News for Youse: Burnaby won't ban shark-fin soup, budget day, loonie falls, and Booth may return

Burnaby politicians won't vote for shark-fin ban  Last night, Burnaby council voted to monitor the progress of a Toronto bylaw concerning shark-fin soup after an Ontario court overturned its ban. Mayor Derek Corrigan condemned the practice of removing shark fins, but accepted a city manager's report saying a Burnaby bylaw would be "ineffective due to a lack of local authority to seize samples".

Dynamite recovered  As part of a drug investigation, the Burnaby RCMP has seized sticks of dynamite from an apartment on Grange Street. 

Budget day in Victoria  Finance Minister Mike de Jong is expected to introduce a balanced budget today; the NDP has questioned whether or not this will be on the basis of "speculative" asset sales that won't provide long-term fiscal sustainability.

Mayencourt "proud" to be B.C. Liberal nominee  Before the B.C. Liberals have voted for their candidate in Vancouver-False Creek, a video has surfaced of one of the contestants, Lorne Mayencourt, declaring how "proud" he is to be representing the party in the May 14 provincial election.

Religious freedom office coming  Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce a new office of religious freedom. The CBC has reported that it will cost $5 million, including a $500,000 annual operations bill.

Falling loonie  This morning, the Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level against the U.S. greenback since July, before recovering slightly.

Industrialized economies decline  The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has revealed that its members' economies shrank by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Blade Runner says shooting a mistake  Disabled South African Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has claimed he shot his girlfriend in error. He maintains that he thought she was sleeping and that a burglar was locked in the bathroom when he started firing bullets.

Australian swimmers ignored curfews  An inquiry into Australian swimmers' dismal performance at the London Olympics has blamed a "toxic team culture" and misuse of medications.

David Booth could return  Canucks.com has stated that speedy forward David Booth might be in the lineup tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. He suffered a groin pull at training camp.