In the news today, March 28

Six stories in the news for Wednesday, March 28

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JAGMEET SINGH BACKS OFF CHRISTOPHERSON PUNISHMENT

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has retracted the punishment meted out to veteran MP David Christopherson after facing a backlash from caucus members. Singh said late Tuesday that the Hamilton MP will return to his role as vice-chair of a powerful Commons committee. Christopherson broke ranks with the party last week to vote in favour of a Conservative motion condemning a policy requiring groups seeking funding under the Canada Summer Jobs program to attest a respect charter rights, including a woman’s right to have an abortion.

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Raiders AGM

Raiders impact on Prince Albert local economy continues to go up: AGM report

1h ago

Court proceedings

'The impact of this trauma will echo for generations': court case surrounding La Ronge woman's death reaches conclusion

Dec 11, 2024

Going Global

P.A.'s Zablocki named to Team Canada for U18 Women's World Championships

Dec 11, 2024

ONTARIO LIBERALS TO LAY OUT PRE-ELECTION BUDGET

Ontario’s Liberal government will present its final budget today before voters head to the polls in early June. The spending plan follows days of policy announcements that have seen the party pledge billions for health care and promise free child care for preschoolers. The government has said the 2018 budget will run a deficit of one per cent of the gross domestic product — potentially as high as $8 billion.

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CALGARY POLICE OFFICER STABLE AFTER BEING SHOT

Calgary’s police chief says an officer who was shot on Tuesday is in stable condition in hospital. The unidentified officer was shot in a residential neighbourhood by a suspect who had earlier robbed a convenience store with a gun. Shots were fired when the suspect was spotted between two houses and was later found dead inside a garage.

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TIM HORTONS, FRANCHISEES SPAR OVER RENO COST

Tim Hortons plans to renovate most of its Canadian restaurants over the next several years in what some franchisees say is another “ill-conceived” move that will cost individual restaurant owners about $450,000. The coffee-and-doughnut chain and its restaurant owners will invest $700 million to spruce up almost all its Canadian locations. The company says costs will be split with restaurant owners on the same proportions as has historically been the case, but declined to specify what those proportions are.

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MUSICIAN MATTHEW GOOD COLLAPSES ON STAGE

Canadian rock musician Matthew Good was taken to hospital Tuesday night after collapsing on stage during a performance at Edmonton’s Jubilee Auditorium. Singer Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, which is on a cross-Canada tour with Good, told the crowd that Good had collapsed due to pneumonia. Good’s official Twitter account said he was taken to hospital as a precaution.

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AMAL CLOONEY IN LUMINATO LINEUP

Renowned international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney is slated to attend Toronto’s Luminato arts festival in June. Organizers say she’ll take part in an onstage chat on June 22 with her father-in-law, American journalist Nick Clooney — George Clooney’s dad. A total of 29 events are in the festival, which runs June 6-24.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will speak to supporters at a Liberal fundraising event in Montreal.

— Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will speak in New York at a U.N. Security Council debate on peacekeeping.

— Bail hearing for Andrea Giesbrecht, convicted of concealing the remains of infants in a Winnipeg storage locker.

— Sentencing hearing in St. John’s, N.L. for a cab driver who sexually assaulted two passengers.

— Sentencing hearing in Ottawa for Ali Omar Ader, who was found guilty of kidnapping journalist Amanda Lindhout in Somalia.

— Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor will deliver keynote address at Canada 2020 Health Innovation Summit in Ottawa.

— Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Transport Minister Marc Garneau will announce plan for protecting North Atlantic right whales.

— Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford will be acclaimed as the party’s candidate for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke North.

The Canadian Press