By Canadian Press

In the news today, Sept. 3

Sep 3, 2019 | 2:19 AM

Four stories in the news for Tuesday, Sept. 3

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LAG IN RESPONSE TO WHALE PLIGHT COULD BE COSTLY

For years, American fishers have faced tight restrictions on fishing gear and vessel speed restrictions to ensure their activities do not harm marine mammals. But in Canada, it was only after right whales began turning up dead in large numbers in 2017 that authorities brought in emergency measures. And with a deadline approaching for exporting countries to respect new marine mammal protection legislation in the U-S, the inaction could end up harming Canadian fisheries. Sean Brillant, a senior conservation biologist at the Canadian Wildlife Federation, says Canada’s response prior to 2017 — and the 20 right whales found dead in the past three years — could be a concern for Canadian fisheries. Countries that export seafood to the U.S. have five years, beginning Jan. 10, 2017, to comply with strict standards around the incidental killing of other species, including whales.

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In the community

Medicine Hat public library screening movie to open discussion on addiction and recovery

4h ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

London Drugs' senior loneliness program back for ninth year

5h ago

LIVE UPDATES

Road construction, detours and traffic in Medicine Hat

13h ago

QUEBEC TAXI DRIVERS TO BEGIN ROTATING STRIKES

Quebec taxi drivers are set to launch a rotating strike today to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s moves to overhaul the industry. They say the strikes will affect nearly every region of Quebec except Montreal, and will take place in several dozen cities including Gatineau, Shawinigan, Laval, Trois-Rivieres and Quebec City. Drivers from a different group of cities are to strike each day today, Wednesday and Thursday, before the cycle restarts. Only services deemed essential will continue. A spokesman for the association representing the drivers says the pressure tactics are aimed at Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel, who the drivers accuse of being unwilling to listen to their concerns regarding proposed government legislation that ends the permit quota system.

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TRIBUNAL ORDERS FIRST NATION TO ALLOW BANISHED WOMAN’S RETURN

A woman and her son who were banished from a northwestern Ontario reserve in retaliation for an ongoing dispute between her partner and the First Nation’s leadership will receive $20,000 plus interest for pain and suffering. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled earlier this year that Sandy Lake First Nation denied Angele Kamalatisit’s right to housing based on her marital or family status. Her partner, Ringo Fiddler, was involved in an effort to oust the chief and councillor in 2012, but could not be evicted because he was a band member. The tribunal says the leadership consequently pushed his partner out of the community despite her lack of involvement in the political unrest.

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BIEBER OPENS UP ABOUT DEPRESSION, DRUG USE IN INSTAGRAM POST

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber says in a lengthy Instagram message that his struggles with depression and growing up as a child star led him to make “every bad decision you could have thought of” by the age of 20. The 25-year-old singer also admits in the post Monday evening that he started doing “pretty heavy drugs” at 19 and “abused all of my relationships.” Bieber, who is married to American model Hailey Baldwin, says everyone did everything for him during his formative years, adding he never “learned the fundamentals of responsibility.” Bieber credits his marriage who Baldwin, whose father is actor Stephen Baldwin, as helping establish more healthy habits. The pair wed in a courthouse ceremony last year and are planning a religious ceremony sometime this year.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Federal Conservative candidates will hold a media availability today in Thornhill, Ont., regarding what they allege are anti-Semitic comments by a Liberal candidate.

— Othman Hamdan, who awaits deportation, will have a detention review today. A B.C. Supreme Court acquitted him of terror-related charges, but the Immigration and Refugee Board has ruled him a danger to the security of Canada.

 — The Alberta government will release a report, written by former Saskatchewan finance minister Janice McKinnon, on the state of the province’s finances.

— Lisa Batstone will be sentenced for the second-degree murder of her eight-year-old daughter, Teagan, today in New Westminster, B.C.

The Canadian Press