In the news today: Ottawa to accept applications from refugees seeking to leave Gaza

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today… Ottawa to accept 1,000 applications from Canadians’ relatives seeking way out of Gaza The National Council of Canadian Muslims is calling on the federal government to remove a cap on the number of Palestinians who can seek refuge with their Canadian extended family members from the violence in the Gaza Strip.

The special extended family program for people in Gaza is set to launch next week, after Palestinian Canadians pleaded for months to get help from the government to rescue their loved ones as the Israel Hamas war continues. The program would offer visas to a maximum of 1,000 Palestinians, which would allow them to take refuge in Canada for three years if their families are willing to financially support them during that time.

Court injunction against law banning public drug use disappointing, say police chiefs A top British Columbia law enforcement official says a recent court decision placing a temporary injunction on a law to restrict public drug use takes away police enforcement tools. Vancouver Police Department Deputy Chief Const.

Fiona Wilson, who’s also president of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, says officers are disappointed with the B.C. Supreme Court decision last week that blocks the provincial law. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in favour of an application by the Harm Reduction Nurses Association and imposed the temporary injunction until March 31, pending a constitutional challenge of the law, saying “irreparable harm will be caused” if it comes into force.

Here’s what else we’re watching … Montreal police say missing baby found safe Montreal police say the missing child that triggered an Amber Alert has been found “safe and sound.” Police posted the update early Wednesday morning on X, formerly known as Twitter. No further details were given on where the child was found.

The baby girl was reported missing around 9:25 a.m. Tuesday morning from her maternal grandparents’ home in the city’s Lachine district. B.C. transit workers union issues strike notice A union representing more than 180 transit workers in B.C. has issued a 72 hour strike notice. CUPE Local 4500 represents workers employed by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, which runs transit operations for all of Metro Vancouver.

The notice is effective at 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It says job action could begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday with an overtime ban that would affect all operations in the Coast Mountain system. Office REITs set for another tough year: experts It’s set to be another tough year for office real estate investment trusts as the pandemic induced work from home movement and economic uncertainty continue to hamper the office market.

But some money managers say there could be decent entry points in the beaten down sector for long term investors. Michael McNabb, a portfolio manager at Purpose Investments, says office REITs are likely in a “darkest before dawn” scenario. McNabb says he’s still very cautious on the sector and wants to see vacancy rates improve but he believes longer term investors could start “picking away” at higher quality companies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024. The Canadian Press.