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

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Aug. 25

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OFFICIALS WORRIED ABOUT BIGGER SPIKE IN ASYLUM SEEKERS: Canadian and American officials are worried that, in terms of asylum seekers, they haven’t seen anything yet. They’re concerned the next wave could be a population far bigger than the Haitians crossing now. More than 260,000 Salvadorans are facing deportation from the U.S. if their temporary protected status there is lifted in March. Government officials on both sides of the border told The Canadian Press this week that whether Salvadorans will follow in the footsteps of Haitians who have come across the border is, for now, an unknown.

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WILDFIRE BURNS CLOSE TO THE KELOWNA AREA: A wildfire that is burning in B.C.’s Okanagan region is threatening homes and has forced about 1,100 people to flee. The blaze began as a spot fire about 25 kilometres east of Kelowna and quickly spread. One woman hiking in the area described running into a wall of flame.

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FEDS ASKED TO RETHINK WHICH HISTORICAL FIGURES THEY HONOUR: A call from an Ontario teachers union to remove Sir John A. Macdonald’s name from elementary schools in the province is causing ripples in Ottawa. New Democrat MP Romeo Saganash says there must be a bigger conversation about the role of historic figures in the “dark realities of colonialism.” Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde says he is encouraged that Canadians are starting to acknowledge prominent leaders like Macdonald.

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DECISION MAY BE LOOMING ON FIGHTER JET PURCHASE: Defence officials and fighter jet manufacturers are eagerly looking ahead until late September with regards to the Trudeau government’s plan to buy Super Hornet fighter jets from Boeing. The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to present the findings of an investigation on Sept. 25 on Boeing’s complaint into whether Bombardier is using government subsidies to undercut its competitors. Some of Boeing’s rivals are already lining up if the Liberals abandon buying Super Hornets.

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MOVE TOWARD GENDER NEUTRAL PASSPORTS DRAWING PRAISE: Activists lobbying for gender neutral options on government documents are praising the federal government’s move to allow people to opt out of declaring themselves as either male or female on passports. Those who want to take advantage of the new rule will have to write an observation on their form saying they’d like to see their gender identified as “x” before new forms can be printed offering the neutral option alongside “m” and “f.”

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AUTO UNION LEADERS TALK NAFTA WITH FREELAND: Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland met with key players in the auto industry as the first round of critical NAFTA renegotiations continue. She met Friday with Unifor president Jerry Dias and his American counterpart, United Auto Workers president Dennis Williams, in Toronto. Dias said a concern is low auto worker wages and standards of living in Mexico.

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SENTENCING FOR SASK SHOOTER DELAYED: A Saskatchewan court has delayed sentencing the teen who shot and killed four people in the northern community of La Loche because two defence witnesses contend the teen has fetal alcohol syndrome. The conclusions are based on a report presented to the court. The Crown asked for the hearing to be delayed a week so it can question the defence experts about their conclusions.

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U.S. PROBES WHALE DEATHS: The U.S. government has launched an investigation into a number of deaths of North Atlantic right whales. More than a dozen whales have been found dead this year off Atlantic Canada and New England, which has alarmed experts. American scientists will work with their Canadian counterparts to get to the bottom of what is behind the deaths. No more than 500 right whales remain in the wild.

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HARVEY PROMPTS FLOOD WARNING: The mayor of Corpus Christi is warning residents about the dangers of flooding and told them to be aware of warnings issued by officials as Hurricane Harvey heads toward Texas. Mayor Joe McComb said at a news conference Friday: “If you understand what water can do when it’s rising fast and moving — it can be deadly.” Harvey was upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. The storm is expected to make landfall Friday night or Saturday morning on the middle Texas coast.

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TRUMP JOB APPROVAL NUMBERS CONTINUE TO SINK: Donald Trump came into office as the most unpopular new president in the history of modern polling. Things have not improved. After seven months, Trump’s dismal approval ratings keep setting undesirable records. He’s already passed the mark for the lowest approval rating for a first-year president. And Trump’s current approval rating of 34 per cent is worse than Barack Obama’s ever was. Gallup’s most recent weekly estimate shows only 37 per cent of Americans now view Trump positively. Gallup’s shorter, three-day average puts it at 34 per cent.

The Canadian Press