In the news: Nunavut MP Idlout join Liberals, Carney edges closer to majority

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

Nunavut MP Idlout defects from NDP to Liberals

The NDP says Nunavut MP Lori Idlout has crossed the floor to join the Liberals, pushing Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government closer to a majority.

Idlout’s move follows defections to the Liberals by three Conservatives in recent months. An early-morning statement from Idlout and the Liberal Party cited Arctic sovereignty, the rights and aspirations of Indigenous peoples, and climate change as reasons for the move.

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Idlout says, “That is why after much personal reflection and encouragement from my community, family, and supporters, I have decided to join the government caucus and to work alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney to build the better future that Nunavummiut are counting on.”

Kirt Ejesiak, the director of the Liberal Party of Canada in Nunavut, described Idlout as a tireless champion for the territory, adding that “Liberals in Nunavut know the importance of strong voices to stand up for our communities and for a strong, secure, and thriving north.”

MPs to vote on hearings for arms export bill

MPs will vote Wednesday afternoon on whether to advance a bill that would close a loophole in Ottawa’s weapons export regime that allows Washington to send Canadian arms to countries that would otherwise be blocked.

“We are living within a lie with our arms exports,” NDP MP Jenny Kwan told a Tuesday press conference.

Kwan tabled a private member’s bill last September following attempts by Washington to purchase Canadian weapons for Israel, despite a Canadian ban on exports of various types of weapons to that country.

Bill C-233 is set to face a vote at second reading after Wednesday’s question period. If it passes that vote, it will be sent to a committee for study.

Groups push for details on B.C. shooting firearms

Five gun control advocacy groups have told the RCMP they’re “alarmed and disappointed” the force has not yet disclosed basic information about the models and legal status of the firearms used in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting.

The RCMP has responded by saying the information is subject to an active investigation, meaning the force doesn’t know when the details will be available.

In a letter sent Tuesday to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme, the groups say “there is no discernible reason” not to immediately disclose the information, which they say could help strengthen public safety and prevent more shootings.

The letter is signed by Heidi Rathjen of the group PolySeSouvient, with the support of representatives of Angie’s Angels, Canadian Doctors for Protection Against Guns, Danforth Families for Safe Communities and the Québec Mosque.

Lower colorectal screening age to 45: Cancer Society

Michael Groves thought he had appendicitis.

In January 2021, he went to the emergency department with abdominal pains, but after testing, medical staff ruled it out and he went home.

A couple of days later, Groves, who lives in Ottawa, saw blood in his stool, so he told his family doctor.

Both the pain and bleeding stopped, but she decided to schedule the 49-year-old for a colonoscopy for that April to be on the safe side.

“The idea that it could be colon cancer, that never came to mind,” Groves said in an interview.

He was put under for the procedure and when he woke up, the gastroenterologist told him he had a five-centimetre tumour.

Groves was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer. It had spread to two lymph nodes.

He’s one of a growing number of people the Canadian Cancer Society says is getting colorectal cancer before the current routine screening age of 50.