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

STEPHANE DION TO BE AMBASSADOR TO EU AND GERMANY: Former Liberal leader and foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion ended weeks of speculation Tuesday when he said he has accepted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offer to be Canada’s ambassador to the European Union and Germany. Dion made the announcement while saying goodbye to his House of Commons colleagues, following a similar tribute from former immigration minister John McCallum, both of whom were shuffled out of the federal cabinet earlier this month. McCallum had already agreed to be China’s ambassador to China; Dion, weighing his options, finally ended the suspense after question period Tuesday, saying he would embrace the challenges associated with strengthening Canada’s ties with the EU. Both were casualties of a cabinet shuffle aimed at preparing for the ascendance of U.S. President Donald Trump.

———

SPIES, RESEARCHERS PROBE ANTI-MUSLIM BACKLASH: Jihadi-inspired extremism has dominated discussion of terrorism in Canada in recent years. But the shootings at a Quebec City Islamic centre may well represent the flip-side of that coin: the hate-killing of Muslims. It is too early to know what prompted the crimes and, so far, accused shooter Alexandre Bissonnette has been charged with murder and attempted murder, but not terrorism. Still, the suspect’s social-media history suggests he was a fan of far-right, anti-immigrant French politician Marine Le Pen. Canada’s spy agency and academic researchers have been quietly probing the phenomenon of right-wing extremism, and the concerns will figure into federal plans for a national office of counter-radicalization. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says he plans to get the office up and running soon.

———

U.S. SAYS CANADIANS ARE EXCUSED FROM TRAVEL BAN: The U.S. government has provided some clarity: Canadian passport-holders have the right to travel to the United States, despite days of confusing, contradictory messages about Donald Trump’s travel restrictions. Four days after the order was announced, the American administration held its first detailed news conference Tuesday shedding light on who can still travel to the U.S. and who can’t — at least not until the order is reviewed in a few months. The U.S. government confirmed publicly what it has privately told the Canadian government that citizens of non-affected countries, including dual citizens, are exempt by the travel freeze on seven majority-Muslim countries. It was a relevant question for about 35,000 Canadians —that’s how many have dual citizenship with the seven affected countries, and some of those Canadians may have jobs, families, and homes in the U.S.

———

NDP WANTS BIGGER RESPONSE TO U.S. TRAVEL BAN: The Liberal government is holding the line on its immigration and refugee policy in the wake of the U.S. travel ban, but leaving the door open to future adjustments as they continue to study the far-reaching — and fast-changing — implications. “We have a very robust and welcoming refugee system,” Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said Tuesday. “We don’t develop policy on the fly.” The minister was responding to calls to do more to fill the gaps left by U.S. President Donald Trump’s temporary immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries and his indefinite bar to Syrian refugees. The NDP wants the Liberal government to lift the cap on the number of Syrian and Iraqi refugees that can be brought to Canada through certain kinds of private sponsorships known as “group of five” and “community sponsors,” which is currently set at 1,000 — a target that was reached over the weekend. They also want the government to fast-track the acceptance of refugees who had been approved to go to the U.S. and whose futures are now in limbo.

———

ACCUSED IN ‘KNESS TOGETHER’ SEX ASSAULT RETRIAL FOUND NOT GUILTY: A man who was tried for a second time after a judge made controversial comments at the original trial has again been found not guilty of sexual assault. Alexander Wagar, 29, smiled after the verdict Tuesday and yelled “yeah” as he left the Calgary courtroom. Wagar was acquitted in 2014 by Judge Robin Camp, who ruled Wagar was a more credible witness than the 19-year-old woman making the allegation. Camp called the woman “the accused” throughout that trial and asked her why she couldn’t keep her knees together. The Alberta Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal and ordered a new trial. The judge hearing the retrial, Justice Gerry LeGrandeur, said after considering the testimony of both the woman and the accused, he was left with reasonable doubt that a sexual assault happened. LeGrandeur said the case has drawn a lot of public interest and sympathy, but the Crown had not proven the charge.

———

TORONTO PASTOR FOUND NOT GUILTY OF GROSS INDECENCY, INDECENT ASSAULT: Prominent Toronto pastor Brent Hawkes has been found not guilty of gross indecency and indecent assault in a Nova Scotia case that involved allegations stemming from events in the 1970s. Judge Alan Tufts handed down the verdict Tuesday in Kentville, N.S., saying he found significant inconsistencies in the testimony of the witnesses. Hawkes, a high-profile rights activist who officiated at former NDP leader Jack Layton’s state funeral, was at the time a teacher in his mid-20s in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. A man told the court he was 16 years old when Hawkes led him down a hallway naked during a drunken get-together at Hawkes’ trailer, and forced oral sex on him in a bedroom. Two other men testified they attended the get-together as teenagers, and one said he witnessed Hawkes performing oral sex on the complainant. On Tuesday, the judge said it’s not clear what happened in the bedroom that night. “It’s easy to speculate, but that’s not something that’s permitted here,” Tufts said.

———

DISTURBING INTERNET SEARCHES IN TRIPLE MURDER: A police forensic investigator says he found disturbing web searches on a hard drive found on the farm of a man suspected in the deaths of a Calgary couple and their five-year-old grandson. Douglas Garland faces three counts of first-degree murder in the disappearance of Alvin and Kathy Liknes and Nathan O’Brien. Const. Doug Kraan said he went through the web browser history on the hard drive that had been hidden on the Garland farm. He said there were searches for ads for amputation retractors, an autopsy kit and various other surgical tools. Kraan also said there were a number of searches about items for sale at the Liknes home and a map on how to get there. The Likneses held an estate sale in June 2014 and were moving to the Edmonton area, although they planned to spend their winters at a condo in Mexico.

———

FORT MCMURRAY CUTS JOBS DUE TO WILDFIRE, OIL SLUMP: The regional municipality that includes Fort McMurray says it is cutting 168 jobs due to the economic effects of last spring’s wildfire and Alberta’s slumping oilsands industry. Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake said the changes won’t be easy after all her staff have been through. The cuts to management and staff, including 46 vacant positions, are expected to save about $24 million a year. Blake said the reductions will touch every department, except fire and emergency services. She said the municipality must transition from a structure that was set up a few years ago to deal with the frantic years of growth during the oilsands boom to the current reality of low oil prices. The wildfire last May that forced more than 80,000 people from the region and destroyed 2,400 homes and other buildings has made the situation worse.

———

VICTIM’S FRIEND ANGRY AT RUSSELL WILLIAMS PLAY: A close friend of a woman murdered by convicted killer Russell Williams says an upcoming stage production based on the intense police interrogation of the former military commander will sensationalize his crimes. Kirsten Walkom says the grief experienced by Williams’ victims and their loved ones is not meant for entertainment. The One Little Goat Theatre Company plans to premiere “Smyth/Williams” in March, with an all-female cast that will alternate the roles of Ontario Provincial Police Det. Sgt. Jim Smyth and Williams through the performance. The Toronto-based company says the play aims to raise awareness of sexual violence against women. But Walkom says the play makes the victims’ families feel exploited and should be cancelled. Williams was sentenced to life in prison in October 2010 after pleading guilty to the murders of two women — 37-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd. The former commander of CFB Trenton, Canada’s largest military airfield, also pleaded guilty to 82 fetish break-and-enters and thefts as well as two sexual assaults.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

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

What's Happening