Wynne to join canoe journey
A special visitor will be on hand when a group of canoeists arrive here next week.
Premier Kathleen Wynne has scheduled some vacation time in the Fort Frances area, her press secretary said in an e-mail late this morning.
She and her partner, Jane, plan to participate in the 2017 Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Voyageur Canoe Expedition from Aug. 9-12, Ronan Le Guern added.
College faculty ask for strike vote
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to schedule a September strike vote for faculty at Ontario public colleges.
The chair of the union bargaining team, JP Hornick, said the vote should come as no surprise to college management, given their refusal to deal with the core issues raised by faculty.
Plan your border crossing
The Canada Border Services Agency is anticipating heavy traffic volumes at ports of entry in eastern and Northern Ontario this civic holiday long weekend and would like to remind travellers to plan their border crossing to avoid delays.
Beat the border rush by crossing at a non-peak time.
Rash of new fires
There were 13 new fires in the Northwest Region yesterday, with another new blaze reported this morning.
That brings the total number of active fires in the region to 50.
These 14 fires include four in Sioux Lookout District, five in Nipigon District, four in Thunder Bay District, and one in Red Lake District.
Taking shape
Work is progressing on the future Rainy Lake Square, where the placement of concrete is ongoing, with completed areas being backfilled and planting beds prepared. More concrete retaining walls are being poured this week while excavations for the stage foundation also are getting started.
Getting crafty
Maverick Dal admired the sun catcher he made with odds and ends yesterday afternoon at the Legion Park during the weekly “Open Air Art Studio” organized by Community Living Fort Frances and District. Next Thursday's free activity is Japanese Shibori dyeing from 3-7 p.m. at the Point Park.
Soccer chase
Declan Webb, left, and Pharmasave were under pressure all night from Jesse Fuhrer as favoured Centra Pipelines overcame a slow start to earn to a 4-0 victory in the first leg of the men's division semi-finals in the Borderland Soccer League last night. The other game saw CJ Contracting defeat Manitou Forest Products 4-1. The second leg of both semi-finals will be held Tuesday.
1-in-5 sausages mislabelled: study
A federally-funded study has found that 20 percent of sausages sampled from grocery stores across Canada contained meats that weren't on the label.
The study, published this week in the journal “Food Control,” was conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph and commissioned by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Cemetery for Muslims OK'd
QUEBEC—Muslims in Quebec City are going to have their own cemetery after all.
Mayor Regis Labeaume and representatives of the city's Muslim community made the announcement at a news conference today.
Abortion pill to be offered for free
TORONTO—Women in Ontario will be able to get an abortion pill for free with a prescription as of Aug. 10.
Mifegymiso, billed as an alternative to surgical abortion, is a combination of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.
It can be used to terminate pregnancies at an early stage—up to seven weeks from the start of a woman's last menstrual period.
Birth of new party spurs unrest
CALGARY—The merger of Alberta's two conservative parties is prompting some disaffected members to form splinter parties of their own despite warnings from experts that the move is unlikely to affect the next provincial election.
U.S. ambassador confirmed
WASHINGTON—Donald Trump's ambassador is heading to Canada.
The U.S. Senate swiftly confirmed Kelly Knight Craft, endorsing her nomination in time for her to begin work as major trade negotiations start.
The confirmation was announced yesterday by the Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell.
'Iroquois-bashing' markers to vanish
MONTREAL—Michael Rice said growing up as a Mohawk child, he was told to be prepared to come across portrayals of indigenous people as the “bad guys.”
“We are used to being bashed as Iroquois,” the high school history teacher said in an interview.
“We are like the Russians in the Cold War.”
Stars, starters sit out 'Hall of Fame' game
CANTON, Ohio—Now that the Dallas Cowboys have taken care of business in the Hall of Fame game, they're going to hang around for a couple of days.
Why not? The boss is about to get a gold jacket.
With no stars and few starters on the field last night, the Cowboys edged the Arizona Cardinals 20-18.
Bombers to face rested Redblacks
OTTAWA—With a 1-4-1 record, the Redblacks hardly look like a team in position to contend for the East Division, but just three points separate Ottawa from the first-place Toronto Argonauts.
The Redblacks will look to close the gap tonight when they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-2-0).
Stampeders romp over Argos
TORONTO—Roy Finch staggered the Toronto Argonauts before Bo Levi Mitchell delivered the knockout blows.
Finch had a punt-return touchdoown for the second-straight game while Mitchell threw three TD strikes to lead the Calgary Stampeders past Toronto 41-24 last night before just 11,616 spectators at BMO Field.
Twins return home but still lose
MINNEAPOLIS—Joey Gallo has made plenty of progress at the plate this season for the Texas Rangers.
Those home runs just keep going and going, too.
Gallo's latest massive homer was a three-run shot in the fourth inning last night that spurred the Rangers to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins, making A.J. Griffin a winner in his first start in more than two months.
Pieters grabs early lead
AKRON, Ohio—Rory McIlroy had his best friend on the bag and his best start on American soil in 18 months.
For Jordan Spieth, it was more of the same with two long putts and another comment filled with bravado directed at his caddie.
Both of them opened with a three-under 67 at the Bridgestone Invitational, leaving them two shots behind Thomas Pieters of Belgium.
Flames engulf highrise yet again
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—A fire broke out after midnight today in one of the world's tallest residential towers in Dubai, engulfing part of the skyscraper and sending chunks of debris plummeting below.
More than 40 floors of the 86-story Torch Tower were burning on one side of the building, an Associated Press journalist near the scene of the blaze said.
Flames engulf 86-story residential skyscraper in Dubai
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A fire broke out after midnight Friday in one of the world’s tallest residential towers in Dubai, engulfing part of the skyscraper and sending chunks of debris plummeting below.
Geese rounded up from DC park will be made into meals
WASHINGTON — Officials say 100 pounds of meat from geese caught in a Washington park have been donated to an organization that distributes food to the homeless and others.
Pastis Shrimp
This is my French-flavoured version of peel ‘n’ eat shrimp. The sauce is delicious and warrants a whole baguette just for sopping up!
It’s one of those summer dishes that I make frequently for friends and family. The dish pays homage to one of my favourite places on earth, the South of France, where pastis was born.
Atown
The Halkirk fire protection team will hold its 26th-annual fish fry on Saturday, Aug. 5 from noon-6 p.m. at the Bear Pass fire hall (Bear Pass Road). A bouncy castle will be on hand again this year. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for kids (dessert included). No dogs please!