Two-month-old fish residue and mouthwash for athletes; In-The-News for Oct. 30

The full board investigation was expected to examine helicopter maintenance records, pilot training, operational policies and previous occurrences involving the helicopter model involved.

The crash near Tweed, Ont., killed the pilot and three line workers who had recently boarded the aircraft.

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Also this …

A Manitoba Indigenous community is taking the province to court to try to stop construction of a power transmission line to Minnesota.

Sagkeeng First Nation Chief Derrick Henderson says it was not respectful for the government to hold a sham consultation with his people before approving the project.

The First Nation plans to argue in Winnipeg Court of Queen’s Bench today for a judicial review of the province’s decision to give Manitoba Hydro a licence to build the 213-kilometre, 500-kilovolt line.

Corey Shefman, a lawyer for the First Nation, also suggests the line should go through another environmental hearing.

The line is supposed to be completed by next June and a court decision is not expected for months.

Manitoba Hydro has said conditions relating to Indigenous communities and groups affected by the project have been met.

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ICYMI (In case you missed it) …

Toronto police have launched an internal investigation to determine how a suspect was able to carry a concealed gun into a cruiser and access it while handcuffed in the back seat, the force said Tuesday.

Chief Mark Saunders announced the probe by the Professional Standards unit shortly after security footage shot in the back of the cruiser was leaked to CTV News.

Saunders confirmed the authenticity of the footage and provided more details about the incident, which he said raises questions about core aspects of police protocols.

“The safety of our officers and the public is of paramount importance to the Toronto police,” Saunders said in a statement. “…the officers conducted a search of the accused and the gun was not detected. The incident is under investigation to assess if this is a training or disciplinary matter.”

Saunders said it happened Sunday when officers were called to the city’s downtown after receiving reports of an allegedly impaired driver.

He said the release of the video will also be part of the internal probe, describing the leak as a “clear breach of protocol and procedure.”

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

Next up before House impeachment investigators are two Ukraine experts who work at the State Department.

They are set to appear today, the day after a U.S. army colonel with the National Security Council told lawmakers that he expressed concern on two separate occasions about the Trump administration’s effort to persuade Ukraine to investigate Democrats.

An exasperated U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that people he’s never heard of are testifying about his call to Ukraine’s president.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Turkey’s foreign ministry says it has summoned U.S. Ambassador David Satterfield over two resolutions passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Turkish ministry said in a statement this morning that it rejects the nonbinding House resolution to recognize the century-old mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide. The bill passed 405-11.

In another statement, the ministry said it condemned a bipartisan bill to sanction senior Turkish officials and its army for Turkey’s incursion into northeastern Syria, which passed 403-16.

Both bills, which were passed Tuesday, are a sign of further deterioration in Turkish-American relations, which have been strained over multiple issues, especially U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish fighters considered terrorists by Ankara.

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Weird and wild …

Almost two months after millions of farmed salmon were reported dead in southern Newfoundland, concerns are still being raised about leftover residue from the dead fish lingering around their cages.

Northern Harvest Sea Farms, owned by Norwegian company Mowi, said 2.6 million salmon — or just under half its fish — have died since the beginning of September due to a long period of high water temperatures.

Images of the messy cleanup, along with the slow public disclosure of information, have prompted environmental concerns and discussions about how the province’s growing aquaculture industry is regulated.

Bill Bryden of the Newfoundland and Labrador Coalition for Aquaculture Reform said he visited the area this weekend and saw solid, smelly salmon fat clinging to rocky shores.

Bryden, who shared images with The Canadian Press, described “ping pong ball-sized balls of fat” rendering into a liquid form.

He said he also witnessed what appeared to be a thin layer of oily liquid from the dead fish spreading through the water.

“It reeks,” Bryden said. “You’ll smell it from a mile away.”

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On this day in 1899 …

The first 1,300 Canadian troops left Quebec City to fight with the British in the Boer War in South Africa.

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Business news …

The Bank of Canada will deliver an interest-rate decision today, post fresh projections and provide the first public comments by its senior figures since before the federal election campaign.

The central bank is widely expected to hold its policy rate at 1.75 per cent, where it’s been set for just over a year.

Markets, however, will be focused on what could happen in the coming months — and they will study governor Stephen Poloz’s take on the state of the Canadian and global economies.

Some of the most-prominent indicators — such as strong employment and healthier wages — have underlined Canada’s resilience.

BMO chief economist Douglas Porter wrote in a recent report that both the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve will have rate decisions on the same day for the first time since 2000, when Canada’s central bank started fixing its rate announcement dates.

Porter notes how the Fed is widely expected to cut its borrowing rate today for a third meeting in a row, which would leave Canada with the highest rate in the advanced world.

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The games we play …

The future of sport science has arrived, and it includes mouthwash and electric brain stimulation.

More than 225 sport scientists, researchers and coaches gathered in Toronto on Tuesday for the first day of the Own the Podium SPIN Summit. The three-day event is hosted by Canada’s high-performance program with the goal of maximizing athletic performance in international competition.

Amarah Epp-Stobbe, a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria, won the top prize for The Dr. Gord Sleivert Young Investigator Awards on Tuesday for her work with Rugby Canada’s women’s sevens team.

Her ongoing research focuses on the affect physical contact has on fatigue levels and the value of limiting that contact to avoid overexertion. It’s an area of study that goes beyond concussions and instead considers how a hit to a thigh or shoulder might tax a body’s internal resources.

Erica Gavel, a PhD student at the Ontario Tech University, was a runner up for the Sleivert award for her research into the benefits of menthol for athletes. Gavel found a connection between using mouthwash and improved performance in competitive female cyclists.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2019.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Two-month-old fish residue and mouthwash for athletes; In-The-News for Oct. 30

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