In the news today: Canada at Women’s World Cup, new B.C. port strike deal

A win or draw and Olympic champion Canada advances to the knockout round of 16. The co-host Australians need a win to be certain of moving on.

New tentative deal in B.C. port dispute

A late-night breakthrough could herald an end to British Columbia’s long-running port dispute, with the longshore workers’ union and the employers’ association announcing a new tentative agreement.

Details of the deal haven’t been released, but both sides say in a joint statement issued Sunday night that they are recommending their members to ratify it.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association say the new tentative deal was reached with the assistance of the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

Crews gauge winds as fire burns near Osoyoos, B.C.

Fire crews near Osoyoos, B.C. say they are carefully watching wind levels and direction as the Eagle Bluff wildfire continues to burn out of control just kilometres away from the town adjacent to the U.S. border.

About 700 properties in the area were evacuated Saturday evening as wind drove the flames of the approximately nine-square-kilometre blaze closer to town and another 2,000 homes remain under an alert for possible evacuation on short notice in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen.

BC Wildfire Service Information Officer Shaelee Stearns says more windy weather is in the forecast today, and crews are keeping a close eye on the situation throughout the day.

Investigation into Alberta plane crash begins

The Transportation Safety Board says it has started its investigation into the cause of a small plane crash that left six people dead in the Rockies west of Calgary.

Board Spokesman Liam MacDonald says the team of investigators had arrived in the area late on Saturday and began work the next morning.

He says investigators are conducting several interviews and collecting information about the aircraft in order to understand what went wrong.

Former Broncos player taking up basketball

After dedicating his entire sporting life to hockey, former Humboldt Bronco player Ryan Straschnitzki (strah-ZIHN’-skee) is looking at another sport to help him fulfil his dream of representing Canada at the Paralympics.

Straschnitzki was paralyzed from the chest down in 2018 when a semi-trailer ran a stop sign and barrelled into the path of the Humboldt Bronco’s bus in rural Saskatchewan.

Straschnitzki is now focusing on trying wheelchair basketball to make its national team.

He says he will be joining a men’s team this winter and hopes to make his way up through the ranks.

New cigarette warning labels aim to deter kids

A fresh set of Health Canada regulations that require warning labels on individual cigarettes is set to come into effect Tuesday.

The move, announced earlier this year, makes Canada the first country in the world to take that step in the ongoing effort to help smokers kick the habit and deter potential puffers from picking it up.

The wording on every cigarette, written in English and French on the paper around the filter, ranges from warnings about harming children and damaging organs to causing impotence and leukemia. “Poison in every puff,” cautions one.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2023.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today: Canada at Women’s World Cup, new B.C. port strike deal

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