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

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, Sept. 28

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TRUDEAU GOVERNMENT WANTS AMERICAN COMPANIES TO PROMOTE CANADIAN CULTURE: The Liberal government has released a cultural policy that calls for making sure foreign platforms are part of the promotion of Canadian stories. Heritage Minister Melanie Joly announced the government’s cultural policy on Thursday. It highlights a $500-million deal with Internet streaming giant Netflix that sets up a Canadian branch of operations for the company. It also commits Netflix to investing $500 million over five years in original productions in Canada.

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BOMBARDIER BRACING FOR MORE DUTIES: Bombardier says it will come as no surprise if the U.S. government slaps another duty on its CSeries commercial jet. Bombardier says it’s ready for an anti-dumping tariff after the government levied a nearly 220 per cent countervailing duty. The U.S. is set to announce its preliminary anti-dumping decision on Boeing’s petition next Wednesday. Bombardier says it’s confident the duties will be reversed in final decisions later this year.

GST Holiday

Federal government's two-month GST holiday begins

1h ago

Imminent need

Council set to discuss possible location for homeless shelter on 15th Street

6h ago

International Spotlight

P.A.'s Howe one of 4 Sask. born players named to Canada's World Junior roster

22h ago

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GRAPES GRIPES ABOUT MEDIA COVERAGE OF KNEELING PROTESTS: Don Cherry is blasting media coverage of athletes kneeling during the playing of national anthems. The “Hockey Night in Canada” commentator says the coverage of players protesting racist treatment of African Americans has been hypocritical. He has posted a statement of Twitter saying that former Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, a devout Christian, was mocked by the media for taking a knee to pray after scoring a touchdown.

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CANADIAN PLAYBOY MODELS PAY TRIBUTE TO HEF: Canadian Playboy models Pamela Anderson and Shannon Tweed expressed sadness about Wednesday’s death of Hugh Hefner. Anderson tearfully said goodbye in a video posted on Instagram while Tweed posted a photo on Instagram of a younger Hefner smoking a pipe, where she simply wrote that he changed the world.

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HUNTER KNEW BEAR 148 HAD COLLAR:  The hunter who killed a well known female grizzly bear in British Columbia knew the animal was wearing a research tracking collar but shot it anyway. The bear had strayed into B.C. from Alberta where it had recently been moved from a developed area west of Calgary to protect public safety. It’s legal to hunt grizzly bears in B.C, but not in Alberta. Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips called the death of Bear 148 a case of bad timing, noting the new provincial government in B.C. is planning to end the grizzly bear trophy hunt.

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CANADA LOOKED AT BUYING FIGHTERS FROM KUWAIT: Canada looked at the idea of buying second hand F-18 fighter jets from Kuwait to address a shortage of the very similar CF-18’s. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said Thursday that the idea was abandoned when the government found out the planes wouldn’t be available fast enough. The revelation comes amid a bitter and escalating dogfight between U.S. aerospace giant Boeing and Montreal-based Bombardier.

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FEDS SAY TAX PROPOSALS WON’T AFFECT THE FAMILY FARM:  Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the federal government’s controversial tax proposals won’t stop farmers from handing the family farm to the next generation. Morneau said Thursday that “technical fixes” for the proposals may be on the way when it comes to the issue of keeping the family farm in the family. Farmers have said the proposed changes could add new costs to inter-generational transfers of their family operations. Morneau told a Commons committee that the government’s goal isn’t to change the ability to move a family farm from one generation to the next.

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GASOLINE LAWSUIT SUFFERS SETBACK IN SUPREME COURT:  The Supreme Court of Canada has blocked a class-action suit against gasoline price fixing in Quebec from accessing evidence in a related criminal investigation. The ruling means lawyers for the claimants can’t interview the chief investigator of the Competition Bureau or get access to evidence, including 220,000 wiretap conversations. The Automobile Protection Association filed two class-action suits after the Competition Bureau found evidence of price fixing among gas retailers in four cities in Quebec and charged 39 individuals and 15 companies.

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STADIUM MAY BE NAMED AFTER ROB FORD: Toronto Mayor John Tory is recommending that a stadium be named for his controversial predecessor. Tory has sent a letter to council calling for the renaming of a stadium at Centennial Park, in the city’s west end, to Rob Ford Memorial Stadium. Tory notes that Ford’s community involvement went well beyond politics, and his passion for football led him to found a number of community programs.

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PRINCE HARRY DROPS BY WE DAY EVENT: Prince Harry surprised thousands of young people Thursday when he arrived unannounced at Toronto’s We Day celebration. Harry spoke about the importance of optimism in a cynical world. The prince is in Toronto for the Invictus Games, the athletic competition for wounded military members that he founded in 2014.

The Canadian Press