By Canadian Press

The Wednesday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

May 3, 2017 | 1:45 PM

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, May 3

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NOTLEY SAYS PROVINCE WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT FORT MCMURRAY: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley returned to Fort McMurray a year after a fierce wildfire destroyed 10 per cent of the city and told its leaders and residents that the province still has their backs. Notley said it’s sad to remember all that was taken from people — everything from their homes to their cherished belongings. But she also said Fort McMurray residents have shown their resiliency and will continue to do so as the recovery moves ahead. The fire started deep in the bush on May 1, 2016, and exploded into a ferocious blaze that forced the evacuation of the entire city two days later. It was dubbed “The Beast” because it was so fierce and unpredictable. More than 80,000 people fled as towering flames licked at their homes and crackled along the highway used by thousands to leave the city. Activities such as yoga, pancakes and visits with friends were taking place in a riverfront park to mark the one-year anniversary. The low-key event — that also included dance, art, acupuncture and meditation — started at dawn on Wednesday and was to run until dusk.

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CENSUS SHOWS COUNTRY AGING FASTER THAN EVER BEFORE: After nearly four decades in the workforce, 64-year-old Louise Plouffe is looking ahead to retirement. But Tristan Plummer, 23, is looking for work. Plouffe and Plummer represent opposite ends of the age demographic that defines the Canadian labour force, which is in the throes of unprecedented change, according to Statistics Canada’s latest census figures released Wednesday. The proportion of Canadians aged 15 to 64 grew just 0.4 per cent between 2011 and 2016, its lowest rate since 1851, comprising 66.5 per cent of the population. The agency expects that proportion to decline to about 60 per cent by 2031, when the youngest baby boomers turn 65. By then, the proportion of seniors domestically would rival the level currently seen in Japan, currently home to the oldest population in the G7. That gives Canada a few more years to benefit from what Statistics Canada calls a “demographic dividend”: a growing labour force while other countries watch theirs shrink. Eventually the numbers will decline in Canada as well, once populations age and retirements take hold, said Statistics Canada demographer Andre Lebel.

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SAJJAN SAYS MILITARY GRAPPLING WITH UNDERFUNDING: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan offered a grim assessment Wednesday of the state of the military, saying years of underfunding has hollowed out the armed forces and left it struggling to do even basic tasks. The comments to defence industry representations and experts came as the Liberal government prepares to unveil its new defence policy, which Sajjan promised would begin to fix some of the problems. “It will be a plan to get out of the hole we are starting in and it will be a plan to build an even stronger military,” Sajjan said in a speech to the Conference of Defence Associations Institute. “It will be a plan to allocate realistic funding to those ‘bread and butter’ projects that will keep our military running efficiently and effectively for years to come.” It was the underfunding of those “bread and butter projects,” known in defence circles as the “Key 18,” that were the main focus of Sajjan’s address and which senior defence officials say pose the biggest problem. Those include upgrades and life extensions to two military helicopter fleets, air defences for infantry units, and engineering and logistical vehicles for the army, among others.

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MOUNTAINEER PINNED BY WEATHER, QUAKES IN YUKON: Parks Canada says a team from Kluane National Park in Yukon is in close contact with a climber who is stuck on Canada’s highest peak. Natalia Martinez of Argentina is making a solo ascent of Mount Logan but her plans were disrupted by two powerful earthquakes that jolted the Alaska Panhandle and southwestern Yukon early Monday. Parks Canada’s Christine Aikens said the visitor safety team from Kluane National Park in Haines Junction was working with Martinez to develop a plan to get her off the mountain. An official with the company that flew the 37-year-old to the east ridge of Mount Logan several weeks ago said the experienced climber is pinned down at about the 3,700-metre mark of the nearly 6,000-metre peak. Williams said Martinez moved her camp to a safer area and is in good shape but was dealing with stormy weather and heavy snow that could prevent any rescue until Thursday or Friday. 

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TORONTO REAL ESTATE PRICES RISE NEARLY 25 PER CENT: The Toronto Real Estate Board says there is fresh evidence indicating that speculation and foreign ownership make up a small component of the city’s housing market, raising questions about the need for Ontario’s plan to tax foreign speculators. The board released new data on foreign buyers at the same time as it reported that prices continued to soar last month, though there were signs the market may be cooling as the number of transactions slipped. TREB says that between 2008 and April 2017, the average share of foreign buyers of properties in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, which stretches from the Niagara Region to Peterborough, Ont., was 2.3 per cent. It says during the same time period, the share of homes that were bought and sold within one year of the original transaction — an indication of speculative activity — was also low. The new data came as the average price for all properties in the Greater Toronto Area last month rose to $920,791, an increase of 24.5 per cent compared to a year ago. That was slightly below the 33.2 per cent year-over-year increase in prices in March.

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FBI CHIEF JAMES COMEY DEFENDS CLINTON EMAIL DECISION: Under fire from Democrats, FBI Director James Comey insisted during repeated questions Wednesday he was consistent in disclosing information about an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails before Election Day while keeping quiet about a probe into possible contacts between Russia and the Donald Trump’s campaign. Comey, in his most impassioned public defence of how he handled the case, also said it made him feel “mildly nauseous” to think his actions in October might have influenced the race won by Republican Trump over Democrat Clinton. But he told the Senate Judiciary Committee the FBI cannot take into account how its actions might benefit or harm politicians. Persistent questions from senators, and Comey’s testimony, made clear that the FBI director’s decisions of last summer and fall involving both the Trump and Clinton campaigns continue to roil national politics and produce lingering second-guessing about whether the investigations were handled evenly.

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POLICE NOW WELCOME AT ST. JOHN’S PRIDE PARADE: The Pride committee in St. John’s, N.L., has reversed course and invited uniformed police officers to march in the city’s Pride parade this July. As police forces across Canada face restrictions or bans at Pride events, St. John’s Pride is now welcoming uniformed members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and RCMP. Last July, the RNC said it would play a “less visible role” at the Pride parade in Newfoundland’s capital than it had in prior years, saying the force would offer traffic support but uniformed officers would not march in the procession. The decision came at the request of Pride event organizers, who had encouraged officers to take part in the proceedings while off-duty and not in uniform in an effort to make the event “more accessible to all.” The organization stressed that uniformed police would not be turned away from the parade, but encouraged officers to represent their unit in other ways like wearing T-shirts or carrying banners. Pride Toronto members voted to ostensibly ban official police floats from marches and parades in January, adopting a list of demands put forward by that city’s chapter of Black Lives Matter.

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BOMBAY SAPPHIRE GIN RECALLED IN FIVE PROVINCES: At least five provincial liquor control agencies are recalling 1.14-litre bottles of Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin because they contain more alcohol than the amount stated on the label. The Liquor Control Board of Ontario was the first to remove the affected product from all of its stores shelves. The Crown corporation says the recall was initiated after an investigation by its quality assurance team found the gin’s alcohol content was 77 per cent, instead of the 40 per cent declared on the label. Since then, the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, Saskatchewan’s Liquor and Gaming Authority, the Societe Des Alcools du Quebec, and Nova Scotia Liquor Control have all followed suit. Customers and licensees are advised to return the recalled product for a full refund. This is the second such incident in Ontario in as many months. An Ontario-made brand of vodka was pulled from shelves in early March because one batch contained double the stated amount of alcohol.

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FLOOD WATERS CONTINUE TO RISE NEAR MONTREAL: Flood waters are continuing to threaten hundreds of homes in the Montreal-area town of Rigaud. Mayor Hans Gruenwald Jr. says about 400 residences could be affected by the surging water levels. Gruenwald says river levels have risen by eight centimetres in the past two weeks and are expected to climb another five to seven centimetres today. He says that means water could start entering homes through basement windows. Thirty-one families have had to evacuate their homes and are being helped by family, friends and the Red Cross. Flooding is also affecting homes in the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro on the western part of the island of Montreal. Gruenwald said he is very concerned with the situation in his community. The Red Cross has helped people in 31 Rigaud residences evacuate and the mayor urged others to follow suit.

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B.C. LIBERALS ‘STAND CORRECTED’ ON #IAMLINDA: British Columbia’s Liberals say they “stand corrected” on claims the NDP planted a woman at an election campaign event to confront Christy Clark. The brief encounter last week between the woman and Clark has generated a buzz on social media as the hashtag #IamLinda became a rallying point on Twitter for people who oppose the B.C. Liberal government. When asked Wednesday if they believe the woman was an NDP plant, the Liberals issued a short statement that says: “We’re happy to stand corrected.” A video posted online last week shows Clark in a North Vancouver market shaking hands with a woman who introduces herself as Linda and says she would never vote for the premier and begins to explain why. Clark then cuts her off. Two people connected to Clark’s campaign later accused the woman of being a New Democrat plant and tweeted a picture of her with Nicholas Simons, a New Democrat member of the legislative assembly for Powell River-Sunshine Coast. The Clark encounter went viral and has been shared or retweeted thousands of times on social media. The hashtag had been used more than 34,500 times on Twitter by Wednesday at midday.

The Canadian Press