April 11 (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
* All federal departments using software vulnerable to the so-called Heartbleed bug have been ordered to immediately disable public websites. The directive issued late Thursday calls this a precautionary measure until the "appropriate security patches are in place and tested". (http://r.reuters.com/wes48v)
* Former Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who stepped down from his position last month, died of a heart attack on Thursday. Flaherty changed fiscal conservatism in Canada by delivering one of the largest deficits in modern history. When he quit as finance minister after eight years, he left the country on the road to balance. (http://r.reuters.com/fus48v)
Reports in the business section:
* The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will cut 657 positions and get out of the business of airing professional sports, a pillar of its programming for more than 60 years, as part of a plan to confront a C$130 million revenue shortfall projected for the 2014-15 broadcast year. (http://r.reuters.com/bus48v)
NATIONAL POST
* Upon hearing of the death of former Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, doctors expressed worry about the side-effects that treatments for his rare skin disorder do "to the body and mind." In January 2013, Flaherty told the public he suffered from bullous pemphigoid, an incurable autoimmune skin disorder that causes painful lesions. (http://r.reuters.com/kus48v)
* A Quebec court has ruled that the province's language police went too far in trying to force such major retailers as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Gap Inc and Best Buy to add French to their outdoor signs. (http://r.reuters.com/bys48v)
FINANCIAL POST
* Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce's Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal never imagined himself as the defender of the Canadian housing market, but he is doing exactly that as he squares off against a U.S. commentator calling out what he sees as a bloated real estate market. (http://r.reuters.com/jys48v)
* Goldcorp Inc hiked its hostile bid for Montreal-based Osisko Mining Corp on Thursday to C$3.6 billion, or C$7.65 a share in cash and stock. The dollar value is roughly C$1 billion more than what Goldcorp offered in January, when its own share price was significantly lower. (http://r.reuters.com/rys48v) (Compiled by Arnab Sen in Bangalore)