OTTAWA - The Conservative government is backing down on proposed fee hikes for two historic canal systems that were part of last year's budget cuts.

Environment Minister Peter Kent says fees for recreational boaters on the Rideau Canal and the Trent-Severn Waterway, both in eastern Ontario, will remain frozen for another three years.

VANCOUVER - The officer found guilty in the sinking of the Queen of the North ferry will appeal his conviction in the deaths of two passengers aboard the vessel.

In a verdict handed down Monday, a jury convicted Karl Lilgert of criminal negligence causing death when the vessel struck an island off British Columbia's north coast and sank in March 2006.

Lilgert's lawyer, Glen Orris, said Tuesday he believes the trial judge made errors when instructing the jury.

TORONTO - Not all technologies used for mammography are created equal, say researchers, who found one type is far less effective at detecting breast cancer than others.

A study by Cancer Care Ontario researchers found that digital computed radiography (CR) mammography is 21 per cent less successful at uncovering breast tumours than either digital direct radiography (DR) or screen-film mammography.

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tribute Tuesday to Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's time aboard the International Space Station.

Harper said Hadfield's mission is a proud moment for Canada.

"I'd like, as prime minister, to welcome Commander Chris Hadfield back to Earth," he said at a funding announcement. "He has made all Canadians proud. What a tremendous mission that has been."

TORONTO - Angelina Jolie's bombshell revelation of her double mastectomy due to a genetic cancer risk has brought renewed attention to specific genes linked to the development of both breast and ovarian cancers.

The Oscar-winning actress revealed in an op-ed piece in the New York Times that she carries the "faulty" BRCA1 gene and opted to remove her breasts as a preventive measure.

TORONTO - A psychiatrist, who works with some of the most dangerous prisoners in the country, teared up Tuesday as she testified about watching video of prison staff injecting a troubled inmate with medication over her objections.

Dr. Michelle Roy told the Ashley Smith inquest that she was dismayed to discover only recently a "more than huge" discrepancy between what a nurse had described by phone about the teen's state and the reality of the situation.

EDMONTON - Two years ago, some people in the northern Alberta town of Slave Lake were told to leave their homes, some didn't realize they should, and still others didn't understand the urgency until flames were at their front door.

A review released Tuesday details the initial panic, confusion and tension when wildfires ripped through the community on May 15, 2011. Roughly one-third of the town was destroyed.

Consulting firm KPMG, in a 200-plus page report, made 19 recommendations to improve the province's disaster response planning.

OTTAWA - A longtime Canadian diplomat will become the country's first ambassador to Somalia in more than two decades.

The announcement of David Angell's appointment marks a restart of diplomatic relations between Canada and the east Africa country.

Canada hasn't had an ambassador accredited to Somalia since 1990 but had signalled it wanted to rekindle relations following presidential elections in the country last year.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Premier Kathy Dunderdale says she respects the choice of Labrador voters, but losing the province's only Conservative MP in Monday's byelection won't help relations with Ottawa.

Federal Conservatives had urged voters in Labrador to overlook spending violations in 2011 by incumbent Peter Penashue, who said he was guaranteed a cabinet post. He finished a distant second to Liberal challenger Yvonne Jones, the clear winner with just over 48 per cent of the vote.

CALGARY - A New Brunswick mayor says it's important that producers understand the advantages of a pipeline that would carry western crude oil to eastern refineries.

Mel Norton of Saint John says he and other delegates have been in Alberta for the last couple of days talking about what's been dubbed the Energy East pipeline.

Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) said last month it wants solid backing from shippers before deciding whether to go ahead with a proposal to convert an existing 3,000-kilometre natural gas pipeline into one that could carry crude into Quebec.