Seven stories in the news today, May 31

Seven stories in the news today from The Canadian Press:

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EX-MP URGES PARLIAMENT TO MOVE ON FROM “ELBOWGATE”

Former MP Keith Martin says there is no way Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should face any more punishment for the ruckus that erupted when he tried to hurry a Conservative to his seat, knocking a New Democrat with his elbow in the process. “He’s apologized profusely and I think the House (of Commons) needs to move on and get on with the big issues affecting the country,” said Martin, now executive director at the Consortium of Universities for Global Health in Washington, D.C.

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MPS DEBATE GENDER-NEUTRAL LYRICS IN “O CANADA”

The lyrics to “O Canada” will be a hot topic in Ottawa today, even though the July 1 fireworks are still a month away. The House of Commons is debating an effort by dying Liberal Mauril Belanger to render the national anthem gender-neutral, by replacing the line in the English version “in all thy sons command” with “in all of us command.”

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FORT MAC RESIDENTS TO BEGIN RETURN HOME THIS WEEK

Some Fort McMurray residents will be able to start returning to their homes in stages this week. But Henry Velasquez, his wife and his young son won’t be among them as their townhouse in the north end of the city has burned down. A wildfire forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 from the city about a month ago.

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CLOSING ARGUMENTS TO BEGIN IN TIM BOSMA TRIAL

Closing arguments are to begin today in the murder trial of two men accused of killing a Hamilton father who disappeared three years ago on a test drive of a truck he was trying to sell. Lawyers for Dellen Millard are expected to take the day to argue their client’s case in the death of Tim Bosma.

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TECH FIRMS FEEL OIL PRICE CRISIS DIFFERENTLY

In the high stakes world of high-tech oilfield services, low oil and gas prices are hitting Calgary’s two largest publicly traded players, Pason Systems and Computer Modelling Group, in vastly different ways. Pason, which builds and rents sensitive instrumentation systems attached to most of the drilling rigs in North America, has eliminated 350 employees. Computer Modelling, a reservoir simulation software manufacturer, added three staff over the past year to take its Calgary total to 172.

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STATCAN TO GIVE LATEST READ ON ECONOMY

Statistics Canada will provide its latest read on how the economy is performing later today when it releases gross domestic product results for the first three months of the year. Thomson Reuters says economists expect the report to show the economy grew at an annual pace of 2.9 per cent for the quarter. However, they are also expecting it to finish on a weak note with a month-over-month contraction of 0.1 per cent.

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MAN REPORTEDLY FROM TORONTO IN L.A. COURT TODAY

A man reportedly from Toronto will appear in a Los Angeles court today to face charges in the murder of a 30-year-old woman. Police with the Los Angeles sheriff’s department say Blake Leibel, 35, was arrested last Thursday in the death of his 30-year-old girlfriend Iana Kasian, who was the mother of his child.

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