By Canadian Press

In the news today: Haiti leadership transition plan facing rejection by parties

Mar 14, 2024 | 1:16 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Plan to install new leaders in Haiti appears to crumble after political parties reject it

A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appears to be crumbling as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition.

The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council of ministers who would attempt to chart a new path for the Caribbean country that has been overrun by gangs.

The violence has closed schools and businesses and disrupted daily life across Haiti.

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Suspect in Ottawa mass killing back in court

The 19-year-old charged with killing six people in an Ottawa suburb last week is set to return to court this afternoon.

Febrio De-Zoysa was arrested last Wednesday night and is charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Police say De-Zoysa, who came to Canada as an international student, had been living with the victims, who were also newcomers from Sri Lanka.

They include 35-year-old Darshani Ekanayake and her four children, who range in age from two months to seven years old, and a family friend.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

Thousands of Edmonton city workers to go on strike

More than 5,000 Edmonton civic workers are expected to walk off their jobs this morning in a strike that will affect services from criminal record checks to recreation centres.

Members of the Civic Service Union are slated to begin their strike over contract negotiations at 11 a.m.

Edmonton’s public libraries have announced plans to close during the strike, which would involve library staff as well as administrative staff for the Edmonton Police Service and the municipal government.

Those preparing to strike include emergency 9-1-1 operators as well as those who conduct criminal record checks and firearms renewals.

Alberta bands seek toxicity ruling in oilsands

Two Alberta First Nations have asked the federal government to examine whether a chemical in oilsands tailings pond water that harms fish and other animals should be classed as toxic.

The move could force a long-awaited human health study into development impacts, bring the industry under new regulations and affect its ability to release treated wastewater.

The Athabasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations want Ottawa to classify naphthenic acids as toxic.

Although oilsands companies must report how much of the chemical they are releasing, there are no enforceable limits for its level in the environment.

Sex assault case review program out of funding

A unique Canadian program meant to ensure sexual-assault cases aren’t closed inappropriately by police is set to run out of federal funding at the end of the month.

Sunny Marriner, who leads the Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review project, says it’s the only system in the world that brings together front-line experts and advocates to review every police sexual-assault investigation that doesn’t lead to charges in the areas it operates.

The program was first set up in a few communities in 2016 but drew national attention after the Globe and Mail’s 2017 investigation into sexual-assault allegations dismissed as unfounded.

It’s currently in place in more than two dozen communities across several provinces, including Ottawa, Kingston, Ontario, Saint John, New Brunswick, Regina, and Calgary.

Cree actor pokes fun at former role in latest film

Cody Lightning jokes that he’s been getting the Macaulay Culkin treatment most of his career.

Like the star of the 1990 classic “Home Alone,” Lightning’s turn in a ’90s cult film has followed him around since childhood — something he pokes fun at in his directorial debut, “Hey Viktor!”

The actor from Samson Cree Nation in Alberta portrayed a younger version of Adam Beach’s character Victor Joseph in the 1998 coming-of-age dramedy “Smoke Signals.” The film went on to win several awards and was praised for its depiction of reservation life at a time when major motion pictures relied on romanticized versions of Native American culture and experiences.

Lightning co-wrote “Hey Viktor!” with Samuel Miller and nabbed a Canadian Screen Awards nomination for best original screenplay. He stars as a fictionalized version of himself who has to move back to his First Nation to make ends meet after his failing career forces him to do fracking commercials and pornography jobs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 14, 2024.

— with files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press