In the news today: Gordie Howe bridge deal debate, WestJet strike, Lost ring returned

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

House committee meeting today to debate Gordie Howe bridge deal

A House of Commons committee is holding a special meeting today about the Gordie Howe International Bridge as the Liberal government continues to face questions about its revenue-sharing agreement with the U.S.

The meeting is expected to be mostly administrative, with MPs set to discuss the scope of the study and a list of witnesses.

The proposed agreement in principle to open the bridge, which opened to motorists on Monday linking Windsor with Detroit, says Canada will share half of net toll revenues with the U.S. for the next 15 years.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said on previous occasions that the tolls would not be split with the United States until after Canada’s debt to build the bridge is paid back.

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The WestJet headquarters building is seen through razor wire as WestJet flight attendants hold a “Day of Action” while union members vote on a possible strike in Calgary, Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Clock ticks down on WestJet flight attendants’ strike deadline

The clock is ticking toward a strike deadline that could see 4,400 WestJet flight attendants on the picket line as soon as Sunday.

Cabin crew at the Calgary-based airline voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate in mid-July, and past labour standoffs at the airline have prompted a ramp-up in flight cancellations a couple of days before the strike.

Compensation for work done on the ground remains a key stumbling block in the talks, less than a year after the same issue sparked a work stoppage by 10-thousand flight attendants at Air Canada.

Aviation expert John Gradek says even a brief shutdown would cost WestJet millions of dollars during the peak summer travel season and that the airline can’t afford such a shutdown.

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Toronto Police Service Const. Todd Baylis, who was killed in the line of duty in 1994, is shown in this undated handout photo posted on X by the Toronto Police Association.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — X, @TPAca (Mandatory Credit)

Toronto Police Association, slain officer’s family call for parole system reform

The family of a Toronto constable who was shot dead more than three decades ago and the police union are calling for reforms to Canada’s parole system after experiencing what they call “serious” issues ahead of the killer’s hearing.

Relatives of Const. Todd Baylis as well as the Toronto Police Association say they were given 20 days’ notice of an in-person hearing for Clinton Gayle, who is currently serving a life sentence at a minimum-security prison in British Columbia.

They say the Parole Board of Canada rejected their request to push back the hearing by four weeks to accommodate travel plans — a decision police union president Clayton Campbell calls a “slap in the face” to Baylis’s family, his injured partner and the Toronto force.

Baylis’s brother, Cory Baylis, says he and his family “deserve better,” and they have written a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney calling for reforms.

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Leadership candidate Chris Alexander speaks during the Conservative Party French language leadership debate, Tuesday, January 17, 2017 in Quebec City.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Former Harper cabinet minister Chris Alexander to run for mayor of Toronto

Former Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander is set to officially register his campaign this morning to become Toronto’s next mayor.

In announcing his candidacy late Tuesday, Alexander said in a news release that Toronto has unnecessarily been “standing still,” and his campaign touches on several points, such as bettering the city’s economy, transit and housing.

Alexander served two years as immigration minister under Stephen Harper, during which time he came under fire for Ottawa’s handling of the Syrian refugee crisis and for promising to create a telephone tip line for “barbaric cultural practices.”

Incumbent mayor Olivia Chow and Coun. Brad Bradford are also in the running for Toronto’s mayoral race, set for Oct. 26.

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Nate McLagan emerges from a lake in Nova Scotia’s Kejimkujik National Park on Saturday, June 20, 2026, in this handout photo, with the wedding ring of a Louisiana man who had lost it the weekend before.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Nate McLagan (Mandatory Credit)

N.S. metal detector operator dives to find Louisiana man’s submerged wedding band

When Louisiana’s Jeff Daglaris lost his wedding ring at the bottom of a Nova Scotia lake, the internet’s advice was simple — call Nate McLagan. 

McLagan, who lives in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, metal detects for a hobby and is on a mission to recover 25 lost objects this year. 

He drove about two hours to Kejimkujik National Park, kayaked to an island and dove into the lake and quickly found the American man’s wedding band. 

Daglaris was at the Halifax airport waiting for a flight back home when he was sent a picture of his retrieved 14-karat gold ring, which was mailed back to him in Louisiana. 

McLagan has found nine lost objects for people so far this year and is asking anybody who needs him to reach out through Facebook. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2026.

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