Yellowknife residents are crossing their fingers that tomorrow's scheduled lifting of a general evacuation order will go ahead as planned and they'll be allowed to return home. People without vehicles lineup to register for a flight to Calgary, Alta., in Yellowknife, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Return of Yellowknife evacuees still on track
Yellowknife residents are crossing their fingers that tomorrow’s scheduled lifting of a general evacuation order will go ahead as planned and they’ll be allowed to return home.
The lifting of the order remains contingent on fire and highway conditions, but N.W.T. wildfire information officer Mike Westwick said yesterday that no challenges are expected for Highway 1 for the next few days.
Yellowknife city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett says workers in grocery stores, pharmacies, home-heating providers, and even some taxi drivers and daycare providers are on their way back to the city in advance of tomorrow.
Trudeau arrives in Jakarta, kicking off tour
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau landed in Jakarta today where he is kicking off a six-day tour of the Indo-Pacific region.
Trudeau and his son Xavier were greeted with Indonesian dancers, with the prime minister being gifted a traditional scarf.
Trudeau is set to spend two days in Jakarta where he will meet with President Joko Widodo this evening.
Here’s what else we’re watching …
‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’ trial set to begin
The criminal trial of “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber begins today, as they answer charges related to their role in the protest that threw Canada’s capital city into chaos last year.
Lich and Barber were part of the original group that mobilized a convoy of big rigs and other trucks and cars to drive to Ottawa in winter 2022 to protest COVID-19 public health restrictions and the Liberal government.
The protest inspired similar demonstrations at several international border crossings and precipitated the first invocation of the federal Emergencies Act since the legislation was created in 1988.
Trial of accused London attacker to start today
The trial of a man facing terror-related murder charges in the deaths of four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont., in 2021 is set to start today.
Jury selection will begin this morning for the trial of Nathaniel Veltman who is accused of deliberately hitting the Afzaal family members with his truck as they were out for a walk on the evening of June 6, 2021.
Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance ruled last year that a change of venue is warranted in the case, moving the trial from London to Windsor, Ont.
Invasive species report has advice for governments
An international organization has produced a report on alien invasive species which says the global problem costs billions of dollars annually and is, in some cases, being worsened by climate change.
The executive summary of the report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was approved over the weekend in Bonn, Germany, by the organization’s 143 member states.
It said that while 80 per cent of countries have targets related to managing invasive alien species in their national biodiversity plans, only 17 per cent have national laws or regulations specifically addressing these issues and about 45 per cent of all countries don’t invest in the management of biological invasions.
Progress in Blood Tribe battle against trafficking
A southern Alberta First Nation’s life-and-death battle with drug traffickers is starting to pay off.
The Blood Tribe announced in April it was setting up a special police team and cleaning up and renovating many abandoned houses in order to shut down drug operations.
Opioid use has been a major issue on the reserve of 10,000 people about 200 kilometres south of Calgary.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5th, 2023.
