By Canadian Press

Seven stories in the news for today, Nov. 2

Nov 2, 2017 | 1:15 AM

Seven stories in the news for Thursday, Nov. 2

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FEDS CALL EMERGENCY MEETING ON CHILD WELFARE

Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott is calling for an emergency meeting early next year on Aboriginal child welfare, likening the current state of affairs to Canada’s residential school legacy that forcibly removed young people from their culture and families. Philpott, who fired off a letter this week to provincial and territorial counterparts requesting their attendance at the meeting, said the rate at which Canada is apprehending Indigenous kids is among the highest in the world.

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ONTARIO MODERNIZING ITS POLICING LAWS 

Ontario is expected to announce sweeping changes to its policing laws today that include strengthening oversight of the system and making it possible to suspend officers without pay, The Canadian Press has learned. The changes would include the first update to the Police Services Act in more than 25 years. A source says the government will be implementing all of the recommendations contained in Appeal Court Justice Michael Tulloch’s report on police oversight, released earlier this year.

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BOOST STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, COALITION SAYS

A coalition of Ontario student groups, colleges and universities wants the province to significantly boost services for young people struggling with mental health issues as they pursue post-secondary education. In a report released Thursday entitled “In It Together: Taking Action on Student Mental Health,” four organizations representing Ontario’s 45 colleges and universities say providing mental health support is one of the most pressing challenges on campuses today. Both colleges and universities provide mental health services for students, but increasing demand and a huge gap in government funding means post-secondary institutions can’t always meet the needs of those suffering from a range of psychological issues.

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OLAND LAWYERS TO DISCUSS UNRESOLVED ISSUES IN COURT 

The Dennis Oland case is back in a New Brunswick courtroom today, as lawyers attempt to settle unresolved issues ahead of a retrial in the 2011 bludgeoning death of his multi-millionaire father. In October 2016, the province’s Court of Appeal overturned Oland’s second-degree murder conviction and ordered a new trial. In September, Judge Terrence Morrison said there were too many unresolved issues for him to even set a date for a new trial, and he scheduled today’s pre-trial conference to discuss them.

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TSB TO RELEASE REPORT ON 2015 CARGO AIRCRAFT CRASH 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will be releasing a report today on a cargo aircraft crash near Vancouver that killed two pilots. The Swearingen operated by Carson Air crashed on April 13, 2015, in the mountains north of Vancouver en route to Prince George, B.C. Kathy Fox, chair of the TSB, is holding a news conference in Vancouver this morning to discuss the findings of the investigation into the crash.

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LAKE ST. MARTIN FLOOD VICTIMS GET NEW HOMES

After enduring a six-year wait, about 30 families are set to return home today to the Lake St. Martin First Nation in Manitoba. They will get the keys to their new homes on the reserve, which was ravaged by floods back in 2011, forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 people. Many have been living in hotels and rental suites in Winnipeg and elsewhere during the long wait to return home. Many have been living in hotels and rental suites in Winnipeg and elsewhere during the long wait to return home.

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VANCOUVER EYES PROGRAM TO SAVE LEGACY BUSINESSES

Vancouver is looking to municipal programs in other cities to help it deal with how many longtime community businesses have gone under in recent years. Tom Wanklin, a city planner, says San Francisco is one city Vancouver hopes to learn from. He says San Francisco launched a program in 2015 that provides historic businesses with help them to stay in their neighbourhoods in the face of rising rent and pressure for development. Vancouver intends to complete its study by the end of this year.

The Canadian Press