News

Drivers headed to the South Shore will now face a major detour. Traffic on the Mercier bridge to Chateguay has been suspended until further notice. The lanes to Montreal will remain open.

The Quebec Transport Department made the announcement Tuesday night, citing undisclosed safety reasons. Officials would not say what is wrong with the structure. They did say that the closing is expected to be temporary. The side of the bridge heading to the South Shore was built in 1934.

Drug raids targeting the Mohawk communities of Kanesatake and Akwesasne will curb intimidation and harassment tactics. Authorities announced the news Tuesday.

So far, the operation dubbed Connectivité has targeted 55 people during the raids. 38 people were arrested under drug trafficking and conspiracy charges. Many of them will be appearing in court Wednesday.

Canada’s mission in Libya has been extended for three months by the House of Commons. The only Member of Parliament to vote against the Conservative motion was Green Party Leader Elizabeth May.

Canada has nearly seven hundred people working to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya. It is part of a NATO mission to protect citizens from a bombing campaign by Moammar Gadhafi.

It’s official; as of midnight tonight Air Canada customer service and sales staff are on strike. 

After failing to reach an agreement with the airline the union of Canadian Auto Workers, which represents the employees, workers decided to walk off the job. Union president Ken Lewenza says the union agrees with Air Canada on some issues but remains in conflict on important issues such as pensions and wages.

A landmark court ruling that struck down three anti-prostitution laws is being challenged by the government this week. Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan Himel struck down three provisions in Canadian law relating to prostitution last year. Himel ruled the laws contravened the sex workers’ rights to safety and liberty. The ruling opened the door to decriminalization of the industry.

The first clean-up weekend of the Richelieu Valley flood area went without a hitch.
 
Over 4000 volunteers from Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick showed up to lend a hand. More than 450,000 sandbags were picked up from the area.
 

The organization SOS Richelieu put together the clean-up. SOS project manager Guy Lang said the clean-up exceeded the group’s expectations.

In further strike news, Air Canada customer service and sales workers could go on strike as early as Monday.

About four hundred workers and labour rights activists rallied at Toronto Pearson airport Thursday. They say they will walk off the job if the company does not budge on key concessions.

The key issue is a proposal to change pension plans. The Canadian Auto Workers Union says Air Canada is creating a two-tiered workforce by cutting pensions.

Canada Post will cut its urban mail delivery service to three days a week as the labour dispute continues. This comes as postal workers continue to shift their twenty four hour strikes to different cities across Canada. Talks between the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Crown corporation have been making little progress.

Aaron Rome’s four-game suspension has left the Vancouver Canucks fuming.

Originally, head coach Alain Vigneault admitted that Rome's hit on Boston Bruin Nathan Horton was late. But after hearing he will be out for the rest of the playoffs, the team is outraged.

Rome's suspension is the longest in playoff history. Neither player will be seen again this spring as Horton suffered a severe concussion due to the hit.

Syria blocked many pro-Palestinian protesters from reaching the border it shares with Israel Monday in an attempt to avoid the deadly encounter with Israeli forces protesters found last time.

Syrian police set up checkpoints including a one kilometer long one near Israeli held Golan Heights. Over 20 protesters were seen waving flags and walking before being stopped by police. On Sunday protesters passed similar checkpoints as well as UN ones without trouble.

News read and produced by Erica Fisher.

Stories written by Sofia Gay, Erica Fisher, Chris Hanna and Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo.