The Friday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Oct. 28

TRUDEAU TO SIGN EU TRADE DEAL SUNDAY: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will finally travel to Brussels this weekend to sign the Canada-EU free trade deal known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA. The Prime Minister’s Office, which confirmed Trudeau’s off-again, on-again travel plans, says the postponed summit will now take place Sunday. Trudeau had initially expected to sign the deal in Brussels earlier this week, but the restive Belgian region of Wallonia put the brakes on that plan by standing in lone opposition to the controversial deal.

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GUILTY PLEAS ENTERED IN NORTH SASK SHOOTING RAMPAGE:  A teen has pleaded guilty to killing four people in La Loche, Sask., last January.  The boy, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act pleaded guilty to four murder charges and seven of attempted murder. Two teachers were killed and several others injured when the boy entered the school and started shooting. The bodies of two teenaged brothers were found in a home nearby. At the time of the shooting, the teen’s friends described him as the black sheep of his family and a victim of bullying at school.

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Lighting it up

P.A.'s Zablocki leads Regina to victory on Day 4 at Esso Cup

18h ago

WORLD SOFTBALL

Group stages officially set for Men's Softball World Cup in P.A.

Apr 24, 2024

Safety first

Safety concerns and tips surrounding discarded needles in P.A.

Apr 23, 2024

CLINTON EMAIL PROBE LINKED TO SEXTING INVESTIGATION:  A U.S. official says newly discovered emails that have prompted a new FBI review of the Hillary Clinton email investigation came from a separate sexting probe of former congressman Anthony Weiner. Authorities in New York and North Carolina are investigating online communications between Weiner and a 15-year-old girl. The official said Friday that the emails referenced by FBI Director James Comey surfaced during that investigation. The official was familiar with the investigation but was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Comey told members of Congress on Friday that newly discovered emails believed to be related to the Clinton case were prompting a new review.

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FBI INVESTIGATES CLINTON EMAILS: Donald Trump is praising the FBI’s decision to investigate new emails found in the probe of Hillary Clinton’s private server. The Republican nominee said Friday that “perhaps finally justice will be served.” He was addressing a crowd in New Hampshire shortly after news broke of the FBI decision. Trump said that “Clinton’s corruption is on a scale we have never seen before” and said that “we must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office.” Trump said he had “great respect” for the FBI’s decision. He had previously been very critical of the FBI and Department of Justice for the earlier decision not to bring charges against the Democratic nominee.

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LIBERALS HAVE TWO GOALS WITH ECONOMIC UPDATE:  The Trudeau government hopes next week’s economic statement will convince Canadians its plan to kickstart the economy is working.  Sources say it’s one of two goals the government hopes to achieve with the document.  The other goal is to promote Canada abroad as an enticing investment destination.

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MORNEAU DENIES BEING IN A CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau says he has not violated any regulations governing lobbying and conflict of interest. Morneau was responding to word that the federal lobbying commissioner is looking into  allegations that lobbyists have been involved in Liberal fundraisers featuring cabinet ministers, including himself. He told a Toronto audience Friday that the Liberal party adheres to the “stringent federal rules” in its fundraising efforts. Lobbying commissioner Karen Shepherd said Thursday she has launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from advocacy group Democracy Watch.

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FUNERAL HELD FRIDAY FOR JIM PRENTICE: Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice has been remembered as a thoughtful, generous man and an accomplished politician. His daughter Cassia says her father was “so much to so many and he was absolutely everything to our family.” Colleagues, friends and members of the public gathered at the Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary on Friday for a state funeral. Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Prentice was so capable he was often given the toughest jobs as an MP. Prentice and three other men were killed when a twin-engine Cessna Citation crashed shortly after takeoff from Kelowna, B.C., on October 13th.

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ANTI-NUCLEAR ACTIVISTS CRITICAL OF LIBERALS:  A coalition of Canadian anti-nuclear activists says the Trudeau government should back a broader effort to work toward an outright ban on nuclear weapons. In recent votes at the United Nations, Canada has made it clear its preferred path for getting rid of nuclear weapons is to reject a push for full-scale nuclear disarmament in favour of a treaty to ban bomb-making material. But the president of the Ottawa-based Rideau Institute criticized Canada for its decision to vote against another UN resolution this week that would have started a process toward negotiations for a legally binding treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons. Peggy Mason says Canada’s failure to vote against the resolution puts it on the wrong side of history.

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HOUSE ARREST FOR WOMAN WHO MADE FALSE RAPE CLAIM:  A former Quebec woman who falsely claimed she had been sexually assaulted has been handed a sentence of 15 months to be served in the community. Carole Thomas will be under house arrest for the first eight months but will be allowed to go to work and attend medical appointments. She will then be subject to a curfew for seven months. Thomas, who now lives in New Brunswick, claimed in 2014 she had been kidnapped and raped in Longueuil, south of Montreal. She pleaded guilty earlier this month to various charges, including mischief.

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US MILITARY TRIED TO BLOCK ISLAMIC STATE GROUP FROM USING HUMAN SHIELDS: The U.S. military says it carried out airstrikes near the Iraqi city of Mosul earlier this week to try to prevent Islamic State group militants from forcing thousands of civilians north into the city to use them as human shields. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Matthew C. Isler said the coalition conducted “precision strikes” on vehicles that the militants were using in the operation. He says the vehicles were unoccupied and far enough away from the civilians to ensure none were harmed. The U.N. human rights office says IS militants are using tens of thousands of people as human shields in and around Mosul.

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MIKE MYERS THINKS OF CANADA ‘EVERY DAY’: Mike Myers has lived outside Canada for more than three decades by the comedy star says there isn’t a day that goes by that he doesn’t think of Canada. Myers says when Penguin Random House approached him to write a book on his relationship with Canada to commemorate its 150th birthday, he jumped at the chance.  Myers told The Canadian Press that in a way he had been writing the book for 53 years.  “Canada,” is a treasure trove of all things Canuck as Myers documents his life.

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The Canadian Press