Six stories in the news for Monday, May 15

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LIBERAL PROMISE FOR REFUGEE REFORM ON HOLD

The Canadian Press has learned that a Liberal election promise to overhaul the way asylum claims are handled has been postponed indefinitely. The number of people seeking refuge in Canada keeps rising. But those advocating for Ottawa to take action before backlogs threaten the integrity of the system say they're running up against a Trudeau government that seems to have lost interest in spending any more money or political capital to help asylum seekers.

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ONTARIO NEW DEMOCRAT TO JUMP INTO FEDERAL LEADERSHIP RACE

A member of the Ontario legislature will enter the federal NDP leadership race today. Jagmeet Singh is considered a rising star in the provincial ranks. He's expected to launch his campaign tonight alongside supporters at an event in Brampton, Ont. Four candidates are officially in the race to succeed Tom Mulcair with two others who are also running but are not yet considered official because they haven't submitted nomination paperwork or paid the fee.

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PANEL REVIEWING ENERGY REGULATOR TO FILE REPORT

A panel studying the mandate and role of the National Energy Board will hand its report to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr. The panel has been looking at whether the federal cabinet should be able to override NEB decisions. The former Conservative government passed legislation in 2012 that would allow the cabinet to approve projects that the NEB rejected.

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STUDY FINDS ETHICAL LAPSES DERAILING MORE CEOS

A new study of the world's 2,500 largest companies says CEOs are increasingly being turfed for so-called "ethical lapses." Price Waterhouse Cooper's annual "CEO Success study" says scandal or improper conduct were responsible for 1.6 per cent of all CEO turnovers in the U.S. and Canada between 2007 and 2011, but that number shot up to 3.3 per cent between 2012 and 2016. Around the globe, the turnover rate for such offences went from 3.9 per cent to 5.3 per cent during the same period.

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MAUD LEWIS PAINTING BEING AUCTIONED FOR CHARITY

A painting by prolific Nova Scotia folk artist Maud Lewis is being sold at auction this week — and the current high bid is $45,000. "Portrait of Eddie Barnes and Ed Murphy" was discovered about a year ago in a New Hamburg, Ont., thrift shop run by the Mennonite Central Committee Ontario. Lewis, who died in 1970, lived in poverty for most of her life and sold her paintings for as little as $2. The MCCO says proceeds from this sale will help fund its relief work in places such as famine starved South Sudan. The bidding ends Friday.

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SEAN SPICER IN THE BUSH TRENDING

Don't be surprised if, in the coming days, you happen to spot White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer peeking out from behind a bush near you. What began as a bit of whimsy on the part of a Victoria, B.C., woman to poke a little lighthearted fun at Spicer's occasionally comedic foibles is now trending on social media.

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2017