Six stories in the news today:
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PARTYGOERS VOW TO OVERCOME FEAR IN WAKE OF ORLANDO MASS SHOOTING
Claire McIntosh was looking forward to being at one of the many parties slated for Toronto’s upcoming gay pride festival — until she saw the carnage unfold at a gay Orlando nightclub. The Toronto resident said Sunday’s mass shooting that left 49 dead made her think twice. But Pride organizers have pledged increased security, as have Cineplex Entertainment and other entertainment venues.
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SENATE REJECTS ADVANCE REQUESTS FOR ASSISTED DEATH
The Senate has voted 47-23, with two abstentions, to reject a proposal to allow individuals who are diagnosed with competence-eroding conditions like dementia to make advance requests for medical help to end their lives. The amendment, proposed by the Senate’s independent Liberal leader, James Cowan, would have let people spell out the circumstances in which they would want an assisted death at some future time when they’re no longer competent or able to communicate their wishes.
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JURY DELIBERATING IN HAMILTON MURDER TRIAL
A Hamilton jury continues its deliberations today at the trial of two men accused of killing Tim Bosma three years ago and burning his body. Dellen Millard and Mark Smich have both pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in Bosma’s death. Bosma, 32, disappeared on May 6, 2013 after taking two men for a test drive of a truck he had listed for sale online. His remains were found days later burned beyond recognition.
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VISITATION SCHEDULED FOR HOCKEY LEGEND GORDIE HOWE
Hockey fans will have a chance to pay their last respects to NHL legend Gordie Howe today. The Hall of Famer died Friday at age 88. Howe’s visitation runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. _ in a nod to his No. 9 jersey _ at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. His family plans to greet the public in the arena, where he will lie in repose. Howe’s funeral is set for Wednesday.
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VALEANT CEO MEETS WITH SHAREHOLDERS AT AGM
Valeant’s new chairman and CEO will share his turnaround plan directly with shareholders today at his first annual meeting since assuming leadership of the embattled drug company in late April. Joseph Papa says he has developed a stabilization plan that the Quebec-based company will pursue over the next three to six months before turning his attention to reviving Valeant’s long-term fortunes.
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ARCTIC ARCHAEOLOGISTS RACE CLIMATE CHANGE
Arctic archaeologists are fighting to learn what they can from one of the most extensive ancient sites in the North before climate change eats away centuries of history. Max Friesen, a University of Toronto archaeologist, is heading this week to a remote island near the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Friesen is in the middle of a multi-year program to try and preserve what’s left of the cultural heritage of the Mackenzie Delta.
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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:
— Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall speaks to the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto in support of the proposed Energy East pipeline.
— The two-day East Coast Energy Connection conference begins in Saint John, N.B.
— Statistics Canada will release the national balance sheet and financial flow accounts for the first quarter.
