N.W.T. short on firefighters, equipment and information during 2023 wildfires: report

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.

The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

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The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

HALIFAX – Police investigating the 2022 disappearance of a Halifax teen have charged two men following the discovery of human remains.

Halifax Regional Police say 26-year-old Treyton Alexander Marsman was arrested Monday and later charged with second-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old Devon Sinclair Marsman.

Police say a 20-year-old man who was a youth at the time of the crime has been charged with being an accessory after the fact and obstructing justice.

Investigators did not say where or when the remains were found, but they confirmed the province’s medical examiner has been called in to identify the remains.

As well, police did not indicate the relationship between Treyton Marsman and the victim, but they said the accused had also been charged with causing an indignity to human remains and obstructing justice.

Devon Marsman was last seen on Feb. 24, 2022 and he was reported missing from the Spryfield area of Halifax the following month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

HALIFAX – Federal cabinet ministers are threatening to pull an offer of $325 million to protect a vital land link between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick unless the two provinces agree to share the costs.

Letters released today by Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc say they’ll shift the money elsewhere in the country if the provinces won’t pay their half of the $650-million cost of upgrading the Chignecto Isthmus.

Premier Tim Houston sent a letter Sunday to the seven Liberal members of Parliament in Nova Scotia urging Ottawa to fully fund the expensive work needed to protect the Chignecto Isthmus against rising sea levels and storms.

In a letter of response sent today, Fraser writes that Atlantic Canadians won’t be pleased to learn that Ottawa is ready to invest hundreds of millions of dollars but cannot because provincial governments “are making a conscious choice not to help.”

The letter says if Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are not willing to share half the cost of the project, he will send the funding to other communities willing to be more co-operative.

LeBlanc’s letter says the two provinces “have refused to budge” from their position that Ottawa should cover the full cost and are causing delays by taking the matter to court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.