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

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Bluesky
• Share on X
• Copy Link

SEARS CANADA TO CREATE FUND FOR EMPLOYEES: Lawyers representing workers at Sears Canada and the company have reached a deal to create a hardship fund for former employees. The $500,000 for the fund will come from money set aside to pay bonuses under a key employee retention plan. Former employees who would have otherwise been eligible for severance payments when they lost their jobs at the retailer can apply to receive money from the fund provided that they meet certain hardship criteria. Sears Canada was criticized last month when it received approval to pay millions in bonuses to keep key employees on board while not paying severance to laid-off workers during its court-supervised restructuring.

Ongoing bridge construction

Portion of Gaetz Avenue to be closed for four weeks beginning this Sunday

17m ago

2026-27 fiscal year

RDP suspends intake into three programs amidst budget planning

37m ago

Employment boost

Care for Newcomers launches newcomer employment initiative

4h ago

———

TORONTO AREA HOME SALES ‘BOTTOM OUT,’ GROUP SAYS: The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales may be starting to “bottom out” in the so-called Golden Horseshoe area. CREA reports that the number of homes sold across Canada declined for the fourth consecutive month in July. But chief economist Gregory Klump says it was the smallest monthly decline in southern Ontario since the provincial government enacted regulations to cool off the market. He says that suggests sales may be levelling out amid what he calls “stabilizing housing market sentiment.”

———

CANADIANS KILLED IN BURKINA FASO REMEMBERED WARMLY: Two Canadians killed in a terror attack in Burkina Faso are being remembered for their efforts to bring about change in the West African country. Tammy Chen and Bilel Diffalah died after the terrorist strike on a popular Turkish restaurant in downtown Ouagadougou on Sunday that claimed 18 lives. Diffalah worked with an NGO in the West African country, while Chen helped found a charity called Bright Futures Burkina Faso and held degrees from McGill University and Queen’s University.

———

COUILLARD CONCERNED BY ANTI-IMMIGRATION BANNERS: Premier Philippe Couillard says he is concerned by the presence of anti-immigration banners in Quebec City but does not want to give right-wing groups undue attention. Various banners carrying the word #REMIGRATION were put up Monday, including one on an overpass on a busy thoroughfare in the provincial capital. A right-wing group called La Meute is also organizing a demonstration on Sunday to denounce the attitudes of the federal and Quebec governments toward immigration.

———

HURRICANE GERT TO BRUSH ATLANTIC CANADA: Environment Canada is warning south-facing coastlines of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are going to get a little rough as hurricane Gert brushes parts of the southern Grand Banks. It says the storm will have no direct effect on land, but waves will pound parts of the provinces’ Atlantic coasts starting Wednesday. It warns “rip currents are likely” and says the public — especially swimmers — should exercise caution as the storm moves into the region.

———

ADVOCATE SAYS LITTLE KNOWN ABOUT NB CHILD DEATHS: At least five New Brunswick children whose families were known to protective workers have died, but little is publicly known about their deaths — and the province’s child and youth advocate says that has to change. The provincial government accepted most recommendations stemming from an investigation of the cases on Monday, but authorities released no information that could identify the children or the circumstances of their deaths. Advocate Norm Bosse says the public needs to know more about the children to have a better understanding of the problems that exist.

———

ONTARIO FOREST FIRE LEADS TO EVACUATION: Smoke from a growing number of forest fires in northwestern Ontario has prompted the evacuation of community members from a First Nation in the region. Ontario’s Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services says members of the Nibinamik First Nation requested the evacuation after declaring an emergency on Saturday. Deb MacLean, a fire information officer with the province’s forest fire fighting centre in Dryden, Ont., says a power outage in the community also contributed to the decision to ask for an evacuation.

———

STUDY POINTS TO ‘OVERDIAGNOSIS EPIDEMIC’ IN THYROID CANCER: A study by researchers at the University of Calgary suggests there’s an overdiagnosis epidemic when it comes to thyroid cancer. Dawnelle Topstad and James Dickinson pored over four decades worth of Canadian data on the disease. They found thyroid cancer incidence rates in Canada increased by almost six times in women and five times in men between 1970 and 2012. The researchers say there are likely to be consistently small numbers of lethal thyroid cancer cases, but many tumours detected don’t progress or progress too slowly to pose much of a risk.

———

BC CORONER IDENTIFIES ‘DEADPOOL2’ STUNTWOMAN: The BC Coroners Service has identified the movie stuntwoman killed Monday in downtown Vancouver while she was working on the set of the movie “Deadpool 2.” Spokesman Andy Watson says 40-year-old SJ Harris, a resident of New York City, died at the scene. Witnesses said Harris appeared to lose control of her motorcycle while filming outside the Vancouver Convention Centre and crashed through a ground floor window of a neighbouring office building.

———

The Canadian Press