July 17 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
* Treasury Board President Tony Clement is taking aim at the striking foreign service workers, alleging their tactics are "blackmail" and urging the union to accept the government's offer. ()
* Mike Allen, a Progressive Conservative MLA in Alberta has resigned from caucus after being arrested during a prostitution sting in the United States when he allegedly tried to solicit sexual services through a classified advertising website. ()
* Cory Monteith, the Canadian actor who rose to fame with his portrayal of quarterback-turned-crooner Finn Hudson on the hit television show "Glee", died of a toxic mix of heroin and alcohol. ()
* Insurance providers who reversed their decision to deny Calgary residents flooding claims after last month's weather catastrophe faced a customer backlash in the weeks following the flooding that ravaged Southern Alberta. ()
Reports in the business section:
* Canada's largest chain of newspapers is cutting hundreds of jobs and closing several publications to deal with plummeting profits, the second time in less than a year that Sun Media Corp has slashed its staff aggressively to deal with falling print advertising revenue. ()
* While Canada's labor market has rebounded sharply from the depths of the recession, the number of long-term unemployed has refused to budge, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has found. ()
* Already a quaint relic in many parts of Canada, the old-fashioned payphone could become even harder to find after the country's telecommunications regulator rejected Bell Canada's request to double the cost of a call to $1. ()
FINANCIAL POST
* David Rosenberg, the latest pundit to weigh in on the hard versus soft landing debate, says Canada's housing market has almost recouped all the losses brought on by Ottawa tightening the mortgage rules in 2012. ()
* While pure-play food and drug retailers such as Metro and Rexall appear to have the most to lose in the impending nuptials of Loblaw Companies Ltd and Shoppers Drug Mart Corp , Monday's $12.4-billion deal stands to challenge a far broader swath of retail companies as the two Canadian retail giants begin stocking their strongest brands and categories in each other's stores. ()
* Bank of Canada Governor, Stephen Poloz, who replaced Mark Carney in June, will not be deviating the course set previously by policymakers, the ones who have kept interest rates at near-record lows for almost three years. ()
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