Six stories in the news today, Sept. 23

Six stories in the news today from The Canadian Press

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FEDS WARN OF CRIPPLING ‘INSIDER’ CYBERTHREAT

Federal officials have quietly warned operators of electrical grids, transportation hubs and other key infrastructure of the cyberthreat from insiders who could unleash devastating viruses and cripple systems, internal government notes reveal. Crucial networks face a “substantial threat” from rogue employees out to wreak digital havoc, warn the Public Safety Canada briefing notes, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

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TOP PMO AIDES TO REPAY SOME MOVING COSTS

Justin Trudeau’s two top aides are repaying a “significant portion” of the $207,000 they received for moving expenses, hoping to douse a controversy that has plagued the Liberal government since the outset of the fall parliamentary sitting. The prime minister’s chief of staff Katie Telford and principal secretary Gerald Butts posted a joint statement on their Facebook pages Thursday, taking full responsibility for the expenses and apologizing for all the fuss.

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CANADA’S FIRST AFGHAN MINISTER ACTUALLY BORN IN IRAN

A longtime refugee advocate says stories such as that of Liberal MP Maryam Monsef are not uncommon as families fleeing war and violence reconstruct their past in a new land. Monsef, widely touted as Canada’s first Afghan-born cabinet minister, caused a stir Thursday when she said she only recently learned from her mother that she was in fact born in Iran.

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FORT MAC RESIDENTS BEMOAN STEEP UTILITY BILLS

Energy bills arriving in Fort McMurray, Alta., months after a wildfire forced the entire city to evacuate have come as a shock to some residents still trying to restore some normalcy to their lives. Many have taken to a Facebook support group to vent their frustration at recent bills that lumped together months’ worth of charges, in many instances demanding four-digit sums at once.

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ENERGY EAST HEARINGS COST HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS

The National Energy Board hearings into the Energy East Pipeline have cost nearly $700,000 so far. The hearings have been in limbo since members of the panel holding the hearings resigned over allegations of conflict of interest. The N-E-B says the price tag includes costs of meetings, the gathering of oral evidence from aboriginal interveners and some expenses from hearings in Saint John, New Brunswick and Montreal.

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CANADA TO REVEAL TO FOREIGN-LANGUAGE OSCAR PICK

Telefilm Canada is set to reveal Canada’s pick for best-foreign language film at the Oscars. The announcement will be made official in Montreal later today. Canada has had four movies compete in the category in the past six years. Last year’s submission was Maxime Giroux’s “Felix et Meira,” but it was not chosen as a finalist. The last Canadian film to earn a foreign-language Oscar nomination was Kim Nguyen’s “Rebelle” in 2013.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will be in Montreal as he continues his Canadian visit.

— In Winnipeg, federal Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr will provide an update on Ottawa’s commitments to veterans.

— Statistics Canada releases the retail trade figures for July and the consumer price index for August.

— Air Canada will hold a news conference in Montreal to make an announcement concerning air service to China.

— The Native Women’s Association of Canada will honour Indigenous artist Maxine “Ioyan Mani” Noel in Gatineau, Que.

— A protest calling for an end to bullfighting will be held outside the Spanish consulate in Toronto

The Canadian Press