Census housing report and Toronto police funeral: In The News for Sept. 21, 2022

Widespread concerns about affordability in Canada have long been tied to skyrocketing housing prices.

But as the Bank of Canada hikes interest rates to combat inflation, prices have fallen dramatically this year.

In today’s report, experts are expected to keep a close eye on what the data indicates about home ownership rates among young people.

The data will also shed light on the housing conditions on and off-reserve for Indigenous communities.

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Also this …

The funeral for a slain Toronto police officer is set for this afternoon with expected tributes from dignitaries and eulogies from his family.

Cont. Andrew Hong was shot dead last week while on break during a training session in Mississauga, Ont., in what police are calling an ambush attack.

Another person was injured in the Mississauga shooting, and police say the same suspect then shot three people at an auto body shop in Milton, Ont., killing two and injuring one, before he was shot and killed by police in Hamilton.

Hong, 48, was a 22-year veteran of the force who worked with a highly specialized motorcycle unit that provides security escorts for prime ministers and presidents.

A procession will make its way through the city starting around 9:30 a.m. before concluding at the Toronto Congress Centre, where police from across the country are expected to attend the funeral.

The ceremony is not open to the public but can be streamed online.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to address the United Nations General Assembly today, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among those attending in person.

The delegation will also hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose livestreamed speech marks a rare exception to the General Assembly’s rules.

Meanwhile, Trudeau is expected to announce Canada’s latest contribution to a UN effort to confront treatable disease in the developing world.

He is also to take part in a meeting with Caribbean partners to discuss the ongoing crisis in Haiti, where relentless waves of gang violence have persisted through the summer, killing hundreds of people.

Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, said he recently visited the country to see the chaos for himself. The gangs have even taken over the courthouse in the main city of Port-au-Prince, he said.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial mobilization in Russia as the war in Ukraine reaches nearly seven months and Moscow loses ground on the battlefield. Putin also warned the West that “it’s not a bluff” that Russia would use all the means at its disposal to protect its territory.

The total number of reservists drafted in the partial mobilization is 300,000, officials said.

The Russian leader’s televised address to the nation comes a day after Russian-controlled regions in eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans to hold votes on becoming integral parts of Russia. The Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to escalate the war following Ukrainian successes.

Putin accused the West of engaging in “nuclear blackmail” and noted “statements of some high-ranking representatives of the leading NATO states about the possibility of using nuclear weapons of mass destruction against Russia.”

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On this day in 1995, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the federal law that banned tobacco advertising, arguing the law went too far and violated the industry’s constitutional right to free speech. Two years later, in 1997, the federal government passed a new law which stopped most tobacco advertising and denied companies the right to sponsor sporting and cultural events. In August, 2005, the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down the part of the law which prohibits tobacco companies from using their corporate names to sponsor events.

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In entertainment …

Catherine Wreford and Craig Ramsay, who stirred audiences with their story of perseverance and lasting friendship in the face of a devastating medical diagnosis, were declared winners of Season 8 of “The Amazing Race Canada” on Tuesday night.

The friends of 25 years won the 10-team race across Canada, completing a mighty catalogue of challenges in pursuit of a $250,000 cash prize and two pickup trucks.

The 49-year-old, Winnipeg-born Wreford says she hopes the victory shows viewers that courage can overcome even the most daunting situations. She was diagnosed in 2013 with anaplastic astrocytoma, a malignant brain tumour, and was informed that she would have anywhere between two and six years left to live.

Both contestants needed to bring a unique bag of tricks to win it all amid some stiff competition. Aside from the fitness expert prowess of Ramsay, who is also an author, TV personality and staunch, outspoken member of the LGBTQ community, he says he has a photographic memory. Wreford added her important skill set as a mathematician and former nursing school student.

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Did you see this?

Canadian lobster and crab harvesters are pushing back against a group that added the crustaceans to a “red list” of seafood to avoid as a way of protecting endangered whales.

A recent report by California-based Seafood Watch, a group that monitors global harvesting of fish and crustaceans, said lobster and crab fishing industries are a menace to the endangered North Atlantic right whale because the animals get entangled in fishing gear.

But the Lobster Council of Canada says the red-listing does not take into account the “significant efforts” being made to avoid entanglements with the whales.

Thousands of businesses use Seafood Watch’s recommendations to inform their seafood-buying decisions, and many have pledged to avoid any items that appear on the red list.

The North Atlantic right whales number less than 340, and entanglement is one of the two biggest threats they face, along with collisions with ships, scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other groups have said.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government also pushed back against the report, calling the red-list label irresponsible.

The seafood industry is an integral component of the provincial economy, the government says, employing over 17,000 people from more than 400 communities. Last year, the total value of the province’s fishing sector was $1.6 billion, with the most significant portion coming from snow crabs, it said.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Census housing report and Toronto police funeral: In The News for Sept. 21, 2022

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