Listeriosis toll reaches 20

OTTAWA -- The number of deaths from a listeriosis outbreak that has been linked to a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto has reached 20.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said last month that the latest death occurred in Ontario, where 15 of the deaths have been reported.
Two deaths occurred in BC, with one each in Alberta, Quebec and New Brunswick.
The health agency says six other deaths remain under investigation, all in Ontario.
The Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto where the Listeria bacterium was found deep inside slicing equipment reopened four weeks after being closed Aug 20.
Several class-action suits are being planned as a result of the outbreak.

Manitoba backs lawsuit against U.S.

WINNIPEG -- Manitoba is backing nine states in suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over an administrative ruling they claim could hurt fisheries and contaminate drinking water.
A spokesperson for the province said Oct 2 that Manitoba is involved in the case because of its ongoing dispute with North Dakota over the Devils Lake water outlet.
The states contend Washington has created a loophole that could allow the transfer of polluted or contaminated water by ship from one water body to another where it could do harm. At stake is state control over water issues that affect them.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo claims salt water from the ocean could be dumped in the Great Lakes under the June federal decision.
Cuomo also said the EPA's administrative ruling is illegal.
Besides Manitoba and New York, those suing the Bush administration over the issue are Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Washington.
Manitoba argues the 22-kilometre-long outlet, which was built in 2005 to stop rising waters and chronic flooding on Devils Lake, poses a threat to the province's water.

2 killed in military crash

MOOSE JAW, Sask -- The pilot and passenger aboard a Snowbird died Oct 9 after the military aerobatics jet crashed near a Saskatchewan air force base.
Col Paul Keddy, commander of 15 Wing Moose Jaw, confirmed the deaths of the two, both Forces pilots but not touring members of the Snowbirds team, at a news conference.
A CT-114 Tutor aircraft crashed near 15 Wing Moose Jaw while involved in a 'training mission,' the Air Force said in a statement. The pilot and a passenger were killed.
Capt Genevieve Mitchell, the base's public relations officer, said a CT-114 Tutor jet crashed about two kilometres northwest of the Wing perimeter at around 12:30pm.
Mitchell said the Tutor was on a training mission at the time of the crash. It was photographing three other aircraft - a Hawk, a Harvard and another Tutor - flying in formation, and had been airborne for about 45 minutes when it crashed.
The other aircraft returned to base safely and there was no indication the downed aircraft clipped or touched any of the other planes during the training flight, Keddy said.

Inquiry into shooting demand

MONTREAL -- Under a heavy police presence, 600 people turned up at a park in Montreal North on Oct 11 for a protest demanding a public inquiry into the death of a teenager who was shot by police in August.
There were concerns the demonstration would turn violent, but it remained a peaceful march through the streets of Montreal North to end at the spot where Fredy Villanueva was shot.
Along with the demand for an inquiry, protesters called for an end to police brutality.
The crowd shouted: "Police are everywhere, but justice is nowhere."
Rony Bastien, of the community group Montreal Nord Republik, said that one police force should not be investigating another force. "We're in the dark about what happened," he said. "We want to tell the authorities that an investigation has to be independent."
After the shooting, by Montreal police officers, the Quebec provincial police was called in to investigate.

Ted Rogers hospitalized

TORONTO -- Rogers Communications Inc CEO Ted Rogers has been admitted to hospital for what the company calls an existing cardiac condition.
The 75-year-old Rogers will temporarily step aside as the company's CEO as a result of his illness.
The cable TV operator and cellphone company says his leave will be determined by his overall health and medical progress. Alan Horn, currently chairman of Rogers' board, will be acting CEO in the meantime.
Rogers has continued to play an active role in the company that now owns the Toronto Blue Jays, five Citytv television stations across the country as well as the Rogers cable TV, wireless and radio and magazine businesses.
Rogers turned 75 in May, raising speculation as to who will succeed the founder of Canada's largest wireless company.