New homes are constructed in Ottawa on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

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

Liberalssay newcomers can help solve housing crisis ...

The alarm bells are becoming bull horns: Canada's housing supply isn't keeping up with the rapid rate of population growth.

Academics, commercial banks and policy thinkers have all been warning the federal government that the pace of population growth, facilitated by immigration, is making the housing crisis worse.

"The primary cause for (the) housing affordability challenge in Canada is our inability to build more housing that is in line with the increase in population," said Murtaza Haider, a professor of data science and real estate management at Toronto Metropolitan University.

A TD report released in late July also warned that "continuing with a high-growth immigration strategy could widen the housing shortfall by about a half-million units within just two years."

But the Liberals are doubling down on their commitment to bring more people into the country, arguing that Canada needs high immigration to support the economy and build the homes it desperately needs.

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Here's what else we're watching ...

Doc show Feds blamed AFN for delays on policing bill ...

Federal officials worried long-promised legislation declaring First Nations policing an essential service was being delayed by Assembly of First Nations hesitations about the bill, newly released internal documents show.

Records obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act also appear to show that one of the sticking points for both the advocacy organization and Ottawa is whether to recognize policing as an area of First Nations jurisdiction — something the government has done when it comes to child-welfare services.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised his government would bring forward a new First Nations policing law in 2020 after years of calls from Indigenous leaders.

The federal government committed to co-develop the law with the Assembly of First Nations, which represents more than 600 communities across Canada.

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N.L. patients with nowhere else to go crowd ERs

The woman in the corner of the emergency room still haunts Dr. Gerard Farrell, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association. Obviously suffering from dementia, she was impossible to miss as he passed back and forth, always sitting in the same chair in an environment not built to care for her.

"She wasn't there because she needed emergency care. She was there because she needed more care than she could get in the home," Farrell said in an interview. "But there was no place else for her to go."

The woman is the example he provides when asked about his recent experiences with patients that the provincial health authority calls "community emergencies" — patients brought to an emergency department and admitted, despite not meeting the criteria for admission.

"The issue is serious and significant," Farrell said, adding that community emergencies are an example of how emergency rooms are bearing the brunt of health-care staffing shortages.

Nobody at the provincial health authority was available for an interview on the issue of community emergency admissions.

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Heat, wildfires taking toll on B.C. wildlife ...

As high temperature records fall across southern British Columbia, a wildlife rescue group is warning of the heat risks for animals.

Kimberly Stephens, the hospital manager for the Wildlife Rescue Association of BC, says there has been an uptick in the number of calls and admissions of animals affected by extreme temperatures.

She says some have heat exhaustion, others have been chased out by wildfires, or their food and water resources have dried up because of the extreme heat and drought.

Stephens says that's when they come into contact — and conflict — with domestic pets, vehicles and humans.

Although much of the coastal region is expected to return to seasonal temperatures today, the central and southern regions of the province must endure the heat for a day or two longer.

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90 years since Christie Pits riot ...

Today marks the 90th anniversary of the Christie Pits riot, an outbreak of violence following a softball game at a Toronto park that historians have described as one of the worst incidents of ethnically or religiously motivated unrest in the city's history.

The riot on Aug. 16, 1933, began after a group of young men unfurled a banner with a black swastika following the game, which featured a team of mostly Jewish teenagers.

Historians say that during the estimated six-hour brawl triggered by the banner, young people from Italian and Ukrainian backgrounds supported the Jewish side against the apparent Nazi sympathizers.

Cyril Levitt, co-author of the 1987 book “The Riot at Christie Pits,” which helped inform Canadians about the scale of the violence, says it is crucial for the public to remain informed about the incident.

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Saskatchewan begins forming new police service ...

The Saskatchewan Party government has begun establishing a new provincial police service, but the minister in charge says it won't have an oversight body until boots are on the ground.

Christine Tell, minister of corrections, policing and public safety, now has authority to form the new Saskatchewan Marshals Service, said a recent order-in-council. The order states the province's deputy minister will act in place of a board to oversee operations.

Tell said the province is to create a board for the marshals once it's operational in 2026.

"What that looks like is still under development," Tell said in an interview. "But in the interim, the deputy minister is the interim board as we get this thing developed."

The province announced last fall it would create the marshals service to help enhance public safety, particularly in high-crime areas.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 16, 2023

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023