In the news today: Iran ceasefire, Terrebonne byelection, Decade of B.C. drug crisis

Trump initially said Iran proposed a “workable” 10-point plan that could help end the war, but later called the plan fraudulent without elaborating.

Israel backed the U.S. ceasefire, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the military confirming that it “continues fighting and ground operations” in its war against the Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

‘We are fighting to win’ in Terrebonne, Liberals say, as government eyes majority

Thousands of Liberals will be in Montreal this weekend, just days before voters in the suburban riding of Terrebonne go to the polls in what’s shaping up to be a close byelection.

It’s widely expected that the Liberals will win two other byelections in the Toronto area on Monday, which would give Prime Minister Mark Carney the minimum number of seats in Parliament to turn his minority government into a majority.

But to really control the House of Commons, the Liberals need at least 173 seats — and that means candidate Tatiana Auguste needs to win in Terrebonne.

Health Minister Marjorie Michel says the party is “fighting to win” in Terrebonne, and has had support from all 43 Quebec members of Parliament during the campaign.

Union claims airlines are ‘flying the plane’ in Ottawa’s unpaid work probe

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the federal government’s probe into allegations of unpaid work in the airline sector is not taking workers’ arguments seriously.

Ottawa launched an investigation into the sector in August 2025 when negotiations between Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants boiled over into a strike that saw planes grounded as workers took to the picket lines.

The first phase of the probe didn’t find evidence that unpaid work was widespread in the industry, but Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said investigators needed more data to get to the bottom of the claims.

Wesley Lesosky, head of the airline division at CUPE, says the initial findings of that probe were discouraging for flight attendants who regularly aren’t paid for duties they perform.

Indigenous women’s groups urge funding to limit risks to safety, prosperity

Advocates are calling for long-term, stable federal funding to ensure safety and prosperity for Indigenous women and girls, with a national focus on major building projects.

Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, president of the National Family and Survivors Circle, says groups like hers still don’t know if they’ll receive continued funding from Ottawa.

That uncertainty, she says, undermines work to address the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Anderson-Pyrz says the federal government must take serious action, especially as it ramps up plans for resource extraction and infrastructure projects that can put Indigenous women and girls in harm’s way.

Decade of death: With 18,000 lives lost, B.C. counts cost of 10-year drug emergency

More than 18,000 people have died from toxic illicit drugs in British Columbia since a public health emergency was declared on April 14, 2016.

As the province nears 10 years since the declaration, grieving friends and families, former policy makers, medical workers and those who use drugs are reflecting on the decade of crisis and what could have been done differently to save more lives.

Former paramedic Ian Tait has described its arrival as being like an “atomic bomb,” while Lenae Silva, who uses drugs in Nanaimo, says she watched friends “disappear” as the death toll climbed.

Despite recent declines in fatality rates, an average of almost five people in B.C. die from unregulated drugs — the leading cause of death for adults younger than 40 — every day.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press