Alan Thicke talks about his reality show "Unusually Thicke" being renewed for a second season in an interview at the Banff World Media Festival on June 10, 2014. A publicist says Canadian actor Alan Thicke, who played the likable father on the sitcom "Growing Pains," has died at age 69. Carleen Donovan, who is a publicist for Thicke's son, singer Robin Thicke, says the actor died from a heart attack on Tuesday in Los Angeles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Graveland

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Dec. 14

DOCUMENTS SHOW OTTAWA WATCHED U.S. CAMPAIGN WARILY: Canadian diplomats in Washington warned Ottawa earlier this year that a Donald Trump presidency would affect how the two countries co-operated on fighting climate change. They also levelled criticism at Trump's protectionist trade policy, at one point branding it ill-informed. And less than two months before the Nov. 8 election, they said that a Trump victory seemed unlikely, given Hillary Clinton's strong showing in polls. The findings are contained in a series of campaign monitoring reports prepared by the Canadian embassy in Washington for Global Affairs Canada. Copies of the reports were released under the Access to Information Act.

___

PTSD TOP DIAGNOSIS FOR TROOPS FACING RELEASE: Internal Defence Department records show post-traumatic stress as the top diagnosis for hundreds of troops at risk of being forced out of the military because they are too sick or injured for duty. The documents were obtained by The Canadian Press through the access to information law. Military personnel are required to be physically able to perform their duties and deploy on missions at any given time as a condition for continued employment in the Forces. Anyone who is unable to meet this so-called Universality of Service principle for medical reasons is given time to recover. If recovery is not possible, they are released from the military. According to the records, more than 1,300 troops assessed between June 2014 and July 2015 were "at high risk" of never returning to duty. Of those, PTSD was by far the most common diagnosis, with 290 cases, or about one in every four. That compared to 150 military personnel with back injuries and 124 with knee injuries.

___

POLICE TO TEST DRUG-DETECTION METHODS: Drivers in some jurisdictions may soon find themselves asked by police to volunteer for a saliva test, part of a pilot project aimed at detecting drug-impaired drivers. The federal government, the RCMP and a number of police departments across the country will conduct the experiment to see how well certain roadside testing devices work to detect drugs. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says his department and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators will collaborate with police forces on the project, which will look at how two different devices work under varying weather conditions. The "oral fluid" screening systems test saliva for the presence of drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids.

___

CELEBRITIES REACT TO PASSING OF CANADIAN ACTOR ALAN THICKE: Comic and TV star Howie Mandel says Alan Thicke was a good man who gave him some big breaks in his early days. Mandel's tribute is one of many from Canadian celebrities amid news of the death of the Canadian-born actor, writer and TV theme song composer. Alan Thicke, who was born in Kirkland Lake, Ont., died of a heart attack Tuesday while playing hockey with his youngest son in Los Angeles. He was 69. Thicke co-starred in the American sitcom "Growing Pains" from 1985 to 1992. "Corner Gas" star Brent Butt says it was Thicke's afternoon talk show on CTV many years earlier that introduced him to stand-up, and he thanks Thicke for "giving me a dream."

__

COVETED PARENT VISAS TO BE AWARDED BY LOTTERY: Coveted spots for the parent and grandparent visa program will be awarded by lottery in 2017 after the federal Liberals have scrapped the old first-come, first-serve system that had raised concerns over people paying to be at the front of that line. Applications for the always over-subscribed program had been accepted only via courier or mail at a single immigration office and since they were processed in the order received, couriers had been doing brisk business promising to be at the front of the line, in exchange for fees that could be as high as $400. But that system has now been replaced by a random draw, the federal immigration minister announced Wednesday. Beginning Jan. 3, Canadians will have 30 days to fill out an online form indicating their desire to sponsor a parent or grandparent. From those, immigration officials will randomly draw 10,000 individuals who will then be asked to submit the full application within 90 days.

___

FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS KILLED IN ONTARIO FIRE: Two children, their mother and their great-grandmother have died in a house fire that has devastated a small southwestern Ontario community, according to a close friend and a family relative. Neighbour Adrienne Gerry said she ran across the street as flames and heavy smoke engulfed her friends' home in Port Colborne, Ont., and watched emergency responders try to revive a woman. She said two other family members, including the children's father, managed to escape and told her two children, aged 2 and 15, and their mother remained inside the burning home. Outside, the children's father was inconsolable, she said. Niagara Regional police Const. Phil Gavin said emergency responders removed an 83-year-old woman from the home, but rescuers could not save her life.

___

SYRIAN REBELS SAY CEASEFIRE DEAL IN ALEPPO BACK ON: Syrian rebels say a ceasefire deal for the evacuation of fighters and civilians from eastern Aleppo is back on, hours after it collapsed. Spokesmen for three rebel groups said the ceasefire would go into effect later Wednesday night and implementation of the deal would begin early Thursday. The evacuation from a sliver of territory the rebels still hold in eastern Aleppo was supposed to begin at dawn Wednesday, but shelling resumed in the morning hours. Rebels accused the Syrian government and its allies of derailing the deal by placing new conditions. Ahmed Karali, spokesman for the Ahrar Sham rebel group, said Wednesday that the deal was then salvaged. He added that the first group of wounded people and civilians would begin leaving early Thursday morning. Two other rebel spokesmen confirmed.

___

ASHLEY MADISON OWNER PAYS $1.66M TO SETTLE CASE: The Toronto-based parent company of the infidelity dating site Ashley Madison said Wednesday it hoped to have turned the page after reaching settlements in an investigation led by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Ruby Corp., which was previously known as Avid Life Media, said it has paid more than US$1.6 million in settlements, with half the money going to the FTC and half to the states participating in the probe. The company said that as part of the agreement, it will also maintain a comprehensive information security program and "refrain from past business practices that may have allegedly been misleading to consumers." But it stressed it neither admits nor denies the allegations made by the FTC and the various state attorneys general. The investigation was launched last year after a massive security breach that exposed the personal dealings and financial information of millions of purported clients.

___

AMAZON BRINGS VIDEO STREAMING SERVICE TO CANADA: Amazon brought its video-streaming service to Canada on Wednesday as part of a global launch in more than 200 countries and territories. The Seattle-based company says members of Amazon Prime in Canada will now be able to access the service at no additional cost. Amazon Prime — which costs $79 per year in Canada after a 30-day free trial — also includes free two-day shipping for orders through the global online retailer. Among Amazon's top titles is the critically acclaimed "Transparent," which has won a slew of Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Amazon Prime Video has emerged a serious rival for Netflix, with both companies in an arms race to commission their own original content and woo streaming customers.

___

EXPERTS SAY FED MOVE UNLIKELY TO IMPACT MORTGAGE RATES: Canadian mortgage brokers say it's unlikely for the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate hike to cause any significant boost in mortgage rates north of the border. Steve Pipkey of Vancouver-based online brokerage Spin Mortgage says the bond market has already priced in the increase. The U.S. central bank announced Wednesday that it's boosting its key interest rate by a quarter point to a range of 0.5 to 0.75 per cent, thanks to strong signs of economic growth and expectations that inflation will climb higher. Canadian five-year and 10-year yields did move slightly higher following the announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve, but it's unlikely that the move in bond yields will be strong enough to cause a significant boost in five-year fixed mortgage rates, experts say.

___

NEW FOOD LABELS TO GROUP SUGARS IN INGREDIENTS LIST: New food labelling amendments announced Wednesday by Health Canada are designed to make it easier to compare serving sizes on different products while shopping. With the new labels, Canadians will also be able to tell how much sugar is in a product because the sugar-based ingredients will be grouped together. And the new labelling will help consumers better understand the nutritional composition of a single product by using the per cent daily value (% DV). Packages will include a simple rule of thumb: five per cent is a little, 15 per cent is a lot. It's all about simplification of science-based nutrition information, Minister of Health Jane Philpott said outside a caucus meeting.

___

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016