In the news today, Dec. 12

By The Canadian Press

Six stories in the news for Tuesday, Dec. 12

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LIBERALS CAPTURE THREE OF FOUR BYELECTIONS

Justin Trudeau’s Liberals scored another byelection upset Monday, taking the B.C. riding of South Surrey-White Rock from the Conservatives. Gordie Hogg won the riding with 47.5 per cent of the vote. In Toronto’s Scarborough-Agincount, Liberal Jean Yip won a riding left vacant by the death of her husband, Arnold Chan, in September. Liberal Churence Rogers easily retained Bonavista-Burin-Trinity in Newfoundland and Labrador and the Tories held onto a safe seat — Battlefords-Lloydminster in Saskatchewan.

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UBER: DATA BREACH AFFECTED 815,000 CANADIANS

Uber Canada says 815,000 Canadian riders and drivers may have been affected as part of its worldwide data breach announced last month. The disclosure came the same day the federal privacy commissioner said it had opened a formal investigation into the data breach, which saw the theft of information from some 57 million Uber accounts globally in October, 2016.

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REPORT HIGHLIGHTS EVER-RISING CHILD CARE FEES

A new report shows child care costs are rising faster than inflation, straining pocketbooks and raising questions about whether billions in new federal spending will make daycare more affordable for those who want it. Toronto remains the most expensive city for child care, where median daycare costs families about $21,096 a year. The cheapest spaces are in Quebec, at $2,196 a year.

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B.C.’S SITE C DAM WILL BE BUILT, FOR $10 BILLION

National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations says Indigenous people will likely take the Site C approval to court. But Premier John Horgan says the B.C. government had no choice but to complete the Site C dam rather than absorb a $4 billion hit to its bottom line by cancelling the project. The price tag for Site C is rising, with the $8.3 billion dam on the Peace River in northeast B.C. now estimated to cost $10.7 billion.

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JURY SET TO BEGIN DELIBERATIONS IN BABCOCK TRIAL

The jury is expected to start deliberating today in the trial of two men accused of killing a young Toronto woman and burning her body. Dellen Millard, 32, of Toronto, and Mark Smich, 30, of Oakville, Ont., have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the presumed death of Laura Babcock, 23, whose body has not been found. The Crown alleges the pair killed Babcock in July 2012 because she became the odd woman out in a love triangle with Millard and his girlfriend, Christina Noudga.

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SEX ASSAULT TRIAL SET TO BEGIN IN BARRIE, ONT.

A man accused of sexually assaulting a young Ontario woman as she slept is set to face trial today, more than a year after the woman took her own life. Shawn Roy’s trial was initially scheduled to begin last Thursday but was postponed so he and his lawyer could review their approach after a judge ruled that statements the woman made to police and friends would be admitted as evidence.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Ontario man, Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 19, to be sentenced in New York City after he pleaded guilty in a terror plot.

— Constitutional arguments are expected to be made in the Bountiful polygamy trial in Cranbrook, B.C.

— Launch of the first-ever Indigenous cancer strategy in North Vancouver.

— Ride-hailing service Lyft will launch its service in Toronto, marking its first expansion outside the U.S.

— Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will hold a private meeting in Toronto with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard.

— Gov. Gen. Julie Payette will present 42 Meritorious Service Decorations (Civil Division) during a ceremony in Ottawa.

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