The Tuesday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, Aug. 2

NEW SELECTION PROCESS FOR SUPREME COURT JUDGES: Ottawa says the selection process for new Supreme Court of Canada judges will be changed to “demonstrate a degree of rigour and responsibility.” The Liberals announced today that a seven-member, non-partisan advisory board will recommend three to five candidates for the high court to the prime minister for consideration. The board will be chaired by former Conservative prime minister Kim Campbell.

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BENNETT TO MEET MMIW FAMILIES: Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett will meet families of missing and murdered indigenous women Tuesday night on the eve of the government’s formal announcement of an inquiry into the deaths and disappearances. That Wednesday announcement will mark the end of the government’s role in shaping the design of the inquiry and the beginning of work for the commissioners. It is expected that five commissioners will be appointed to the body.

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ZIKA PRECAUTIONS URGED FOR CANADIANS IN MIAMI: The Public Health Agency is telling pregnant Canadian women who visited the Miami area in Florida on or after June 15 to take precautions against the Zika virus. The warning comes after U.S. health officials said mosquitoes have apparently started spreading Zika on the U.S. mainland. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Gregory Taylor said Tuesday that because four million Canadians visit Florida annually, an unknown number could be affected by the latest U.S. discovery.

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U.S. AIR FORCE DECLARES F-35 READY FOR COMBAT: After years of cost overruns and delays, the U.S. air force says the version of the F-35 fighter plane that Canada was planning to buy is ready for combat. The announcement Tuesday came less than two months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the stealth aircraft was far from ready and represents a huge step forward for the controversial plane. Speaking at the Pentagon, Gen. Herbert Carlisle admitted although there are some things the F-35A still can’t do, “we will evolve and continue to improve it just like we have every airplane in history.”
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FACING OPPOSITION, OBAMA STILL HOPEFUL FOR TPP: As political quicksand threatens to swallow the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, U.S. President Barack Obama says he remains determined to save it after the current U.S. election. He expressed hope of passing it through the U.S. Congress during the two-month post-election period known as the lame-duck session, when the outgoing administration and lawmakers briefly remain in office. In a news conference Tuesday, the president said the deal might stand a better chance of passing once the heated anti-trade rhetoric of this election season has been given time to cool down.

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OBAMA CHALLENGES GOP TO DROP SUPPORT OF TRUMP: In a searing denouncement, President Barack Obama slammed Donald Trump as “unfit” and “woefully unprepared” to serve in the White House on Tuesday. He challenged Republican lawmakers to drop their support for their party’s nominee, declaring “There has to come a point at which you say enough.” The president’s blistering critique of his potential successor came on the heels of Trump’s criticism of an American Muslim family whose son, a captain in the U.S. Army, was killed in Iraq.

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WWF: SMALL FISH IN TROUBLE IN CANADIAN WATERS: A new report by a conservation groups says the federal Fisheries Department needs to start considering predators’ fate when it sets catch limits for small fish. The report by WWF-Canada analyzed data on 27 foraging species, and found three fisheries are in critical decline in Atlantic Canada. The group says seabirds, whales and bluefin tuna face starvation without the teeming schools of foraging fish, which are also critical to the recovery of commercial fisheries such as northern cod.

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IMPACT OF B.C. FOREIGN HOMEBUYER TAX UNCERTAIN: Experts are expressing doubt a property transfer tax on foreign buyers that took effect Tuesday will have a significant impact on housing affordability in Metro Vancouver. Realtors in Toronto are also warning that the city’s red-hot real estate market could get even hotter as foreign nationals looking to dodge a new 15 per cent tax on properties in Vancouver seek new places to invest. The tax was introduced by the B.C. government with the intent of improving home affordability in Metro Vancouver, where house prices are among the highest in North America.

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MAN DENIED FLIGHT BECAUSE OF WHEELCHAIR SIZE: A Toronto man says he was turned away from a flight because his wheelchair was about 13 centimetres too tall for the plane’s cargo area. Tim Rose says he was told he wouldn’t be able to fly on an Air Canada flight this September to Cleveland, where he’ll be speaking about disability rights with a large corporation. He says the airline suggested he travel with a smaller wheelchair, but he doesn’t have one. Rose says he felt dehumanized when a representative from the airline told him that his wheelchair was akin to oversized luggage.

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CANADIAN SHOT AND KILLED IN ECUADOR: Relatives of a Quebecer living in Ecuador say he has been killed under suspicious circumstances. Yvan Dionne was shot in the back of the neck and killed at his cocoa and coffee plantation over the weekend in a rural area about 200 kilometres outside the capital, Quito. Dionne’s sister-in-law, Denise Lavoie, says the slaying occurred some time late Friday or early Saturday morning in the nearby fields.