The Tuesday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, May 10:

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SICKNESS AMONG FORT MCMURRAY EVACUEES: An outbreak of stomach flu is affecting people forced from their homes by the wildfire in the Fort McMurray area. Alberta Health Services said there were more than 110 cases of what appears to be viral gastroenteritis at some evacuation centres. Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says the wildfire did not damage any oilsands plants to the north of the city. She says production is expected to resume in the days and weeks ahead. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will visit Fort McMurray, Alta., on Friday to offer the support of all Canadians to the fire-ravaged community.The Canadian Red Cross has collected $60 million to help evacuees.

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INDIGENOUS DECLARATION: There’s nothing frightening about adopting and implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett said Tuesday at the UN. Bennett earned a standing ovation from a UN forum in New York by announcing that Canada is now a full supporter of the 2007 declaration, “without qualification.” UNDRIP, as it is known by its acronym, describes a global set of collective and human rights covering indigenous issues including language, identity, culture and traditions, health and education and free, prior, informed consent over resource extraction. The declaration is not considered legally binding.

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NUNAVUT SAYS NO TO PRIVATE LAND SALES: Voters in a Nunavut-wide plebiscite have rejected allowing municipalities to sell land to private citizens or businesses. It wasn’t even close.Residents were asked if municipalities should be able to release land for fee-simple ownership of the kind almost all Canadians in non-aboriginal communities take for granted. More than 80 per cent of those who voted said no. The idea was turned down in every one of the territory’s 25 communities. Even in Iqaluit, which has the most highly developed real-estate market in Nunavut, voters rejected the notion by more than 2-1.

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DEFENCE DEP’T TO REPAY UNAUTHORIZED EXPENSES: The Trudeau government has ordered National Defence to repay more than $147 million in unauthorized expenses incurred by members of the military over nearly a dozen years, The Canadian Press has learned. The department acknowledged five years ago it had made a mistake when it allowed soldiers and civilian staff to claim some travel expenses and benefits that fell outside of federal guidelines. The practice went on between April 1999 and January 2011, but was then halted following an independent analysis.

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SORTING OUT NO-FLY LIST ERRORS: The federal public safety minister says Canada and the U.S. have set up a working group to help sort out errors of identity on no-fly lists. Ralph Goodale says the bilateral Redress Working Group provides a means for government officials to communicate and will help ensure availability of the most accurate information. He adds it will protect the shared transportation and national security interests of both countries, while minimizing headaches for the travelling public — but no new details were immediately available.

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GHOMESHI AGREEMENT IN WORKS, SAYS SOURCE: An expected agreement that will see fired radio host Jian Ghomeshi apologize and sign a peace bond in exchange for the withdrawal of a sexual assault charge against him was instigated by his lawyer, a source familiar with the proceedings said Tuesday. The offer, expected to be formalized at a court hearing on Wednesday, became contingent on his admitting to misconduct against the complainant, a former CBC employee, and an appropriately worded apology, the source told The Canadian Press. The source insisted on anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter and the fact that it is still before the courts.

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FORMER MOUNTIE CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT: A high-profile former RCMP officer once in charge of strategic communications in British Columbia has been charged with sexual assault. The province’s Criminal Justice Branch said Tuesday that a charge has been sworn against former inspector Tim Shields stemming from an investigation into sexual misconduct. The misconduct is alleged to have occurred between 2009 and 2010 at RCMP headquarters and involved a civilian employee who worked in co-ordination with the communications unit headed by Shields.

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SNC-LAVALIN MAKING RESTITUTION:Engineering giant SNC-Lavalin said it wants to turn the page on its checkered past by making restitution to municipalities and other public bodies in Quebec for obtaining contracts through questionable means. The provincial government launched a program last November aimed at recovering money paid in connection with public contracts obtained as a result of fraud or fraudulent tactics. It gives businesses and individuals two years to voluntarily make such payments for contracts dating as far back as 1996. Top SNC-Lavalin executives testified before the Charbonneau corruption inquiry that the company illegally donated money to provincial and municipal political parties to obtain work contracts.

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OBAMA TO VISIT HIROSHIMA: Eager to heal old wounds and galvanize new generations, President Barack Obama this month will become the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, where seven decades ago the U.S. dropped the devastating atomic bomb that ushered in the nuclear age. By visiting the peace park near the epicenter of the 1945 attack, the president hopes to reinvigorate efforts worldwide to eliminate nuclear weapons. But in a sign of the extraordinary political sensitivities attached to the gesture, the White House is going out of its way to stress Obama will not come bearing an apology.

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