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

By The Canadian Press

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Dec. 29

———

CANADA 150 NEW YEAR’S SHOW CHANGED DUE TO COLD: Mother Nature drowned out Canada Day on Parliament Hill and now it’s frozen out part of the planned New Year’s Eve celebrations. Organizers were checking the forecast every hour Friday hoping to see some improvement but the polar vortex that has turned Ottawa into a living icicle shows no sign of lifting until at least Jan. 2. Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said while Canadians were able to manage all the snow that fell around last New Year’s Eve to ring in Canada 150, this year the cold was proving to be too much.

———

OTTAWA TO WORK WITH N.S. ON DESMOND INQUIRY: The federal government says it will work with Nova Scotia on the inquiry into the deaths of Lionel Desmond and his family. Last January, the retired corporal — diagnosed with PTSD and post-concussion disorder after completing two tours in Afghanistan in 2007 — shot his wife, daughter and mother before turning the gun on himself. Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O’Regan said Friday the federal government will work with the province on the inquiry to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

———

BRAIN INJURY VICTIM COMMUNICATES WITH MOM: In what her mother calls a “Christmas miracle,” a Nova Scotia woman who suffered a catastrophic brain injury in a 1996 car accident communicated with family members for the first time in 21 years on Dec. 25. Louise Misner says her 37-year-old daughter Joellen Huntley used eye motion cameras and software on an iPad to respond to a question Misner asked her on Christmas Day. She says her daughter indicated through a screen icon that she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

———

ORDER OF CANADA LIST INCLUDES PHARMA GIANT: The Canadian pharmaceutical giant whose sudden death earlier this month is shrouded in mystery is among the latest inductees into the Order of Canada. Gov. Gen. Julie Payette released the latest round of appointments Friday, including 121 people new to the order and three who are being promoted within it. The list includes Bernard “Barry” Sherman, whose generic drug company Apotex made him and his wife, Honey, among the wealthiest people in Canada. The Shermans were found dead in their Toronto home on Dec. 15, and their deaths have been deemed “suspicious.”

———

MONTREAL CANADA’S MOST TRILINGUAL CITY: Census numbers from 2016 reveal Montreal is by far the country’s most trilingual city. The data were specially ordered by Montreal International, a business association, and provided today to The Canadian Press. The Statistics Canada figures indicate more than 21 per cent of Montrealers can speak at least three languages, compared with 11 per cent of Torontonians and 10 per cent of people in Vancouver. Jack Jedwab of the Association for Canadian Studies helped obtain the data and says Montreal has many trilingual people due to immigrants and Quebec’s language law.

———

HEALTH CANADA MONITORING MAKEUP ASBESTOS TEST: Health Canada says it has requested to see testing data from Claire’s Stores Inc. following reports that asbestos has been found in certain cosmetic products sold by the international retailer of youth-oriented jewelry and accessories. Claire’s said it has retained an independent laboratory to test the cited products in order to determine whether the recent news reports are accurate. Canada’s federal health agency said Friday that it contacted Claire’s, which confirmed that the suspect cosmetics were sold in Canada but have been removed from stores since Dec. 22.

———

U.S. INDIGENOUS MAN HAS RIGHT TO HUNT IN CANADA: An American Indigenous man’s right to hunt in Canada has been upheld by a judge because his ancestors traditionally hunted in this country. Richard Desautel was charged with violations under British Columbia’s Wildlife Act after he shot and killed a cow elk near Castlegar in 2010. Desautel, a member of the Lakes Tribe in Washington state, argued he was exercising his constitutional right to hunt for ceremonial purposes and was acquitted of the charges in March. Justice Robert Sewell has dismissed an appeal, saying Desautel’s tribe traditionally lived on both sides of the border and it has deep connections to its territory in Canada.

———

TRADING OF CANADIAN POT COMPANIES HALTED ON TSX: Several Canadian cannabis companies had their stocks temporarily halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange early Friday afternoon due to volatile swings in trading. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada halted trading on Canopy Growth Corp., Aphria Inc., Aurora Cannabis Inc. and MedReleaf Corp. between approximately 12:15 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. ET. Trading resumed for all shares within about 10 minutes. Shortly before the halts, shares of Canopy Growth dropped 14.78 per cent, Aphria 15.5 per cent, Aurora 14.7 per cent and MedReleaf dropped 19.2 per cent.

———

DIVERS FIND BODY OF B.C. BOY IN SUNKEN CAR: The RCMP is investigating a car crash in southeastern B.C. that resulted in the death of a 10-year-old boy. Police say the vehicle the boy was in veered off Highway 23 in snowy and icy conditions, and crashed into Arrow Lake and sank. The 37-year-old driver and an 11-year-old girl made it out of the car before it sank. The name of the deceased boy is not being released, and the Mounties and coroner continue to investigate the cause of the crash.

———

FORCILLO CASE BACK IN COURT IN JANUARY: The case of a Toronto police officer found guilty of attempted murder in the fatal shooting of a teen on a streetcar and now charged with attempting to obstruct justice and perjury will return to court next month. Const. James Forcillo appeared in court Friday and is set to appear by video link on Jan. 12 to schedule a bail hearing on the charges, which were laid last week. Even if he is granted bail on those charges, however, Forcillo would remain in custody to serve his sentence in the shooting of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim.

———

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today