By Canadian Press

In the news today: Hamas releases more hostages from Gaza, offers extended ceasefire

Nov 27, 2023 | 3:16 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

Hamas releases a third group of hostages as part of truce

The Gaza militant group Hamas has released a third group of hostages under the four-day ceasefire agreement with Israel –14 Israelis and three foreign nationals.

In return, Israel released dozens of Palestinian prisoners.

The truce also calls for aid to be delivered to Gaza.

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Israel is now discussing an offer from Hamas to extend the ceasefire — while still vowing to eventually crush Hamas.

Questions remain after Winnipeg shooting

Winnipeg residents are waiting for more information as investigators work to piece together what led up to a downtown shooting Sunday that killed three people and left two others in hospital with critical injuries.

City Police Const. Jason Michalyshen has said officers were called to a home shortly after 4 a.m., where they found five people wounded.

Michalyshen said a man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene, while three were taken to hospital. One man later died, and a man and a woman were receiving medical care.

He said the investigation is in its infancy, as no arrests have been made, a motive or possibility of a gang connection is still unknown and suspects are still being determined.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

B.C. in court with pharma companies over OD crisis

The British Columbia government goes up against dozens of health care and pharmaceutical companies in court today in a bid to get certification for a class-action lawsuit over the costs of the opioid crisis.

It comes even after the Supreme Court of Canada agreed this month to hear a constitutional challenge by four of the companies who say a law allowing B.C. to recover costs on behalf of other governments is an overreach.

Those companies then went back to the Supreme Court of B.C. to seek a delay of the certification hearing while the high court rules, but the judge said an adjournment wasn’t in the interests of justice. 

Ontario food bank users up 38 per cent: report

A report released today indicates the number of people who used Ontario food banks went up 38 per cent last year, which it says is the largest single-year increase recorded by the province’s food bank network.

The new report by Feed Ontario, a collective of hunger relief organizations, says more than 800,000 people in the province turned to emergency food support between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.

It says the total number of visits to food banks also rose similarly in that time, totalling more than 5.9 million, or 36 per cent more than the previous year.

Coal application opposed until probes complete

An environmental group says a coal company’s application to deepen its open-pit mine in western Alberta shouldn’t be considered while it’s under investigation over wastewater releases into local rivers.

The Alberta Wilderness Association says CST Canada Coal in Grande Cache must prove it can operate safely before the provincial regulator looks at its request. 

CST is asking the Alberta Energy Regulator for permits to dig deeper at the open-pit mines it operates about 430 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Shipping firms, police warn of porch thefts

As online package deliveries ramp up today on what’s known as Cyber Monday, having your package stolen from your front porch is the last thing you want to deal with. 

A recent FedEx survey shows porch thefts have risen over the last two years, with 28 per cent of respondents saying they’ve had a package stolen in the last year. That’s up from 24 per cent in 2022 and 20 per cent in 2021.

FedEx Express Canada spokesperson James Anderson says porch piracy goes up around the holiday season as people delve more into online shopping. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2023.

The Canadian Press