Five stories in the news today, July 9 from The Canadian Press:
WILDFIRES STRETCH RESOURCES
Soldiers are helping crews fight wildfires in northern Saskatchewan as other western provinces call in help from foreign countries. About 360 troops were building fire guards and clearing brush near La Ronge and Montreal Lake. Steve Roberts with Saskatchewan Wildfire Management said the fire situation across Western Canada is so busy that it is a challenge for the provinces to get enough firefighters.
B.C. PREMIER: WILDFIRES DON’T PLAY BY THE RULES
Firefighters battling the flames in British Columbia’s forests are playing a dangerous game with an opponent that doesn’t play by the rules, said Premier Christy Clark. The premier was in Pemberton, B.C., Wednesday, a small community east of the Elaho blaze. The fire, at 200 square kilometres, is one of the largest in the province.
BIG TOBACCO APPEALS QUEBEC RULING
The country’s largest tobacco companies are set to return to court today in Montreal to fight a ruling that they must pay out more than a billion dollars in settlement money in the coming weeks. A Quebec judge ruled just more than a month ago that Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and JTI-Macdonald had to fork over 15.6 billion to smokers who either fell sick or couldn’t quit the habit.
CHINA SLUMP NOT A LONG-TERM WORRY: EXPERTS
Experts say Canadians don’t need to worry about China’s plunging stock markets affecting their retirement portfolio in the short term. But they say a potential slowdown in an economy hungry for natural resources could spell long-term trouble. The Shanghai Composite Index has lost nearly a third of its value in the last month.
ALSO IN THE NEWS
Nicholas Layman, accused of stabbing an 11-year-old soccer player, is back in court in St. John’s, N.L.
Codey Reginald Hennigar appears in court in Dartmouth, N.S., to face three charges of second-degree murder after three bodies were found in a burning home in Wyses Corner, N.S.
The Assembly of First Nations wraps up its annual meeting in Montreal.
Quebec rights commission releases an analysis into how authorities intervened in the Lev Tahor religious community.
Change of command of Royal Canadian Air Force in Ottawa.
Officials provide a technical briefing on Canadian operations against ISIL.
Toronto Raptors president and general manager Masai Ujiri will make announcements at 10 a.m. and again at 11:30 a.m.
