Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, centre left, and Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen, centre right, look over a burnt out car during a visit to Fort McMurray, Alta., on Friday, May 13, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
May 13, 2016 - 3:11 PM
Highlights from the news file for Friday, May 13:
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PM VISITS FORT MCMURRAY: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the magnitude of the Fort McMurray wildfire didn't fully hit him until he toured the northern Alberta city on Friday. He says the extraordinary efforts of firefighters prevented the disaster from being worse than it was. Trudeau also said that Canada will be there as the city rebuilds. Some 80,000 people were forced to flee their homes last week and there is still no indication when they'll be allowed to return.
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CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES GEARING UP TO REBUILD FORT MAC: It's expected to take years to fully rebuild Fort McMurray and construction and cleanup firms are already preparing to begin the work in the northern Alberta city. Ben Dutton at the Casman Group of Companies says he has crews heading up to the major oilsands sites north of the city to help clean up and get ventilation and electrical systems back online. Dutton says he thinks it will be weeks before he can get into Fort McMurray to begin the rebuilding process. Roughly 2,400 buildings were destroyed in the wildfire.
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AT LEAST THREE DEAD IN MONTREAL APARTMENT FIRE: Searchers have found three bodies in the wreckage of an apartment building that caught fire south of Montreal early Friday morning. Firefighters are still searching the building. When firefighters first arrived at the fire, they found a collapsed wall and severed a gas line, which fuelled the flames even further, trapping about 20 residents inside. Firefighters used ladders to rescue them from their balconies. The cause is not known. Some 40 residents have been forced to seek shelter elsewhere.
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NEW DEMOCRATS HAVE DAY IN COURT OVER SATELLITE OFFICES: The New Democrats were in Federal Court on Friday to fight a House of Commons committee ruling on the NDP's use of parliamentary funds to run offices in Montreal, Toronto and Quebec City. The committee ordered 68 New Democrat MPs to repay $2.7 million in parliamentary funds that went toward the offices. The NDP has long denied that it used parliamentary funds for non-parliamentary purposes. The party says it's using its own funds to pay for the court challenge.
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LIBERALS ACCUSED OF BULLDOZING ASSISTED DYING BILL THROUGH PARLIAMENT: The opposition parties say the Trudeau government is using "bulldozer" tactics to push the a bill on medically assisted death through Parliament. The opposition parties rejected a proposal by the Liberals to extend debate next week. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says she would have preferred to have more time to debate the proposed new law. But the Opposition Conservatives complained that their constituents deserve to hear their MPs debate the legislation at a time when they're actually awake. Wilson-Raybould says she would consider amendments from the Senate in order to ensure the law is passed before the June deadline.
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US AUTHORITIES ASK AIRPORT TRAVELLERS TO BE PATIENT: American security officials are asking airline passengers to be patient amid growing unrest over extremely long airport security lines. Travellers in the U.S. have endured lengthy lines, at some airports, lines during peak hours have topped 90 minutes. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the government has a plan to deal with the lines, although travellers should expect to wait as they travel this summer. But Johnson says U.S. security won't neglect its duty to stop terrorists.
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DEBRIS DISCOVERY WON'T ALTER SEARCH FOR MALAYSIAN JETLINER: The Malaysian government says it won't shift its search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 after the discoveries of five pieces of debris in the western Indian Ocean. The government has confirmed the last two pieces, found in South Africa and Rodrigues Island off Mauritius, are "almost certainly" from the jetliner that vanished more than two years ago. The government says the discoveries align with the modelling pattern established by experts of where debris would drift from a crash in the southern Indian Ocean. He said the 120,000 square kilometre search area, west of Australia, will be gone over before authorities decide whether to further extend the hunt.
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GPS PUTS ONTARIO WOMAN IN LAKE: An Ontario woman who was following her GPS on a foggy night ended up in Lake Huron. Ontario Provincial Police say the 23-year-old woman from Kitchener was following a route on her car's GPS while driving in the dark on Thursday night in Tobermory, Ont. Police say the woman made a wrong turn into a boat launch and found her car in the lake. The vehicle stayed afloat long enough for the woman to roll down the window, grab her purse and swim about 30 metres to shore. Once there, she walked to the nearest hotel and called police.
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B.C. WOMAN GETS LEAD ON MISSING CHILDREN: New photographs of four missing Vancouver Island siblings and an open letter posted in the name of their fugitive father have surfaced on a dedicated Facebook page that the children's mom hopes will lead to a break in the case. Alison Azer has spoken to RCMP about the recent online posts and pictures of her children she hasn't seen since last August, when her ex-husband allegedly fled to the Middle East. The photos, which include selfies and video, show the smiling children with their father playing in the park, dancing and romping in bouncy castle, posts Azer called ``propaganda.'' A Canada-wide warrant remains out for Saren Azer on charges of abduction in contravention of a custody order.
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CANADIANS GET SECOND CHANCE TO SEE NOTORIOUS PRISON: The federal government is opening Canada's most infamous prison to tours again, nearly three years after it closed. Kingston Penitentiary, also known as KP, has held serial killers, rapists and bank robbers. In 1971 it was the scene of one of the bloodiest prison riots in Canadian history. Proceeds from the tours will be split between the United Way charity and local tourism marketing efforts.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2016