'A new Rob Ford' returns to work — but can he win?

When the mayor of Toronto emerges today from his self-imposed time-out of more than two months, the world will see a slimmer, healthier and rehabilitated Rob Ford.

At least, that is, according to his campaign manager Doug Ford, who suggests that his brother has become "a new man" since his leave of absence.

"He's had a real eye-opener on life and self and things that may have triggered his addiction before," Doug Ford told CBC News in a phone interview. "It's going to be a new Rob Ford."

The old Rob Ford left in April under a cloud of controversy, dogged by more headlines of bad behaviour. The Toronto Sun had obtained an audio tape of the mayor reportedly swearing and making lewd, racist and sexist comments. Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail said it had viewed a second video of Ford smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine.

"It was unacceptable. It was totally unacceptable," Doug Ford said about his brother's past behaviour. "He realizes it."

Ford is set to address the media this afternoon from city hall, his first official public statement since he said he was vacating his mayoral duties to "seek professional help." (He had occasionally spoken to the Toronto Sun.)

His whereabouts were initially unknown and subject to a flurry of media speculation, until it was revealed he had checked into the GreeneStone rehabilitation centre in Bala, Ont.

Since his arrival at rehab, Ford has received over 400 hours of "hard counselling, group sessions, one on ones and other meetings," Doug Ford said.

'Looking like a champion'

He's also lost weight and is "looking like a champion," having gone from a 52 pant size to a 44, his brother said.

But is any of that enough to give him a realistic chance of winning a second term? Whether voters will forgive and forget his past scandals, "only time will tell," Doug Ford said. With more than four months until the mayoral election, "people have a good opportunity to see if Rob has changed or not."

Doug Ford, right, says his brother still has a 'great chance' of becoming mayor for the second time. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

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His brother, naturally, said Ford still has a "great chance" of becoming mayor for the second time, and at least one recent poll seems to back that up. A Forum Research Inc. telephone survey of 890 randomly selected Torontonians of voting age conducted on June 23 suggests that Ford is running second (27 per cent) against Olivia Chow (34 per cent). The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

All of this suggesting Ford remains strongly competitive in the mayoral race.

Or maybe not.

"Baloney," said Robin Sears, a principal at Earnscliffe Strategy Group and a former NDP strategist, dismissing the results of the poll.

"[His chances are] poor to non-existent. I think it's just fantasy," Sears said. "He cannot find a way of escaping the efforts of every single one of the candidates, and therefore the media, continuing to return to the discussion he does not want to have and which is obviously inimical to any kind of approval of him as a man deserving re-election."

Canadians may be highly forgiving of the transgressions of their political elite, Sears said, but it must start with two things: a sincere apology and a credible change in behaviour.

"And I don't think he's offered either," he said, adding a "let's see" as to whether rehab will make a difference.

'Behaviour has crossed the line'

While Ford can always look to his base, the so-called Ford Nation, for support, most voters have likely abandoned him over his past actions, observers say.

"I think his behaviour has crossed the line, even for his own base, that just say 'crack smoking and lying and misbehaving in public, that's just not what I voted for,'" said Dennis Pilon, an associate professor of political science at York University.

And the mayor wasn't just elected by Ford Nation, but by a larger coalition of voters, Pilon added.

"The question is can he remake that coalition, and I don't think he can," he said. "I think he has seriously burned the bridges of more centrist non-populist conservatives."

As for what his supporters did vote for — the "stop the gravy train" message of fiscal restraint — is that even still palatable in Toronto, given the results of the Ontario election, in which the conservatives were soundly defeated on a campaign based in part on austerity?

Voters, particularly in urban and suburban Ontario, also tend to be non-ideological, said communications consultant Gerry Nicholls, and look for the candidate who will best protect their standard of living.

"And that means they're open to right wing and left wing arguments."

'Gravy train' message co-opted

In the recent Ontario election, Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak and his message of 100,000 job cuts  frightened voters, whereas Premier Kathleen Wynn, despite her government's past scandals, was still seen as the safer choice who could balance the budget and cause no harm," Nicholls said.

Similarly, in 2010, "Rob Ford came along and said I'm going to stop the gravy train. But he wasn't specific. He didn't say I'm going to slash here or cut there. He said I'm going to .... bring common sense and fiscal values back to the municipal government."

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak and his plan to cut 100,000 jobs frightened voters, unlike Rob Ford's 'stop the gravy train' message, which resonated with the public, communication consultant Gerry Nicholls says. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

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"Can he win? Yes, I suppose he can, depending on what happens," Nicholls said. "There's all kinds of variables you can't predict. But I will say he will have a real hard time of it, just because he's done so many things that have gotten him into trouble, it's going to be hard for a lot of voters to look beyond that."

Sears agreed that one shouldn't apply the results of an election of one level of government to another. He said Ford's anti-establishment, anti-extravagance, fiscal conservative message appealed and continues to appeal to a range of voters, even those voters considered progressive. 

But those messages have been co-opted in part, by Chow (anti-establishment) and Tory (fiscal conservative), he said.

Yet Doug Ford remains optimistic, citing the results of the provincial election.

"That sent a clear message. People are willing to give second chances."

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Putin gets payback for Canada's anti-Russia stance: Brian Stewart

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper was pouring vitriol and sanctions on Russia for months over the Crimea and Ukraine crisis, he did not seem to have expected much of a serious slap-back from President Vladimir Putin.

While Ottawa joined other allies to punish Russia, using sanctions, criticism and even a modest arms buildup in eastern Europe, Harper's team always appeared the most determined to "tweak the Bear."

Even sensitive relations carefully built up between Canadian and Russian militaries since the end of the cold war were put back on ice, including crucial ones needed to avoid friction in the Arctic, where both nations have major interests.

This caused some nervousness within defence and foreign affairs circles, but early in the crisis, Harper, according to a Globe and Mail report, tended to play down risks that conflict between Ottawa and Moscow "could spill over into the Arctic."

That seemed to badly underestimate Putin's sense of the strategic counter-punch.  

Just as many feared, Canadian F-18s are yet again being sent screaming towards our northern airspace to see off large Russian Tu-95 heavy bombers testing our borders.

Russian military planes, seen here during the Victory Day parade in Moscow's Red Square, have tested the sovereign borders of the U.S. and Canada in recent months. (Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters)

We don't know precise numbers – much secrecy is retained to avoid alerting Moscow to all we know – but there have been at least two interceptions this month and Russian patrols near North American borders have clearly increased this year.

The word in official circles is that this is "strategic messaging from Moscow" in retaliation for our constant criticism, as well as Canada's actions to bolster Ukraine, which has just signed an historic trade pact with the European Union that Putin has fought against.   

The fly-overs have certainly shaken complacency in Ottawa. Defence minister Rob Nicholson told Parliament recently the flights show "the need for ongoing vigilance" as Russian military activity continues in the Arctic.

Ottawa didn't anticipate payback

What's surprising is our surprise. Ottawa did not seem to anticipate such retaliation, even though Russian air probes are an easy and cost-effective way for Putin to harass our defences as payback for our anti-Putin stand in Europe. 

This is not to criticize the Harper government's strong stand over Crimea and Ukraine, which has much to recommend it, but rather to suggest we tend to underestimate the full cost a wily opponent will seek to make us pay.

The Russians have wasted no time rubbing it in. Aubrey Grebenshikov, second secretary of the Russian Embassy in Ottawa, says that Canadian and Russian militaries used to be able to work out such "misunderstandings" like those over Arctic intentions and sovereignty but, unfortunately, Canada on its own eliminated these important links.

"Regretfully, due to the crisis in Ukraine," he told the Globe and Mail, "the Canadian government has recently frozen all contacts at this level."

We'd better brace for more. In testimony before Parliament, strategic analyst George Petrolekas, a retired Canadian colonel and former advisor to the chiefs of defence staff, warned that broken relations with Russia will surely encourage more Putin probes.

"Will he test us? Yes… It's just another area where he can test reaction, he can test resolve," Petrolekas told the committee.

Putin even seems determined to test spots along the vast North American Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), which stretches out 200 miles, or 321 kilometres, beyond Canadian and U.S. continental borders.  

U.S. jets intercepted Russian long-range bombers off Alaska and California this month, just the latest in an increasing number of confrontations off the Pacific coast.

Vladimir Putin's provocations in Ukraine, including the annexation of Crimea, have angered Western leaders. (Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

What startled Washington was the brazenness of the flights and their growing numbers since the Ukraine crisis broke. The latest Alaskan challenge involved four bombers plus two aerial refueling tankers. Two of the bombers later flew west to within 130 kilometres of northern California.

Such close-in probes by the Tu-95 bombers, capable of carrying nuclear bombs and cruise missiles, are not strictly illegal, but North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) always scrambles fighters unless foreign pilots file detailed flight plans and maintain radio and radar transponder contact.

Beginning of 'Chill War'?

With the passing of the Cold War, the probes disappeared for many years. But now under Putin and what appears to be the beginning of a Chill War, their reemergence means a lot of extra headaches and workload for U.S. and Canadian pilots.

It could easily turn into a very severe strain for Canada's modest fighter fleet of 132 F-18s, which has to cover extraordinary distances to provide full protection when Russians come snooping. It's an expensive and draining effort.

A sustained campaign of Russian harassment, if it comes to that, will compel our air force to fully employ the four Forward Operation Location (FOL) sites set up as interception mini-bases in Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Inuvik and Rankin Inlet. They're built to accommodate up to six fighters each and 200 support personnel.  

What is worrisome for those trying to predict Russian behaviour is that problems may not end with flights. Russia has been significantly increasing both civilian and military resources within its Arctic region, from nuclear icebreakers to 80 naval ships, and is now adding mobile missiles.

According to Jane's Defence Weekly, the Russians are testing short-range Pantsir-S1 missiles in the far north for use against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, even drones. It's the latest part of military Arctic expansion as Russia "looks to secure economic rights as melting sea ice opens trade routes and potential oil reserves."

Given that Canada and the U.S. are also expanding military resources in the Arctic, the latest tension underscores the growing number of potential flashpoints at sea and in the air.

Canada deserves credit for several of its principled stands against Putin. It's not clear, however, that we carefully thought through how to respond to the strategic costs and consequences of shoving our bilateral military and civilian relations with Russia into a deep freeze.

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Power outages, highways closed as rain, winds slam southern Manitoba

The western Manitoba city of Brandon and 23 other communities in the province remain in states of local emergency today after overland flooding became a major concern following a weekend rainstorm.

The other communities are Archie, Arthur, Cameron, Coldwell, Cornwallis, Daly, Deloraine, Edward, Elkhorn, Hartney, Grahamdale, Miniota, Oak Lake, Pipestone, Roblin, Sifton, Siglunes, Strathclair, Virden, Wallace, Westbourne, Whitewater and Winchester.

The Brandon area received nearly 125 millimetres of rain between Friday and Sunday evening, and more is expected.

Environment Canada is calling for 10 to 15 millimetres on Monday and a 60 per cent chance of rain on Tuesday, with the skies expected to clear in the late afternoon.

"Most people think of high water [and] they think of the Assiniboine River here in Brandon, but this is overland flooding," Mayor Shari Decter Hirst told CBC News late Sunday afternoon.

"A lot of our ditches, storm sewers, retention ponds, streets are full of water."

Crews spent Sunday pumping water from retention ponds and ditches into the Assiniboine River to help alleviate some of the pressure on the city's sewer system, she said.

"Our big concern is we're almost at capacity now, so when it starts raining again — and we know it will — we want to make sure that we're ready."

A flood warning is in effect for the Assiniboine from the Shellmouth Dam to Brandon, as well as Lake St. Martin, Dauphin Lake and the Winnipeg River system.

Both Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg are under a flood watch, and the Red and Saskatchewan rivers are under high water advisories.

Power outages, trees uprooted

It's also been a windy weekend.

That was the biggest issue in the Winnipeg area, where the gusts hit 81 kilometres an hour at times. A city spokesperson said Monday that some 400 calls came in about toppled trees or branches. 

Manitoba Hydro crews spent much of Sunday restoring electricity to areas that experienced outages due to branches falling on power lines.

Hydro spokesman Scott Powell said staff have been overloaded with calls throughout southern Manitoba and the Interlake region, with lines affected in both urban and rural areas.

The strongest wind, though, was measured in Brandon at 96 km/h.

Flights to, from Manitoba affected

Flights to and from the Brandon Municipal Airport were cancelled Sunday because overland flooding on the main access road.

But on Monday, WestJet announced that a flight to Calgary would go ahead as scheduled. Passengers on other flights are advised to check WestJet's website for updates.

Although the main road leading into the Brandon Municipal Airport (McGill Field) remains underwater and closed to public, a detour has been set up from the west, via Bloomsburry Road, which is located on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway, 1.5 kilometres west of the KK Penner tire company property.

Detour signs will be in place along the Highways 1 and 10 and airport staff will also be on site to direct traffic.

In Winnipeg, a number of flights in and out of James Armstrong Richardson International Airport were delayed or cancelled Sunday as well.

"The rain combined with the really high winds is making the runways a little bit dicey for landing on," said Felicia Wiltshire, of the Winnipeg Airports Authority.

"So when something like that happens, it's up to pilots to decide if they feel comfortable or not landing on our runways. And it sounds like a lot are choosing not to land right now."

Rural states of emergency declared

The 23 other communities under state of local emergency belong to one of six rural municipalities, including Whitehead, Cornwallis, Pipestone, Wallace, Siglunes and Grahamdale.

A number of roads in the affected municipalities have been closed or breached by overland flooding. As well, the Manitoba government has closed numerous sections of highways due to washed-out roads.

"It basically rained all night, quite heavy, and then a lot of overland flooding happening," said Bob Brown, a councillor with the RM of Cornwallis. "The culvert systems … can't handle the water."

Officials in that RM urged residents to voluntarily leave their homes on Sunday night before roads became impassable.

Residents who need to get out are asked to call the regional municipality office's at (204) 748-1239.

More rain on Monday could turn those voluntary evacuations into mandatory ones, said Reeve Don Neufeld.

As well, those evacuations could stretch south all the way to Virden, north to Elkorn, and west all the way to the Saskatchewan border, he said.

"We have a lot of infrastructure, roads that are breached and cut by the water, and it makes it difficult for [people] to get around. We would like to do that during the daylight hours rather than at night if we could," he said.

An evacuation centre has been set up in Virden and hotels are already booked in advance for flood evacuees, Neufeld said.

People in Virden worked through the night getting sandbags filled and stacked to protect homes along the creek that runs through the town.

Nicole Hunter said water backed up into her basement and the situation has been overwhelming.

"Yeah, I've had a couple of cry moments, but what can we do? We're doing all we can do, and that's all we can do," she said.

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The closed highways include:

• Trans-Canada Highway from Brandon to Highway 110.
• Highway 3 from Pierson to the south junction of Highway 83.
• Highway 21, from the north junction of Highway 23, to Highway 2.

A complete, updated list of closed roads can be found on the province's 511 website.

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High water in eastern Manitoba also has people scrambling to protect property along the Winnipeg River at Otter Falls Resort.

The resort is near Seven Sisters Falls on the river, in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Lori Derksen, who owns and operates the resort with her husband, said several sections of the campground are under water.

The river is higher than anyone can remember, and crews have set out sandbags and aqua dams to protect the property.

Big numbers

Environment Canada says the intense storm system has dumped between 75 and 124 millimetres of rain on southwest Manitoba over the weekend.

The weather agency released a list of rainfall totals, recorded between Friday and Sunday evening, in the following communities:

• Deloraine — 144 mm
• Virden — 137 millimetres
• Pierson — 129 mm
• Brandon Airport — 124 mm
• Moosehorn — 119 mm
• Reston — 106 mm
• Neepawa — 98 mm
• Eriksdale — 97 mm
• Birtle — 96 mm
• Dauphin — 94 mm
• Hamiota — 93 mm
• Forrest — 92 mm
• Dauphin — 94 mm
• Melita — 89 mm
• Souris — 89 mm
• Boissevain — 87 mm
• Minnedosa — 79 mm
• Shoal Lake — 78 mm
• Roblin — 71 mm
• Winnipeg — 50 mm

More water expected from Saskatchewan

In the regional municipality of Edward, which was in a state of local emergency all weekend, residents are also worried about flash flooding across the border in southeastern Saskatchewan.

Debbie McMechan, a municipal councillor in the area, says water from swollen waterways in Saskatchewan will flow into Manitoba, adding to residents' existing worries about high rainfall amounts on this side of the border.

'When roads start to get washed out, we get very concerned about getting ambulances in and out.'- Debbie McMechan, councillor, regional municipality of Edward

"We're the third-largest oil producer in the province. We have an oil industry that's been brought to a screeching halt out here," she said.

"This is a serious situation but of course, our first and foremost concerns is our people. And so, you know, when roads start to get washed out, we get very concerned about getting ambulances in and out."

McMechan said officials have been trying to get the provincial government to address the issue for many years, but without much success.

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5 things to watch for in today's Ontario and Alberta byelections

Besides being the day that many Canadians will be taking off so they can have an extra-long weekend, Monday is also byelection day in four federal ridings.

Here are five things to think about before the results roll in on Monday night:

1. Scarborough-Agincourt and the 'Jimmy K' effect

Jim Karygiannis is the former Liberal MP the winner of this byelection will replace. He's probably not well known outside of his riding or the confines of the parliamentary precinct but, boy, did he have a way of blowing the dust off his knuckles. Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, Karygiannis definitely felt most comfortable fighting from the right corner of the Liberal Party of Canada. 

Liberal Jim Karygiannis, who was never afraid to speak his mind while serving as MP for Scarborough-Agincourt, resigned to run for a city council seat in Toronto. (CP PHOTO/Fred Chartrand)

So there was some concern for the party's prospects in Scarborough-Agincourt when Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau talked of legalizing and regulating pot and announced that all future Liberal MPs would have to be pro-choice. Karygiannis's hand-picked successor lost the nomination to Arnold Chan, which likely worried Grit headquarters.

Karygiannis eventually came around and endorsed Chan. Tory flyers that implied Trudeau's marijuana policies would end up corrupting the children of Canada probably helped.

Regardless, it's a three-way race. The NDP candidate is immigration lawyer Elizabeth Long and the Conservative candidate is Trevor Ellis, a teacher.

2. Trinity-Spadina: Do you want the orange sauce or the red sauce?

Among the many other things this cosmopolitan riding has to offer are restaurants — Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Portuguese, breakfast joints, haute cuisine, fast food and the faces and voices to go with it. But when it comes to federal politics, there are just two flavours: Liberal and NDP. 

Full coverage tonight

CBCNews.ca will have full coverage of the byelection results after polls close at 9:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. MT). Follow our live blog after 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) in the lead up to results.

The riding was represented by former Toronto city councillor Olivia Chow, who resigned to run as a mayoral candidate.

The New Democrats are serving up Joe Cressy. He's young and the son of a former city councillor. His NDP credentials are impeccable. He was president of the party's riding association in Trinity-Spadina. He worked as Chow's campaign chair in the 2011 federal election and is a member of the NDP federal council.

And up until the Liberals presented their candidate, he was a shoo-in to win the riding.

Adam Vaughan left his Toronto city councillor job (do you see a theme here) to run for the Grits. Before politics, he was the city hall reporter for Toronto's Citytv and he did a stint at the CBC. 

The two opposition parties have a lot riding on Trinity-Spadina. Since 1972, every time the Liberals have won the riding in a general election, they've gone on to form the government. Each time the NDP has won, the Conservatives have taken power. That probably explains why both leaders have spent a lot of time in the riding with their candidates.

3. Rural Alberta

Need we say more than that. Ridings in Canada don't get much more Stephen Harper Conservative than these ones. A loss for the Tories in either Fort McMurray–Athabasca or Macleod could signal a break in the space-time continuum or trigger a run on lottery tickets. 

Fort McMurray's former MP, Brian Jean, stepped down to spend more time with his family. Given that he probably could have had the seat for as long as he wanted it, he's probably telling the truth about his reason for leaving politics. 

Down in Macleod, Ted Menzies left his minister of state for finance portfolio to take over the reins of CropLife Canada, an agricultural trade association. 

Conservative MP Ted Menzies resigned his southern Alberta seat in the riding of Macleod to become president and chief executive officer of CropLife Canada, a trade association for plant-life technologies. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

The MPs in waiting are Conservatives John Barlow and David Yurdiga in Macleod and Fort McMurray-Athabasca respectively. Barlow is a newspaper editor who had to fend off criticism from the gun lobby during his nomination race. Yurdiga is a former Athabasca County councillor and reeve.

See ya soon, guys!

4. Voter turnout: How do I get to the polling station from the lake?

Byelections are rarely well-attended exercises in democracy. So they can usually use all the help they can get if lots of people are going to cast a ballot. Wedging voting day between a weekend and Canada's national holiday does not fall into the helpful category.

Advance polls were held in the ridings on June 20, 21 and 23. Numbers were down in all four ridings compared to the advance polls in the 2011 general election. Macleod had the steepest drop, going from 6,581 voters casting an advance ballot to 3,087. In Trinity-Spadina, there was almost no difference. 

Earlier in the campaign, there were worries that the Ontario provincial election would confuse matters. NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called the timing "curious."

5. What constitutes a win?

Not losing.

Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, right, speaks to supporters with Trinity-Spadina candidate Adam Vaughan during a campaign stop in Toronto. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

"The NDP needs to hold Trinity-Spadina. If the Liberals win that, that's a big setback for Tom Mulcair," national affairs editor Chris Hall said on CBC Radio's The House on the weekend.

Hall said he will also be keeping an eye on how much opposition parties cut into the votes of the Conservative candidate in Fort McMurray-Athabasca. Oilsands development and the federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program are big issues in that booming riding.

CBCNews.ca will have full coverage of the byelection results after polls close at 9:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. MT).

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GM unveils compensation plan for ignition switch victims

When Kenneth Feinberg announces the terms of General Motors' plan to pay victims of crashes caused by bad ignition switches, he'll have an open wallet.

Feinberg, the country's most well-known compensation expert, is scheduled to reveal the terms Monday, and GM CEO Mary Barra has said there will be no cap on payments.

Also, GM won't have any say in Feinberg's awards, she told a U.S. House subcommittee during a hearing earlier this month.

"He will have complete independence," Barra said under questioning. "General Motors wants to reach with this compensation program everyone who lost a loved one due to this issue, or who suffered serious physical injury."

The company says the faulty switches are responsible for at least 54 crashes and more than 13 deaths, but lawyers and lawmakers say the death toll is closer to 100, with hundreds of injuries. That would send GM's payments into the millions, if not billions of dollars. GM was sitting on a $27 billion cash stockpile as of March 31. So far, it has announced or taken charges of $2 billion for recall expenses.

Feinberg, who also administered the government's $7 billion fund for the 2,977 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, is likely to follow a similar plan in the GM case, with detailed formulas setting payments based on severity of injuries and age. The average award to the 2,880 families who filed death claims from Sept. 11 was $2.1 million. The fund also paid an average of about $400,000 each for the 2,680 accepted claims of injuries; the smallest injury award was $500, the largest $8.6 million.

The Sept. 11 fund was set up to protect financially troubled airlines from thousands of potential lawsuits. It was a success, limiting the number of lawsuits to about 80.

The GM compensation likely will be limited to victims of crashes of older small cars, of which GM recalled 2.6 million earlier this year because the switches can cause engines to stall, shutting off power steering and brakes. That can cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles and also disables the air bags. The cars include the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, both of which are no longer made.

'He will have complete independence'- GM CEO Mary Barra, on Feinberg's job

Feinberg could use air bag activation to decide if people are paid. If the air bags deployed in an accident, that means they were not disabled by the switches, so the switches were not at fault.

GM has said Feinberg would start taking claims Aug. 1. Barra said she did not know how much the company would have to spend to settle the claims.

To get a payment, victims would have to agree not to sue GM. The company is vulnerable to legal claims because it has admitted knowing about the switch problem for more than a decade, yet it didn't recall the cars until this year.

Feinberg is scheduled to hold a news conference in Washington on Monday to release details "including eligibility, scope, rules for the program, and timing of submitting claims," a Feinberg spokeswoman said in an email. The program also will launch a website on Monday.

The spokeswoman, Amy Weiss, would not comment on the program before the news conference. GM has deferred comment to Feinberg.

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Does Rob Ford deserve another chance? See what Torontonians say

Mayor Rob Ford is expected back in Toronto on Monday. He's been away since early May to seek treatment for alcohol-related substance abuse.

His trip to rehab came about a year after reports first broke that someone had been offering to sell a video showing the mayor using crack cocaine.

Nearly six months later, Ford would admit to having smoked crack cocaine. He said his drug use had "probably" happened during one of his "drunken stupors."

He defied calls to step down and said he was finished with alcohol. Almost another six months would go by before he sought professional help following a series of drunken episodes.

On a sunny day late last week, CBC News spoke to Torontonians at Yonge-Dundas Square about whether they felt that voters would be willing to give the mayor another chance, and what they thought about the coming election.

From the response, it appears that Toronto is a forgiving place and a city that recognizes Ford has major name recognition with the public. But that doesn't mean they'll all be voting for him on Oct. 27.

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Bob, a recently retired Torontonian who did not want to give his last name, isn't supporting the mayor. But that doesn't mean he thinks people should write off Ford as a contender.

"Everybody has a shot in a democratic society," he said.

Asked whether he expects to see anyone else throwing their name in the mix, Bob believes that's a possibility — pointing out that the ballot has in past provided voters with more than 100 names to choose from.

In getting your name on the ballot, "you're almost famous," he said.

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Joanne Govas, the mother of a nine-year-old son who has just wrapped up his school year, said Ford deserves to have another kick at the can.

"I'd say one more chance for him," said Govas, who admits to having gone back and forth on how she feels about Ford.

But ultimately she believes he has battled legitimate substance abuse issues, which has won her sympathy.

"Over time, I've just, sort of found a little soft spot for him," she said.

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The mayor shouldn't count on support from Denise Booth this fall, as she's not impressed with him at all.

"I will not be voting for him," she said.

She expects that Olivia Chow or John Tory will be taking over the mayor's office at city hall after Oct. 27.

"I think that one of those two have a real shot," she said.

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Ford can probably take a pass on asking Karen Ensor for a moment of her time, if he's out canvassing in the months ahead. Because she's pretty certain about how she feels about him.

"He's not getting my vote, that's for damn sure."

But she's not counting him out as a mayoral contender, pointing to his many known supporters.

As to who might win the election? "I have no idea," she said.

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Mel Alfonso thinks the mayor has done a good job in some respects, but there have been too many issues surrounding his time in office.

As to whether he should get another shot, Alfonso said, "I think not."

He said Ford could potentially take another stab at public office in a future election, but not this particular October.

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Trevor King, a stylish Torontonian who works downtown, thinks Ford won't be re-elected.

"I think people will give him a chance, but I won't," King said.

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The mayor has admitted he's made some mistakes.

Tania Quan said that's the same reality for other people, whether it's drugs, alcohol or something else. They make mistakes, too.

"I would give him another chance," she said.

As to who might win the election, Quan said, "It's pretty hard to say right now."

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Blaine Morrison said he starts his day with his coffee and his paper.

"I read the Toronto Star every day," he said.

That means he's pretty up to date on what has been happening with the mayor.

Morrison said the mayor shouldn't be getting another chance.

What will happen in October? Morrison said it's "hard to say," but he thinks Chow is a probable winner.

As of last Thursday, more than 60 people had registered to run for mayor this fall.

Photos by David Donnelly/CBC.

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Ramadan around the world

Updated

22 dead, 5 detained after India buildings collapse

Does Rob Ford deserve another chance? See what Torontonians say

Canada Job Grant won't be in place July 1 in most provinces

New

Designing Women's Meshach Taylor dies

Photos

Ramadan around the world

Shadeism

Filmmaker looks at discrimination among people of colour

Erin Gray and her 2 children found in Ontario, safe and sound

Khaled Al-Qazzaz, Mohamed Fahmy supported at rallies to improve prison conditions

Quiz

10 Questions about our home and native land

Rob Ford returns: 5 post-scandal political comeback attempts

Israel strikes Gaza militant sites in response to rocket attacks

NASA tests new vehicle, parachute for future Mars missions

Video

When science meets soccer (or when physics meets football)

2:42

Older gay and lesbian Canadians face discrimination in long-term care facilities

BP oil spill: company seeks return of claim 'overpayments'

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Most provinces miss July 1 target to deliver Canada Job Grant

Most if not all of the provinces and territories will fail to deliver the federal government's controversial Canada Job Grant in time for Canada Day, despite a three-month extension given to them to implement and deliver the grant by July 1.

Less than half of the provinces and territories that agreed to implement the grant last spring have finalized their funding agreements with Ottawa. The six provinces are: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

The Canada Job Grant, a centrepiece proposal made by the federal government during last year's budget, will provide workers with up to $15,000 to help them land a new or better job.

The federal government will provide employers with up to $10,000 to train each worker, with employers kicking in up to $5,000. The grant would cover the cost of training each worker including paying for their tuition and training materials.

Employment Minister Jason Kenney succeeded in getting the provinces and territories on board following several months of intense negotiations, and agreed to a request for a three-month extension to deliver the grant.

Of those six provinces that have finalized their funding agreements with Ottawa, three have confirmed to CBC News they will not have the grant in place by July 1. And because the other seven provinces and territories have not yet finalized their funding agreements with Ottawa, they too will need more time to see the grant through.  

A government official who was not authorized to speak on the record told CBC News that Ottawa expects different provinces will implement the grant on different dates, but that both levels of government are working in good faith to deliver the grant "as soon as possible."

That means Canadian workers looking to upgrade their skills through this grant will have to wait a little longer before they can apply, in some provinces that means they will have to wait until fall.

Grant delayed until fall in some provinces

B.C.'s Shirley Bond, one of three key ministers who negotiated face to face with Kenney, told CBC News the province hopes to have the programs in place in three months from now.

"B.C. has been meeting with key skills training stakeholders and employers for their input and advice on how to best deliver the Canada Job Fund and Canada Job Grant in British Columbia with an eye to being open for applications this fall."

In February, Bond said it was unrealistic for the federal government to expect the provinces and territories to have the skills training program in place by April 1.

Documents obtained by Radio-Canada showed the provinces and territories had initially asked Kenney for a six-month extension. In the end, he agreed to three months.

Employers and workers in Alberta will also have to wait until the fall before the Canada Job Grant is in place.

Alberta's Kyle Fawcett will now oversee the delivery of the grant after Thomas Lukaszuk threw his hat into the leadership race to replace Allison Redford, who resigned as premier in March.

Janice Schroeder, a spokeswoman for Fawcett, told CBC News that the grant was "not yet" in place.

"We will be announcing the provisions likely towards the end of July, and people will be able to apply in the fall," Schroeder said in an email on Friday.

Different minister in charge in Ontario

In Ontario, Brad Duguid, who was an outspoken critic of the grant, will no longer be responsible for the skills training program, as that responsibility was shifted over to another minister.

Fresh off the campaign trail, Reza Moridi, who is the minister of research and innovation, has also been asked to take over as minister of training, colleges and universities following this week's cabinet shuffle. That means it will fall on Moridi to put the programs in place.

Moridi could not confirm how long after July 1 the grant would be delayed, but said he looked forward to working with Kenney to ensure the programs are implemented "effectively" and serve "the best interests of Ontarians." 

"The province will continue to work closely with our federal counterparts on this significant agreement to better connect employers to job training and the labour market while continuing to protect programs in place for our most marginalized and vulnerable workers," Moridi told CBC News in a statement on Friday.

A spokesperson for Kenney said the minister was pleased that the provinces and territories agreed to work with the federal government on the delivery of the grant.

"The Canada Job Grant will ensure skills training actually leads to a guaranteed job and that employers are putting more money into equipping Canadians for available jobs," said Alexandra Fortier, a spokeswoman for Kenney, in a written statement to CBC News on Friday.

The Canada Job Grant will be delivered through the new Canada Job Fund, which is the name the federal government gave to the former Labour Market Agreements that expired at the end of March.

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Rescuers hear 'feeble voices' of trapped workers after India buildings collapse

Police in southern India detained five construction company officials Sunday as rescuers using gas cutters and shovels searched for dozens of workers believed buried in the rubble of a building that collapsed during monsoon rains. It was one of two weekend building collapses that killed at least 22 people.

Nearly 90 contract workers were believed to have been in the basement of the 11-story structure to collect their wages when it collapsed Saturday on the outskirts of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.

Police said 31 had been pulled out so far, four died on the spot and another seven succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

The exact number of those trapped was unknown but rescuers could hear feeble voices in the debris, said T.S. Sridhar, the disaster management agency commissioner.

Nearly 300 police and fire service workers worked overnight, looking for survivors in the debris. Officials used gas cutters, iron rods and shovels after cranes lifted concrete blocks to get to the survivors.

Lightning possibly caused collapse

"Removing debris is a major challenge. It may take two to three days to clear the rubble," said S.P. Selvam, who is heading the rescue operation.

Rescue workers carry the body of an injured man at the site of the collapsed 11-storey building that was under construction on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Chennai. (Reuters)

​

Police officer Fernandes said two directors, two engineers and one supervisor of the construction company, Prime Sristi, were detained for questioning as authorities began investigating the collapse. 

Balaguru, one of the builders, said the structure collapsed possibly due to the impact of lightning.

"Usually, once the construction gets over we install the equipment to prevent the building from a thunder strike. It was nearing completion," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Balaguru, who uses one name, as saying.

Building collapses common in India

Earlier Saturday, a four-story, 50-year-old structure toppled in an area of New Delhi inhabited by the poor. Eleven people died and one survivor was being treated in a hospital, said fire service officer Praveer Haldiar.

Most homes in that part of the capital were built without permission and using substandard materials, police officer Madhur Verma said.

The Press Trust of India news agency said the New Delhi collapse was triggered by construction work on an adjacent plot.

Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorized extra floors.

In April last year, 74 people were killed when an eight-story building being constructed illegally in the Mumbai suburb of Thane in western Maharashtra state caved in. It was the worst building collapse in the country in decades.

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Designing Women's Meshach Taylor dies

New

The Associated Press Posted: Jun 29, 2014 10:18 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 29, 2014 10:18 AM ET

Meshach Taylor's agent says the actor who appeared in the hit sitcoms Designing Women and Dave's World has died. He was 67.

Agent Dede Binder says Taylor died of cancer on Saturday at his home in Los Angeles.

Taylor got an Emmy nod for his portrayal of a lovable ex-convict surrounded by boisterous Southern belles on Designing Women from 1986 to 1993. Then he costarred for four seasons on Dave's World.

Other series included Buffalo Bill and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.

His movie roles included a flamboyant window dresser in the 1987 comedy-romance Mannequin. He also appeared in Damien: The Omen Part II.

Taylor guested on TV series including Criminal Minds, Hannah Montana and The Drew Carey Show.

Born in Boston, he began his career as a member of Chicago's Goodman Theatre.

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5 key questions about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's return

Seven weeks of relative calm at Toronto City Hall will come to an abrupt end Monday as Mayor Rob Ford returns from seven weeks in rehab to revive his re-election campaign.

After a year of scandal that featured Ford admitting to using crack, multiple recordings of embarrassing, inebriated rants, and the removal of most of his mayoral powers by council, Ford will now try to somehow scrub clean his reputation enough to give him a shot at re-election on Oct. 27.

For this football-loving mayor, executing such a comeback would be the political equivalent of a Hail Mary touchdown pass in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter.

But Ford has proven his critics wrong before, so with that in mind, here's a look at five key questions Rob Ford faces as he prepares to make a re-entry into the political fray at Toronto City Hall.

1. Will the rehab work?

Last November, Ford told CBC's Peter Mansbridge he was "finished" with alcohol. We know what happened next. More recordings of drunken rants and other outlandish behaviour that eventually forced Ford to enter rehab in early May.

So does Ford finally have a handle on his addiction or will we see a return to the antics that forced him to step away from the mayor's race? Michael Krausz, a professor in UBC's department of psychiatry who specializes in addiction treatment, says support after rehab is crucial to a patient's success.

"Addiction is a chronic condition," he said. "If support is provided as early as possible and on an ongoing basis, recovery rates are much higher. Just addressing substance abuse is often not enough." 

Krausz was commenting about addiction generally. He didn't have any specific information about Ford's treatment and recovery (and neither do we). It's clear, though, that it's over-simplistic to say any patient is "cured" after a stint in rehab.

In restarting his election campaign, Ford will need to attend evening campaign events where alcohol will freely flow. He'll have to avoid temptation and the dreaded viral video that will surely emerge if he slips up.  
 

2. Can his fractured relationship with other politicians be repaired?

With the exception of his brother Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor appears to have few allies left in politics. A near unanimous council vote stripped Ford of many of his powers in November. Earlier this year, the provincial Progressive Conservatives moved to distance their party from the Ford vortex, saying they wouldn't consider Doug Ford  a candidate in the June 12 election.

Premier Kathleen Wynne — who has since secured a majority — gave Ford the cold shoulder during last winter's ice storm. Federally, the Fords lost a key ally when Jim Flaherty died in April.

But it's at the council level where the loss of political allies will hurt Ford the most. Toronto has a weak mayor system, one that forces the city's chief magistrate to build bonds with like-minded councillors who then tend to vote together as a bloc. But many of the right-of-centre councillors who supported Ford after his 2010 election have moved away from him, including Denzil Minnan-Wong. Another, Coun. Karen Stintz, is now running against Ford for mayor.

Many councillors were shocked when Ford made lewd comments about Stintz in one of his recorded rants. Unless Ford can repair at least some of those fractured relationships, it will be difficult for him to register any accomplishments before voters head to the polls.

3. Will Ford return defiant, or humble? 

In the past, Ford has showed little contrition when confronted about his bad behaviour. News reports on Friday suggest Ford will make a public statement on Monday (without taking reporters' questions), then open his door to any councillor keen to discuss city business. Is this a sign we'll see a less combative, more conciliatory Rob Ford? Or will attacks from his opponents (like the one we saw in radio ads from the Chow campaign this week) trigger his fight response?

4. Does the world outside Toronto still care?

Ford's antics made him a worldwide celebrity over the past year, and not in a good way. At the height of the crack scandal he was pilloried nightly by U.S. late-night talk show hosts as the scandal made headlines around the globe. It will be interesting to see if the international media still care enough to give the Ford story more prominent play. Ford's opponents have charged him with dragging Toronto's name through the mud, so if he can't behave, Ford's antics won't only be fodder for Jimmy Kimmel.

5. Can he still win?

It's hard to trust political polls these days, but a Forum Research poll published this week pegged Chow at 34 per cent, Ford with 27 per cent, John Tory with 24 per cent, David Soknacki at six per cent, and Stintz at three per cent. Chow, a former NDP MP, benefits from being the only left-of-centre runner in the race, but it's clear Ford can't be counted out and could be within striking distance of re-election should either Chow or Tory slip up down the stretch.

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New York's 9/11 museum: What should we think about the event now?

The guide had just finished leading us around the haunting artifacts inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which has just opened deep in the bedrock of New York City, when he offered up this idea: a museum doesn't tell you what to think, but what to think about.

Haunting artifacts on display inside the 9/11 Memorial Museum include the remains of the Fire Department of New York's Ladder Company 3 truck. (Associated Press)

After a few hours in this sombre and profound space, punctuated by everything from mangled girders and a crumpled NYC fire truck to eyeglasses found in the debris after the attacks on the World Trade Center, there is certainly much to think about.

What is the best way to remember Sept. 11, 2001, and all that has happened since?

What would those family members who lost husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers or sisters be thinking if they were here, in this museum carved into the site where their loved ones died?

What about those who tried — mostly in vain — to help; or those who survived?

In the end, you find yourself asking what lessons for the future might be found in immersing yourself for a few hours in the place that became Ground Zero for more than just a single horrific attack on American soil.

Everyone has a 9/11 story. For those who knew someone whose life was lost, it is a tragic one that tends to make any other thought of that fateful day pale in significance.

For others, the links are more tangential. But most people remember where they were when they heard planes had been hijacked and fatally crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington and a Pennsylvania field.

The day was hazy but the view over Manhattan was stunning as I stood on the top of the South Tower of the World Trade Center on April 20, 2000. (Janet Davison)

Sixteen months before the attacks, I stood on top of the South Tower, a carefree tourist mesmerized by the stunning view 110 storeys above Lower Manhattan.

On 9/11, I was a tourist in the U.S. again, this time touring Pennsylvania Dutch country at around the same time United Airlines Flight 93 would have passed overhead, the passengers at that very moment plotting to seize back control before the jet crashed near Shanksville.

Now, nearly 13 years later, I found myself a tourist once more, among so many others at the newly opened 9/11 museum, the large crowds making the visit an occasionally frustrating ordeal rather than the moment of reflection and learning it would like to be.

The descent into confusion

For all the bustle, there is still much to see, perhaps more than anyone can take in during one visit to the $700-million, 110,000-square-foot museum that lies in the footprint of the World Trade Center site.

Much careful thought obviously went into finding ways to tell the 9/11 story from so many angles and perspectives, beginning with a large photo showing how lovely and clear that day dawned on New York City.

The museum visitor walks slowly downward in virtual darkness, the way punctuated by recorded voices reflecting the shock and confusion of those first moments after the planes struck the towers.

U.S. President Barack Obama and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton tour Memorial Hall at the 9/11 Memorial Museum with former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in May. (Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

Twenty metres below street level is the main museum with its historical exhibition and memorial hall. There, each person who died on Sept. 11, along with those killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is remembered.

The memoriam is a provocative and emotional space, offering voices from victims' loved ones telling something of the lives of the nearly 3,000 people, including 24 Canadians, who died in the attacks.

The pictures on the "Wall of Faces," often happy and taken perhaps from family wedding photos or celebrations, are an emotional punch that captures the enormity of the loss.

That same reaction comes through as well in the stories told by the artifacts, large and small.

Some of those stories feel deeply personal — imagine what it was like to be the person who once wore the simple wire-rimmed glasses found in the rubble.

Or what it was like to be New York Police Department officer Moira Smith, whose damaged nameplate survived, but she did not.

There is the crumpled Ladder Company 3 truck, which took 11 firefighters to the World Trade Center. None came home.

There's the chunk of the broadcasting antenna that stood on top of the North Tower. Nearby is the picture of a man who was working on the antenna the day of the attack.

There was no way to save him. What would he have thought, in the moments after the first plane struck?

Tissue boxes at hand

Depending on how deeply a visitor wants to go into the experiences of 9/11, there's an alcove with voices of cellphone calls made from one of the hijacked planes.

There are also photos of people who jumped from the upper floors of the towers, although somehow I missed that display, and maybe that's just as well.

If you go

Address: 1 Albany St., Lower Manhattan

Hours: 10 a.m – 6 p.m.; reservations can be made

Entrance fee: $24 for adult; $42 with very good guided tour

Warning: There is a gift shop

Tissue boxes are available in areas expected to be especially emotional.

Some of the artifacts also offer hope. There is the squeegee handle belonging to window cleaner Jan Demczur, which was used to free him and five others from an elevator in the North Tower, ultimately saving six lives.

There are the concrete "Survivors' Stairs" that hundreds of people were able to use to find their way to safety.

And there is much emphasis on those who tried to help, the first responders who lost their lives, and those who survived.

Plus there is homage to the outpouring of support that came into New York from elsewhere in the U.S. and beyond.

What to think about al-Qaeda?

As personal as the museum is, it is also political, and in that way the museum leans toward telling the visitor what to think, rather than what to think about.

Pictures of the hijackers are displayed, discreetly. Attention is paid to the roots of al-Qaeda and missed intelligence opportunities. In a remoter area of the massive Foundation Hall exhibition space, there's a controversial inclusion: a brick from the compound in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. special forces in 2011.

"For many, the brick represents the fall of bin Laden's reign of terror; a storied piece of solitary rubble denoting renewal of life in a world in which he no longer remains at large," Alex Drakakis, the 9/11 Memorial Museum's assistant curator of collections, says on the museum's website.

Shoes and other personal items are among the artifacts on display at the 9/11 Museum. (James Keivom, The Daily News/The Associated Press)

Any museum is a result of choices made of what to display, and what to leave out.

Along the way, planning for this one was fraught, particularly around the emotional and understandable concerns of victims' families. Some were also particularly incensed by some items initially offered in the gift shop. The much-criticized cheeseplate shaped like the continental U.S. has been taken off the shelves.

There is still much unease among some families directly connected to 9/11, particularly because unidentified remains lie within the site, off limits to the public.

"People will find moments of grace or enlightenment or even peace from coming here, I don't need to be one of them," Steve Kandell, whose sister died on 9/11, wrote on BuzzFeed after touring the museum last month.

"I'll probably bring my son one day once I realize I won't have the words to explain. It can be of use. It's fine. I don't know," he said.

Some observers have argued it's too soon or inappropriate to have a museum at the 9/11 site.

But even if time eventually changes the perspective cast on what happened and why, the insight the museum offers today is invaluable as a starting point for assessing the influences that led to 9/11 and what lessons may have been learned for the future.

The names of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center are inscribed around the two reflecting pools at the 9/11 memorial in New York City. (Janet Davison/CBC)

When I had descended into the museum earlier this month, it had been bright and sunny outside, crowds jostling everywhere. When I came back up into the light and ventured outside, to the poignant and beautiful 9/11 memorial that sits on top of the museum, a torrential downpour had chased all the tourists away.

I gazed into one of the two graceful memorial pools that fill the former base of the towers.

Names of those who lost their lives are engraved into the walls around the pools, arranged not in some sterile alphabetical way, but by association and how victims would have known one another.

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Hamilton MP speaks of family torn apart by alcoholism, mental illness

As Wayne Marston prepares to drive to Hamilton, he chooses a song from his vast repertoire.

Every week the NDP MP clocks more than a thousand kilometres back and forth from Parliament Hill to his Hamilton riding, where he lives with his wife, Barb.

He picks one of his favourite Bobby Darin tunes and Fly Me to the Moon is soon wafting through the car.

For Marston, music was an escape from the grinding poverty of his early life.

'Every MP that comes here has to bring with them who they are and how they evolved to who they are.'—Wayne Marston, NDP MP

"I had one set of clothes," he laughs. "So when I washed them I had to wait until they dried, or there was nothing to wear."

In the 1950s, poverty was not rare in the small community of Plaster Rock, N.B., so that did not make him stand out.

What did was the dramatic family dysfunction around him.

In August 1949, when Marston was a baby, his 10-year-old sister was strangled. It is believed she was killed by their mother. Marston was in the room when it happened.

Wayne Marston grew up amid poverty and tragic family dysfunction in this home near Plaster Rock, N.B. (Courtesy of Wayne Marston)

"I didn't live the incident because I was only two years old," he says. "But I lived the after-effects of it, so that went a long way to defining me.

"Every MP who comes here has to bring with them who they are and how they evolved to who they are," he says.

Family torn apart by mental illness

His mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to an institution for 10 years. She then went to live with relatives. Marston only learned what happened from his father when he was 12 years old.

"He decided when he was drinking one night to tell me the story of what happened to my sister."

Wayne Marston is pictured in 1957. (Courtesy of Wayne Marston)

Marston did not have a relationship with his mother until he was 42. He will never forget their first visit.

"She hugged me," he says. "I looked out of the side of my eye and I could see her wanting to kiss me. She did a very quick one. That's an important memory." Marston stops, tearing up and is unable to continue for several minutes.

But it was his father's addiction that was even more painful. In Plaster Rock, population of about 1,000 inhabitants, being the town drunk was an ignominious title.

"When I was 12 years old, I used to pick him up and drive him home, because it was safer for the community to get him off the roads."

Marston says that his troubled background scarred him as a young man.

"I had no personal self-esteem until I was 30 years of age," he says. "I remember going to pick up a girl for a date one time and being told, 'No, you are the Marston boy, you can't go out with our daughter. We know about your family.'"

Bit by bit, events happened to boost his confidence.

A path to empathy and politics

He was picked by his fellow Bell Canada workers to be the shop steward.

He pulled a man out of a burning car in 1986 and was awarded a bravery medal by Gov. Gen Jeanne Sauvé.

Wayne Marston was awarded a medal for bravery by Gov. Gen Jeanne Sauvé in 1986, for pulling a man from a burning car. (Courtesy of Wayne Marston)

He ran unsuccessfully against Liberal Sheila Copps several times and then finally broke through in 2006, defeating Liberal Tony Valeri in Hamilton East–Stoney Creek. He's been re-elected twice and now serves as the NDP's critic on consular affairs and human rights.

Marston finds his background often bumps up against Prime Minister Stephen Harper's tough-on-crime agenda.

He's against mandatory minimum sentences and is opposed to reopening any debate on capital punishment. He understands the concept "not criminally responsible" because of his mother's mental illness.

"I have a great empathy for people as a result of where I came from."

He spoke early in June, before the House recessed for the summer, on a bill of rights for victims, arguing for more compassion for offenders.

"It is to come to that place of understanding of what motivates and creates these situations and to pre-empt them from ever happening in the first place. In our family's case, it was the mental illness of a family member," he said to fellow MPs.

Marston is philosophical about his background.

"I don't have any sense of embarrassment about my past — those were things that happened around me."

"I have a sadness for my mother and father, for the way their lives turned out."

But his life now, he says, is "perfect."

"I'm in a place where it's very rewarding here."

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Russia accuses U.S. of fuelling Ukrainian crisis

Russia's foreign minister on Saturday accused the United States of encouraging Ukraine to challenge Moscow and heavily weighing in on the European Union.

Speaking in televised remarks Saturday, Sergey Lavrov said that "our American colleagues still prefer to push the Ukrainian leadership toward a confrontational path." 

He added that chances for settling the Ukrainian crisis would have been higher if it only depended on Russia and Europe.

Lavrov spoke after Friday's European Union summit, which decided not to immediately impose new sanctions on Russia for destabilizing eastern Ukraine, but gave the Russian government and pro-Russian insurgents there until Monday to take steps to improve the situation.

Ukraine on Friday signed a free-trade pact with the EU, the very deal that angered Russia and triggered the bloodshed and political convulsions of the past seven months that brought Russia-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War times.

In November, under pressure from Moscow, a former Ukrainian president dumped the EU pact, fuelling huge protests that eventually drove him from power. Moscow responded by annexing the mainly Russian-speaking Crimean Peninsula in March, and pro-Russian separatists soon rose up in Ukraine's eastern provinces.

The U.S. and the EU slapped travel bans and asset freezes on members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and threatened to impose more crippling sanctions against entire sectors of Russia's economy if the Kremlin fails to de-escalate the crisis.

The EU leaders on Friday gave Russia and the rebels until Monday to take steps to ease the violence, including releasing all captives, retreating from border checkpoints, agreeing on a way to verify the cease-fire and launching "substantial negotiations" on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's peace plan.

The weeklong cease-fire, which both sides have been accused of violating, expired at 10 p.m. local time, but Poroshenko quickly declared its extension until 10 p.m. local time Monday.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Koval was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying Saturday that the situation in the east was largely quiet overnight and there were no casualties among Ukrainian troops despite sporadic shooting. Rebels claimed that Ukrainian troops tried to capture one of the checkpoints on the Russian border, which they control, but were rebuffed.

As part of his peace plan, Poroshenko this week also submitted a set of constitutional amendments that would give broader powers to the regions and allow local authorities to have more say on such issues as language and culture. In an address to the nation Saturday, he voiced hope that the move would strengthen the country's unity.

Lavrov acknowledged that Russia has some leverage with the rebels, pointing at their move this week to release four observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe after weeks of captivity, but claimed that Moscow's influence is limited.

"There are reasons to believe that they hear us on other aspects of Russian position regarding the crisis in Ukraine, but that doesn't mean that they immediately move to heed our calls," he said.  

Four other OSCE observers are still being held, but a leader of the insurgents promised Friday to free them "in the nearest days." 

Following talks with a troika including a former Ukrainian president who represented the Kiev government, the Russian ambassador and an OSCE envoy, rebel leader Alexander Borodai also promised to abide by the extended cease-fire.

He rejected the EU leaders' demand to retreat from three checkpoints on the border with Russia captured by the rebels, but invited OSCE to send its monitors to the border crossings and any other areas in the east.

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Pakistan family slits throats of young couple over love marriage

A young couple in Pakistan were tied up and had their throats slit with scythes after they married for love, police said Saturday.

The 17-year-old girl and 31-year-old man married on June 18 without the consent of their families in eastern Pakistan's Punjabi village of Satrah, police said.

The girl's mother and father lured the couple home late on Thursday with the promise that their marriage would receive a family blessing, said local police official Rana Zashid.

"When the couple reached there, they tied them with ropes," he said. "He (the girl's father) cut their throats."

Police arrested the family, who said they had been embarrassed by the marriage of their daughter, named Muafia Hussein, to a man from a less important tribe.

Cultural traditions in many areas of Pakistan mean that killing a woman whose behaviour is seen as immodest is widely accepted.

Immodest behaviour that sparked recent killings included singing, looking out of the window or talking to a man who is not a relative. For a woman to marry a man of her own choice is considered an unacceptable insult by many families.

Many 'honour killings' never reported

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 869 so-called "honour killings" were reported in the media last year — several a day. But the true figure is probably much higher since many cases are never reported.

The weak Pakistani government, battling with a troubled economy and a Taliban insurgency, does not collect centralized statistics and has no strategy to combat the killings.

'The girl shouted, cried and mourned for her life and her husband's life because she knew that they will kill both of them'- Zia Kiyyani, lawyer for a young couple killed for love marriage

Pakistani law means that even if a woman's killer is convicted, her family is able to forgive the killer.

Many families simply nominate a member to do the killing, then formally forgive the killer.

That's what happened earlier this week, a lawyer said, when a tribal council in central Pakistan's Muzaffargarh district sentenced another young couple to death for marrying for love.

Shot by family member

The couple's lawyer, Zia Kiyyani, said the two had appealed for police protection after their marriage on June 21, but had not received any.

The 19-year-old girl's family came to take her from her husband's family, swearing on the Koran that they would not harm her and would hold a proper wedding ceremony, he said.

"During this the girl shouted, cried and mourned for her life and her husband's life because she knew that they will kill both of them," he said.

The girl, named Mehreen Bibi, was shot by a member of her family when she returned home, police said. Her husband went into hiding and her father registered the murder complaint so he could forgive the killer, Kiyyani said.

"That will end the case," he said.

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Missing Malaysia jet passengers and crew likely suffocated: investigators

The passengers and crew of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 most likely died from suffocation and coasted lifelessly into the ocean on autopilot, a new report released by Australian officials said.

In a 55-page report, the Australian Transport Safety Board outlined late Thursday how investigators had arrived at this conclusion after comparing the conditions on the flight with previous disasters, although it contained no new evidence from within the jetliner.

The report narrowed down the possible final resting place from thousands of possible routes, while noting the absence of communications and the steady flight path and a number of other key abnormalities in the course of the ill-fated flight.

"Given these observations, the final stages of the unresponsive crew/hypoxia event type appeared to best fit the available evidence for the final period of MH370's flight when it was heading in a generally southerly direction," the ATSB report said.

100 days since jet vanished

All of that suggested that the plane most likely crashed farther south into the Indian Ocean than previously thought, Australian officials also said, leading them to announce a shift farther south within the prior search area.

The new analysis comes more than 100 days after the Boeing 777, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared on March 8 shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

Investigators say what little evidence they have to work with suggests the plane was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometres from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.

In this image released by the Australian government Thursday, the new priority search area within the defined arc - where the jet last communicated with satellites - is shown in orange. The total search zone encompasses an area of nearly 60,000 square kilometres. (Australian Transport Safety Bureau)

The search was narrowed in April after a series of acoustic pings thought to be from the plane's black box recorders were heard along a final arc where analysis of satellite data put its last location.

But a month later, officials conceded the wreckage was not in that concentrated area, some 1,600 kilometres off the northwest coast of Australia, and the search area would have to be expanded.

"The new priority area is still focused on the seventh arc, where the aircraft last communicated with satellite. We are now shifting our attention to an area further south along the arc," Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters in Canberra.

$56M price tag

Truss said the area was determined after a review of satellite data, early radar information and aircraft performance limits after the plane diverted across the Malaysian peninsula and headed south into one of the remotest areas of the planet.

"It is highly, highly likely that the aircraft was on autopilot otherwise it could not have followed the orderly path that has been identified through the satellite sightings," Truss said.

The next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a year, covering some 60,000 square kilometres at a cost of $56 million or more. The search is already the most expensive in aviation history.

The new priority search area is around 2,000 km west of Perth, a stretch of isolated ocean frequently lashed by storm-force winds and massive swells.

Two vessels, one Chinese and one from Dutch engineering company Fugro, are currently mapping the sea floor along the arc, where depths exceed 5,000 metres in parts.

A tender to find a commercial operator to conduct the sea floor search closes on Monday.

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Ex-NHL enforcer Gino Odjick may have 'months or even weeks' to live

Former Vancouver Canucks enforcer Gino Odjick has a rare terminal heart illness, and doctors say he may have as little as a few weeks to live. 

Odjick, in a letter published Thursday on the Canucks' website, said he was diagnosed with AL (Primary) Amyloidosis two months ago.

"It's causing abnormal protein to be produced and deposits are being formed on my heart," said Odjick. "It's hardening my heart and my doctors aren't sure how long I have to live.

"Initially they thought years, but now they think it could be a lot less. I could be down to months or even weeks."

'Your 'Gino, Gino' cheers were my favourite. I wish I could hear them again. You have been amazing.'- Gino Odjick, addressing fans in an open letter

The 43-year-old Odjick played from 1990-2002 in the NHL, including eight years in Vancouver and two in Montreal.

He also played for the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, recording 64 goals, 73 assists and 2,567 penalty minutes in 605 regular season games.

Odjick played 44 playoff games with Vancouver and Montreal, scoring four goals and an assist.

Former NHL Enforcer Gino Odjick revealed in an open letter to fans and teammates Thursday he has a terminal heart condition. (Vancouver Canucks)

In the letter, Odjick thanked fans for their support over the duration of his career.

"Your 'Gino, Gino' cheers were my favourite. I wish I could hear them again. You have been amazing," he wrote. 

Odjick also specifically addressed his aboriginal heritage. 

It means "the world to me that my hockey career gave me a chance to open doors for kids in the Aboriginal community. I was just a little old Indian boy from the Rez.  If I could do it, so could they."

Former teammates, coaches weigh-in

Cliff Ronning, a fellow Canadian and former Canucks forward who played with Odjick in the early 1990s in Vancouver, called him "a true warrior" who is "definitely in for the fight of his life."

"I know right now he's really focused on being with his family ... I think it's time that Gino really finds out how much the province of B.C. loved him.

"Miracles can happen," Ronning said. 

Odjick also played for the Montreal Canadiens in the final years of his career. He squared off with Boston Bruins tough guy P.J. Stock during the third period of game four Eastern Conference quarter finals in 2002. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

Patt Quinn, who played for the Canucks during his days as an NHL defenceman and later coached the team, recalled Odjick's fierce style of play, but said "off the ice, you couldn't meet a more humble, big-hearted person."

"He's quite a man, and he's fought for everybody else for long enough. Now he's got to fight for himself, and I believe he'll do it."

'I will always be a Canuck'

Odjick, Maniwaki, Que., native was drafted by the Canucks in the fifth round, 86th overall, of the 1990 NHL Draft.

"I feel very fortunate for the support I've received over the years," Odjick said. "During my career I played in some great NHL cities including Vancouver, Long Island, Philadelphia and Montreal.

"In my heart, I will always be a Canuck and I have always had a special relationship here with the fans."

Odjick said he was diagnosed with the disease two days after Pat Quinn was added to Rogers Arena's Ring of Honour in April, and he's been in hospital ever since.

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Russia haggles over Ukraine ceasefire extension

Russia would welcome a three-day extension of a ceasefire in east Ukraine but it must not simply delay an "ultimatum" for  separatists to lay down their arms, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Friday.

"We hope that this does not only mean a postponement of the ultimatum for three days," Lavrov was quoted by Interfax news agency as telling reporters in Moscow after Itar-Tass news agency reported that Kiev had decided to extend the ceasefire.
 
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, speaking in Brussels at the European Union summit, said he would decide later on Friday whether to extend the week-long unilateral ceasefire with insurgents.

In an interview with the Guardian and four other European newspapers, he said Ukrainian soldiers have been targeted in more than 150 attacks since the ceasefire began and that five soldiers have been killed on Friday alone. Poroshenko said Russia has done "nothing" to end the "distastrous" war.

On Thursday, he said he might not extend the truce if it appeared that rebel groups were using the break in fighting to rearm. When he announced the ceasefire on June 20, he offered rebels amnesty if they lay down their weapons.
 
Pro-Russian separatist leaders and mediators for the Kyiv government met in the city of Donetsk on Friday in new consultations on ending the fighting in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east, a spokeswoman for the rebels
said.
 
Interfax news agency said the rebels were talking to the so-called "contact group" which includes former President Leonid Kuchma, Moscow's ambassador to Kyiv and representatives of the OSCE rights and security watchdog.

A first round of talks was held last Monday and ended with a rebel commitment to honour the ceasefire.

But the Kyiv government says the rebels have carried out numerous breaches of the ceasefire over the past week, including the downing of a military helicopter on Tuesday killing nine service personnel.  

Ukraine, EU sign trade, economic pact

In a separate development, Poroshenko on Friday signed a trade and economic pact with the European Union, saying it may be the "most important day" for his country since it became independent from the Soviet Union.

It was the decision of his pro-Moscow predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, to back out of the same EU association agreement in November that touched off massive protests in Ukraine that eventually led to Yanukovych's flight abroad, Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko signed a broad political and trade accord with the European Union on Friday, making a historic shift away from Russia and closer to the West. (Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)

Later Friday, EU heads of state and government were expected to consider whether to ramp up sanctions against Russia over its conduct toward Ukraine.

Before the signing ceremony, Poroshenko brandished a commemorative pen inscribed with the date of EU's Vilnius summit where Yanukovych balked at approving the agreement.

"Historic events are unavoidable," he said.

At Friday's proceedings, the European Union signed similar association agreements with two other former Soviet republics, Moldova and Georgia.

Businesses in the three countries whose goods and practices meet EU standards will be able to trade freely in any of the EU's 28 member nations without tariffs or restrictions. Likewise, EU goods and services will be able to sell more easily and cheaply to businesses and consumers in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

"It's absolutely a new perspective for my country," Poroshenko said.

"There is nothing in these agreements or in the European Union's approach that might harm Russia in any way," insisted EU President Herman Van Rompuy. But almost immediately, Moscow made clear it was reserving the right to react.

Russian reaction

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told Russian news agencies that the Kremlin would respond to the EU-Ukraine accord "as soon as negative consequences arise for the economy."

But Peskov dismissed the threat of immediate action against Poroshenko's government. "In order for those (consequences) to arise, the signed agreement needs to be implemented," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously imposed trade embargoes against its neighbours in response to political or economic moves that the Kremlin views as unfavourable. (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

Russia has previously imposed trade embargoes against its neighbours in response to political or economic moves that the Kremlin views as unfavourable.

European Commission experts estimate implementation of the deal is expected to boost Ukraine's national income by around $1.6 billion US a year. EU Enlargement Commission Stefan Fule said the trade bloc has made clear to Moscow its willingness to demonstrate that Russian economic interests will not be harmed.

Perhaps more important than the trade clauses is an accompanying 10-year plan for Ukraine to adopt EU product regulations. Such rules ease the way for international trade beyond Europe.

The deal also demands that Ukraine change the way it does business. Adopting EU rules on government contracts, competition policy and the copyright for ideas and inventions should improve the economy by making it more investor-friendly and reducing corruption.

Reminding EU leaders of the Ukrainians who died opposing Yanukovych's government and in the ongoing battle against the pro-Russian insurgency in the country's east, Poroshenko said Ukraine "paid the highest possible price to make her Europe dreams come true."

He asked EU leaders to take a further step, and formally pledge that one day Ukraine will be able to join the EU as a full-fledged member. That "would cost the European Union nothing, but would mean the world to my country," he said.

Putin calls for long-term ceasefire

Meanwhile, Putin called Friday for a long-term ceasefire in Ukraine to allow talks between representatives of Kyiv and eastern regions where rebels are waging an armed insurgency.

Poroshenko has warned a ceasefire now in place may not be extended beyond Friday night when it is due to expire if peace talks with pro-Russian separatists fail to yield a favourable outcome.

"Most important is the securing of a long-term ceasefire as a necessary condition for substantive talks between the authorities in Kyiv and representatives of the southeastern regions," Putin said.

"We sincerely strive to help the peace process," he told delegates at a diplomatic ceremony in the Kremlin.

Western governments have piled pressure on Putin to take steps to disarm the rebels who Kyiv accuses of numerous breaches of the truce aimed at giving the two sides time to find a political solution to the crisis.

Putin also said that the violence in Ukraine had forced tens of thousands of Ukrainians to seek refuge abroad, including in Russia.

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Peter MacKay's wife defends his comments about women

Updated

Justice minister's wife says media reports of MacKay's remarks based on hearsay

The Canadian Press Posted: Jun 27, 2014 7:17 AM ET Last Updated: Jun 27, 2014 10:27 AM ET

CBC's Compass talks to Afshin-Jam MacKay 5:21

CBC's Compass talks to Afshin-Jam MacKay 5:21

Justice Minister Peter MacKay's wife says her husband hasn't received a fair shake over recent comments attributed to him about female judges.

Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay has written to the Globe and Mail saying MacKay's comments to a group of lawyers was misrepresented in the media.

The Toronto Star reported that MacKay indicated women were reluctant to become judges because they were afraid of being sent away on the circuit courts.

MacKay has been widely criticized as a result. He has said he is trying to encourage more women to serve on the bench.

Afshin-Jam MacKay writes that organizers of the meeting have refused to release an audio recording of MacKay's remarks and instead ran to what she called the anti-Conservative media.

She says the media reports are based on hearsay and she likens them to a National Enquirer-TMZ mentality.

While in Antigonish, N.S., on Friday, MacKay was asked to respond to the comments he is alleged to have made about female judges and mothers. However, the justice minister refused to comment.

With files from CBC News

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