A sign outside a building at Statistics Canada in seen in Ottawa on Friday, March 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of April 6 ...

What we are watching in Canada ...

Statistics Canada is set to release March employment data this morning.

The labour force survey will provide an update on how the labour market is faring amid high interest rates.

After posting strong job gains over the last several months, economists are not expecting a significant change in employment in March.

Both TD and CIBC are forecasting the unemployment rate ticked slightly higher to 5.1 per cent, up from five per cent in February.

The Canadian economy is expected to slow down significantly this year, but so far, the labour market has shown no signs of weakness.

The Bank of Canada, which is preoccupied with getting inflation down, is hoping to see easing in the labour market over the coming months.

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Also this ...

Church bells are to ring today in Humboldt at the same time as the deadly bus crash brought unimaginable tragedy to the small Saskatchewan city five years ago.

The bells at St. Augustine Church are to toll 29 times — one for each person who was on the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos on April 6, 2018. Sixteen people died and 13 were injured after a transport truck went through a stop sign and into the path of a bus carrying the Saskatchewan junior hockey team.

Celeste Leray-Leicht, who is part of the planning committee, said she feels better any time she can honour her son. Jacob Leicht was 19 years old when he was killed in the crash.

“He's part of everything we say and do and guiding us along the way," Leray-Leicht said.

For the anniversary, the city and members of the Broncos families have organized a tribute service at the Elgar Petersen Arena for people who wish to pay their respects. The rink is the home of the Broncos and is filled with mementoes, banners and photos.

The tribute will include videos and photos that families of the Broncos have contributed over the years.

Mayor Michael Behiel has proclaimed it “2017-18 Humboldt Broncos Day” and encouraged people to take a moment of silence as the bells echo around 4:50 p.m., the approximate time the crash occurred five years ago.

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And this too ...

A fierce storm system that brought thunder, lightning and freezing rain to parts of Quebec and Ontario has more than a million hydro customers still in the dark.

Much of Quebec remains under a freezing rain warning, and Hydro-Quebec said as of 3:45 a.m. EST, power outages affected nearly 1.1 million customers.

Montreal authorities reported numerous calls for downed trees, while Transport Quebec said weather conditions forced it to close the Victoria Bridge, which connects Montreal with its southern suburbs.

Via Rail issued a travel advisory, saying power outages and track obstructions caused service delays and cancellations in the Montreal-Toronto Corridor.

Across the border in Ontario, Hydro One reported nearly 119,000 customers were without power.

Hydro Ottawa issued a statement late Wednesday saying crews paused restoration efforts overnight due to poor visibility and falling trees and branches on overhead wires resulting in unsafe working conditions. It noted as of 10:30 p.m., more than 60,000 customers were still without power.

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What we are watching in the U.S. ...

BOISE, Idaho _ Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law Wednesday that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent.

The law is the first of its kind in the U.S. and creates a new crime of "abortion trafficking,'' barring adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor or "recruiting, harbouring or transporting the pregnant minor'' without the consent of the minor's parent or guardian.

Anyone convicted of breaking the law will face two to five years in prison and could also be sued by the minor's parent or guardian. Parents who raped their child will not be able to sue, though the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion will remain in effect.

To sidestep violating a constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho's law makes illegal only the in-state segment of a trip to an out-of-state abortion provider.

Opponents have promised a legal battle.

"Yet again, Idaho's governor disregarded constituents and signed HB 242 into law, creating the nation's first crime of so-called `abortion trafficking.' This legislation is despicable, and we're going to do everything in our power to stop it,'' Idaho State Director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates-West said Wednesday on Twitter.

Idaho is one of 13 states that already effectively ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy, and is one of a handful of states that already have laws penalizing those who help people of any age obtain abortions.

State leaders in Washington, Oregon and California have promoted the West Coast as a safe haven for abortion procedures, and lawmakers in Oregon and Washington are considering bills to shield abortion providers and patients from criminal liability. Oregon's bill would allow physicians to provide abortion to anyone regardless of age, and would bar them in certain cases from disclosing that information to parents.

Thirty-six states require parental involvement in a minor's decision to have an abortion, though most allow exceptions under certain circumstances like medical emergencies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group supporting abortion rights.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

BEIJING _ French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he wants to forge a "common path'' with China on peace in Ukraine when he meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

French officials said earlier Macron planned to urge Xi to use Beijing's influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote peace in Ukraine but expected no major change in China's position.

Xi and Putin declared their governments had a "no limits friendship'' before Moscow's February 2022 attack on Ukraine. Beijing has refused to criticize the Kremlin but has tried to appear neutral and has called for a ceasefire and peace talks.

Macron said during a meeting with ruling Communist Party's No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, that he wanted to talk about "Ukraine, but also about all the major conflicts and the difficult situations around the world.''

"The ability to share a common analysis and build a common path is essential,'' Macron said.

Li said there was likely to be "broad consensus'' between Macron and Xi but gave no indication whether Beijing might be willing to lobby Moscow to make peace.

The meeting will "send positive signals of concerted efforts by China, France and Europe to maintain world peace and stability,'' Li said.

Macron was accompanied by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a show of European unity in dealings with Beijing.

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On this day in 2018 ...

The Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team bus and a semi collided at a rural intersection near Tisdale, Sask, resulting in the deaths of 16 people on the bus - 10 players, the head coach and assistant coach, radio announcer, statistician, trainer and bus driver; 13 others were injured. (In July, the truck driver was formally charged. A GoFundMe page for the victims and their families raised over $15 million, the largest ever in Canada, and was transferred to the new Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund.)

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In entertainment ...

LAS VEGAS _ A former "Dances With Wolves'' actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls in the U.S. and Canada for two decades has asked a judge in Nevada to toss out a sweeping indictment against him in state court.

Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, claims the sexual encounters with two women identified as victims in the Nevada case were consensual. One of them was younger than 16 _ the age of consent in Nevada _ when she says the sexual abuse began.

Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny said Wednesday that she would issue her decision before the end of the week. She could deny Chasing Horse's request or dismiss some or all of the charges, although she didn't offer any indication as to how she might rule during her questioning of state prosecutors and Chasing Horse's public defender.

A Clark County jury indicted Chasing Horse, 46, in February on charges of sexual assault of a minor, kidnapping, child abuse, lewdness and drug trafficking. He has been in custody at a county jail since Jan. 31, when he was arrested by SWAT officers near the home he shared with his five wives in North Las Vegas.

He also faces sexual abuse charges in Canada and the U.S. District Court in Nevada, as well as on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.

Prosecutors and police say Chasing Horse, who is known for his portrayal of Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning film, marketed himself to tribes countrywide as a self-proclaimed medicine man who possessed healing powers and could communicate with higher beings. They accuse of him using his position to lead a cult known as The Circle, gain access to vulnerable girls and women and take underage wives.

The alleged crimes, according to court documents, date to the early 2000s and occurred in Canada and multiple U.S. states, including Nevada, Montana and South Dakota.

Chasing Horse is currently scheduled to stand trial May 1 in the state case. He has pleaded not guilty and invoked his right to a trial within 60 days of his indictment.

He is due back in state court Monday morning for a hearing on another motion asking the judge to grant him three trials. Chasing Horse and his attorneys have argued that the sexual assault allegations and the drug trafficking charge contained in the state's indictment are unrelated.

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Did you see this?

OTTAWA _ Former prime minister Brian Mulroney is recovering after undergoing treatment in Montreal for prostate cancer.

His daughter Caroline Mulroney said Wednesday in a written statement that the family expects him to be "back to normal in the coming weeks.''

Her office confirmed that he underwent treatment for prostate cancer.

The Toronto Star, citing an interview with one of his sons, Mark, said that the treatment began last fall.

Mulroney, 84, was prime minister from 1984 to 1993, as leader of the Progressive Conservatives.

While in office he negotiated the first free trade agreement with the U.S., which later became NAFTA.

"My family is comforted by the outpouring of support from across our country,'' said Caroline Mulroney, who is currently Ontario's minister of transportation and francophone affairs.

"I have always known my dad to be a fighter.''

The former prime minister gave a eulogy for Queen Elizabeth II in Ottawa in September, recalling his personal relationship with the monarch and her work to oppose the apartheid regime in South Africa while he was in office.

He and his wife, Mila, have four children: Caroline, Mark, Ben and Nicholas.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023