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

Feb 1, 2017 | 4:15 PM

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Feb. 1

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TRUDEAU ABANDONS PROMISE TO CHANGE VOTING SYSTEM: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is abandoning his long-held promise to change the way Canadians vote in federal elections — an about-face that has opposition rivals seeing red. In a mandate letter for newly appointed Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould, Trudeau makes it clear that electoral reform — once top of mind for the Liberal government — is no longer on the agenda. “Changing the electoral system will not be in your mandate,” the prime minister writes in the letter, released Wednesday. A variety of consultations across the country have shown that Canadians are not clamouring for a change in the way they choose their federal government, the letter continues. It also rules out the possibility of a national referendum. 

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QUEBEC MOSQUE OPENS DOORS AFTER SHOOTING: Members of the city’s Muslim community walked over thick crusts of blood dried into the carpet of their mosque on Wednesday as they returned to the scene of last weekend’s carnage where six men were shot to death. Blood was everywhere: on the prayer carpet, the walls, tables and in footprints leading to the basement where people took refuge from the shooter. Ahmed Elrefai, a worshipper, pointed to several spots of blood across the room and said that was where his friends were hit. He said Muslims in Quebec City wanted the mosque to reopen as soon as possible, just days after a shooter killed the six men and wounded several others. The six victims, aged between 39 and 60, were killed when a gunman stormed the mosque and opened fire on men who were attending prayer. Authorities have refused to specify what type of firearm was used in the mass shooting.

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BANNER CALLS ON TORY MP KELLIE LEITCH TO RESIGN: Ontario Provincial Police say they are investigating after someone climbed on the roof of MP Kellie Leitch’s Collingwood, Ont., constituency office and hung a banner referencing the Quebec mosque shooting. Police say the banner, which calls on the MP and Conservative leadership candidate to resign, was removed Wednesday morning. The large banner said “hate puts us all at risk” and lists the names of the six people killed in Sunday’s mosque shooting in Quebec City. Leitch has promised to screen newcomers to Canada for “Canadian values” and has expressed enthusiasm for U.S. President Donald Trump.  When asked for a response to the banner incident, Leitch said “freedom of speech is a Canadian value” and also condemned the Quebec City attack. 

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MONTREAL MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED HATE SPEECH: A Montreal man has been arrested for allegedly uttering hate speech on social media, with authorities saying they are dealing with more complaints of hate-related cases since Sunday’s mass killing at a mosque. The 47-year-old was arrested Tuesday night at his residence in Kirkland, a suburb on Montreal’s west island. Montreal police spokesman Raphael Bergeron said investigators were still questioning the man at a detention centre. The exact nature of any charges the man may face is also unknown, Bergeron said. In addition to stepping up patrols around places of worship, Montreal police Chief Philippe Pichet told reporters Tuesday the force has also seen a spike in the number of reports of hate crimes since the mosque attack. Last May, Montreal police created a hate-crimes unit to probe such complaints. On Wednesday, the head of Montreal’s anti-radicalization centre told the city’s executive committee it has received 24 calls since Sunday, including 10 related to Islamophobia and four related to the extreme right.

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TORIES CRITICIZE TRUDEAU OVER LETTER TO FOX: The Opposition Conservatives are criticizing the Prime Minister’s Office for complaining to Fox News about a tweet identifying the suspect in the Quebec City mosque shooting as “Moroccan.” In an open letter to Fox News Channel co-president Bill Shine, PMO Communications Director Kate Purchase wrote that Canada is “an open, welcoming country that stands by its citizens.” She accused the tweet of “perpetuating fear and division” and dishonouring the memory of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting. Fox News responded by deleting the tweet and saying it regretted the error. Conservative MP and party leadership candidate Lisa Raitt says while she understands frustrations over misinformation being reported, Justin Trudeau should be focused on more important matters. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, reports indicated that two people had been arrested and a number of Canadian news organizations also reported the incorrect information, but later retracted the reference to a Moroccan national. Police have only charged one suspect. Officials said a second man who was arrested was not involved in the shooting but rather was a witness to the attack.

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DEFENCE MINISTER HINTS AT MORE HELP FOR UKRAINE: Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says the federal government is concerned about a new outbreak of fighting in Ukraine and is looking at ways to improve Canada’s military support to the country. Government forces and Russian-backed rebels have traded heavy fire in eastern Ukraine over the last few days, killing at least 19 people and injuring dozens more. The surge in violence is threatening to overturn a two-year-old ceasefire that has been repeatedly broken by both sides, but helped minimize bloodshed. Canada sent about 200 troops to Ukraine in the summer of 2015 to help train government forces, but the mission is set to expire at the end of March. The Ukrainian government has publicly asked Canada to extend the mission and while the Liberal government has been non-committal, Sajjan’s comments suggest an ongoing Canadian military presence.

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FEDS LOOK TO NEGOTIATE ’60s SCOOP SETTLEMENT: Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett says the federal government wants to settle legal action around the so-called ’60s Scoop — a period when indigenous children were removed from their homes and placed in care. Bennett calls the period a “dark and painful” chapter for Canada and says several parties have expressed interest in settlement discussions. She says negotiation, rather than litigation, is critical to address historical wrongs. In Ontario, a class-action lawsuit on the issue should be in a judge’s hands by the end of the week following a last-minute cancellation of a hearing that had been scheduled for Thursday. Two former aboriginal leaders were expected to tell the court about the advice they would have given the government — had they been asked — on helping on-reserve children retain their cultural identities after placement in non-indigenous homes. Instead, government lawyers this week informed a Superior Court justice that they no longer planned to cross-examine the two elders.

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GREENS SAY NEW BRUNSWICK NEEDS TOUGHER POWER GRID: NB Power needs to rebuild its shattered network with tougher gear to help it withstand violent ice storms like the one that toppled power poles like dominoes last week, New Brunswick’s Green leader says. “The poles can’t stand up to these kinds of storms,” David Coon said as thousands of customers awaited the return of electricity in northern New Brunswick on Wednesday, more than a week after the devastating storm. Coon recalled the 1998 ice storm that required army assistance in New Brunswick, Quebec, eastern Ontario and the northeastern United States, adding there has been a steady stream of violent storms that he said demands tougher standards for NB Power’s distribution system. Higher standards for the utility must be “built right into” the Liberal government’s promised climate change legislation, Coon said. Premier Brian Gallant, who has been providing daily storm briefings from northern New Brunswick, hasn’t committed to an independent review of the utility’s response or any legislated changes in standards. In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon he said the storm response would be evaluated after the crisis is over.

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ONTARIO HOCKEY EXECUTIVE SUSPENDED OVER SLUR: An Ontario minor hockey executive has been suspended and ordered to take ethics training after posting a slur online about Canadian women who joined a massive march in Washington, D.C., last month. Windsor Minor Hockey Association president Dean Lapierre apologized last week and said he “screwed up” when he made the comment on his personal Facebook page about the protest in support of women’s rights. Lapierre — described by the association as a tireless 30-year volunteer — wrote on Facebook: “Any of those CANADIAN women who wanted to protest the President of the USA and got turned around. Good u dumb bitches. Worry about your own Country CANADA. And your protesting what?” The Windsor Minor Hockey Association said that after an internal investigation carried out in consultation with the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, it passed a motion suspending Lapierre for the rest of the 2016-17 season, which ends April 9. The motion further orders the 48-year-old Lapierre to take a workshop by the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre of Windsor and other training programs on respect and ethics when dealing with social media.

 

The Canadian Press