In the news today, May 1

Montreal first responders are warning against so-called disaster tourism after noting a spike in selfie-seekers in neighbourhoods threatened by swollen rivers. An operations chief with the Montreal fire department said his teams on the ground have seen many people who don’t live in the affected areas milling about makeshift dikes and other flood-relief infrastructure, snapping photos and selfies. Martin Guilbault says they don’t want people to play tourist because “it’s not the time.”

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SENATE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS BEYAK SUSPENSION

The Senate’s ethics committee recommended Tuesday that Sen. Lynn Beyak be suspended without pay until the next election over letters about Indigenous Peoples she has posted to her website. The committee’s recommendations include that Beyak attend educational programs at her own expense related to racism toward Indigenous people in Canada. The Senate administration should be directed to remove five letters from her website if she won’t remove them herself, the report adds, and calls on Beyak to apologize to the upper chamber in writing.

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ENVIRONMENT GROUP WANTS ‘FLUSHABLE’ WIPES GONE

Friends of the Earth Canada wants the Competition Bureau to investigate a recent study it says proves there is no such thing as a “flushable” wipe. Municipal water services say the baby wipes and other single-use cleaning cloths people flush down toilets are clogging sewer pipes and causing millions of dollars of damage every year. Friends of the Earth Canada, represented by lawyers at EcoJustice, is filing an application with the Competition Bureau today citing a Ryerson University study that tested 23 wipes labelled as “flushable” and found none of them actually lived up to that claim. The study found the only products that did disintegrate in sewage systems were types of toilet paper.

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ONE OF TWO CATS STUCK IN SINKHOLE FREED

An Edmonton homeowner who has been on watch since discovering two cats trapped in a sinkhole on her property says at least one is free after 12 days. Rebecca Hung says a grey cat was enticed into a cage with treats this morning, pulled to the surface and taken to the city’s Animal Care and Control Centre. She says the male cat is microchipped and she hopes it can be returned to its owner. Hung, who has been lowering cameras into the hole to keep an eye on the animals, says there is no sign of the other cat. She says she believes the black-and-white feline was able to make it out on its own.

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POLICE PUPPIES AT TRAINING CENTRE GET NAMES

Thirteen canine recruits at the RCMP’s police dog training centre in central Alberta are getting names chosen by kids from across the country. Mounties say their annual name-the-puppies contest received a record-setting 34,714 entries from children in every province and territory — beating the previous record by more than 13,000. This year’s names all had to start with the letter M.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announces investments in research partnerships in New Brunswick. An armchair discussion on climate change and the fishery follows at 11:30 a.m.

— Court appearance for Lucas Dawe, man charged with stealing a human skeleton from a Conception Bay South cemetery.

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in the Tailor Project’s A Common Thread event in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day, and delivers remarks.

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The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today, May 1

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