Six stories in the news today, July 5

Six stories in the news today from The Canadian Press:

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CANADA POST ISSUES 72-HOUR LOCKOUT NOTICE

Canada Post has issued a 72-hour lockout notice to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, raising the spectre of a work stoppage by Friday. The Crown corporation says it plans to suspend the collective agreement as of Friday, but adds that doesn’t necessarily mean it will shut down that day. CUPW says the corporation is using the lockout notice to drive 50,000 workers “out onto the streets without pay in an effort to impose steep concessions on them.”

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off the schedule

BC Ferries preemptively cancels early Saturday sailings

2h ago

firm handshake

B.C. NDP government, Greens reach 'shared priorities' agreement

5h ago

young volunteers

'Make a big difference:' Nanaimo volunteers collecting warm clothing for those in need

6h ago

AIR TRANSAT FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TO VOTE ON NEW DEAL

The union representing Air Transat flight attendants says they will vote on a new agreement in the coming weeks. The Canadian Union of Public Employees says the Montreal-based company agreed yesterday to present the recommendation of a federal mediator to its members for ratification. No details will be released until after the 1,750 flight attendants vote. The flight attendants had earlier voted 93.2 per cent against a tentative deal reached on June 6.

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KENNEY TO MAKE ‘IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT WEDNESDAY

Conservative MP Jason Kenney says he has “an important announcement” to make in Calgary on Wednesday. There have been rumours that the Calgary MP might try to unite Alberta’s two right-leaning provincial parties. However, Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives have said they aren’t keen to merge, while the Wildrose has said it would be happy to link up, but only under its banner and only with its leader, Brian Jean, calling the shots.

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BOG FIRE IN DELTA, B.C., 50 PER CENT CONTAINED

A fire reported at a peat bog south of Vancouver on Sunday was about half contained by yesterday afternoon, with crews hoping to fully contain the flames by this morning at the latest. The Delta Fire Department said the blaze was 78 hectares in size, and about 80 firefighters were battling the fire. Investigators from the Delta Fire Department and B.C. Wildfire Service were working to determine the cause.

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FEDS WRESTLE WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL ID ISSUES

The federal Liberals could easily drop any mention of sex or gender from identity documents like passports immediately, notwithstanding concerns civil servants have expressed about the idea privately, a senior official with the Canadian Human Rights Commission says. Marcella Daye says having gender-neutral documents like passports is the top issue transgender Canadians have raised in recent consultations with the commission. Citizenship and Immigration Canada says it will respond today to questions posed to it on the issue of gender-neutral identity documents.

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MISSION AIMS TO CRACK MYSTERIES OF DEEP OCEAN

Canada is joining a new mission to research Earth’s most unexplored frontier: the deep ocean. A Department of Fisheries and Oceans research vessel is part of a team assembled by the Nekton marine research foundation to explore areas off Bermuda, Nova Scotia and in the Sargasso Sea — located in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY …

— The Alberta auditor general will releases his report. 

— Kenn Borek Air holds a news conference in Calgary to discuss the medical evacuation of two researchers from in Antarctica.

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard will make a transit announcement in Montreal.

— Homecoming ceremony for HMCS Fredericton, returning from its six-month deployment to the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

The Canadian Press