Swiss investigators have begun their probe into what caused a fire in a bar at an Alpine ski resort that left about 40 people dead and another 115 injured during a New Year’s celebration.
Local authorities are working to identify the victims and notify their families.
Global Affairs Canada says there have been no reports of Canadians among the casualties, but consular officials are ready to help if needed.
On social media, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the fire a devastating tragedy.
There’s no change today in the price of regular gasoline in Nova Scotia, while the price of diesel did decrease overnight by 0.9 cents per litre. The minimum pump price for diesel is $1.56 per litre in the local area. The minimum pump price for regular self-serve gasoline remains $1.28 per litre locally.
Justice Minister and Central Nova MP Sean Fraser says Canadians want action on car thefts, home invasions, sexual offences, hate crimes and the exploitation of children. Fraser says in a year-end interview with the Canadian Press that the stricter crime policies put forward by the Liberals are a response to public concern about safety. He tabled three separate justice bills in the fall sitting of Parliament that make it tougher to get bail, impose mandatory minimum and consecutive sentencing and create new offences. One law professor says the bills include some of the most significant changes in criminal justice he has seen in decades.
Canada’s spy watchdog is reviewing Canadian security agencies’ use of artificial intelligence. Canadian security agencies have used A-I for tasks ranging from translation of documents to detection of malware threats. The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency will look at how the security community defines, uses and oversees aspects of A-I technologies. The National Security Transparency Advisory Group had predicted increasing reliance on the technology to analyze large volumes of text and images, recognize patterns and interpret trends and behaviour.
In sports,
The Crushers host the Summerside Western Capitals tonight at 7:00pm in Maritime Junior Hockey league action.
Canada plays Slovakia tonight in a quarterfinal at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
