says it will compensate all passengers booked on a flight that was grounded on Monday when the two pilots were arrested on suspicion of drunkenness. Jean-Francois Perreault and Imran Zafar Syed were detained at Glasgow Airport shortly before they were to fly an Airbus A-310 with about 250 passengers from Glasgow to Toronto. Both have been suspended at least until the end of an internal investigation.

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TRAGICALLY HIP BEGIN FAREWELL TOUR

The Tragically Hip kicks off its cross-country farewell tour in Victoria today. The tour, promoting the band’s latest album “Man Machine Poem,” was planned following the announcement in May that frontman Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. The band is making a 15-date cross-country trip ending Aug. 20 in Hip’s hometown of Kingston, Ont.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Statistics Canada’s releases today include retail trade figures for May and the consumer price index for June.

— Companies reporting quarterly results today include Husky Energy and lumber producer West Fraser Timber Co.

— The War Resisters Support Campaign will hold a Toronto news conference to call for federal action to let the Iraq War resisters stay here.

The Canadian Press