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

By The Canadian Press

Highlights from the news file for Monday, May 30:

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FORT MCMURRAY RETURN DELAYED FOR SOME: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says concerns about environmental contamination will delay up to 2,000 evacuees expecting to move back to their homes in fire-damaged Fort McMurray until as late as September. While re-entering the scarred community will proceed as previously announced for most residents, Notley said more than 500 homes and about a dozen apartment complexes that escaped a wildfire earlier this month in three otherwise heavily damaged neighbourhoods are not safe to be lived in yet. She says that conclusion was reached with health experts following tests on air, soil, ash and water. The ash was tainted with toxic heavy metals and carcinogens such dioxins and furans

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WYNNE APOLOGIZES FOR RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has apologized to First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities for the “brutalities” suffered at residential schools, calling it one of the most “shameful chapters” in Canada’s history. “I apologize for the province’s silence in the face of abuses and deaths at residential schools,” Wynne said at the Ontario legislature as residential school survivors looked on. The formal apology was part of Ontario’s response to the 2015 report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which found that thousands of children were physically and sexually abused at residential schools, and more than 300 died.

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ELECTORAL REFORM: The federal Liberals say they plan to seek public support for any reforms they propose to Canada’s electoral system. But the threshold for that support, and how it will be achieved, remains unclear. The Conservatives continued Monday to press their case for a Canada-wide referendum on electoral reform before a new system is put in place. But Liberal parliamentary secretary Mark Holland brushed aside the call.

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EXTENDED EI MORATORIUM: Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the federal government isn’t going to provided extended EI benefits to any more regions of the country, even those that are the on cusp of meeting government requirements for the extra help. The federal gave extended EI benefits to 15 economic regions of the country, including three added May 13 after they met government requirements for the extra cash. At least two more regions, Yellowknife and Thunder Bay, could meet the requirements next month if their unemployment rates do not drop significantly.

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ASSISTED DEATH BILL DEADLINE: Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says it is essential to pass the controversial doctor-assisted death legislation in time for the June 6 deadline imposed by the Supreme Court. Philpott told the Commons that without legislation in place, health-care providers won’t have the legal framework to proceed. However, experts say medical regulators in every province have guidelines doctors must follow in order to help suffering patients.

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CANADIAN ACQUITTED IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATESs: After being imprisoned for two years in the United Arab Emirates in what his family and human rights advocates have called an unjust case, a Canadian man has been acquitted of all charges. Salim Alaradi had been accused of providing supplies to groups in a foreign country without permission of the UAE government and collecting donations without the government’s permission. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion says he expects an “expedited process” to reunite Alaradi with his family.

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CANADIAN CHARGED IN LOS ANGELES HOMICIDE: The son of a wealthy Toronto real estate developer has reportedly been arrested in Los Angeles in connection with the alleged murder of his girlfriend. Blake Leibel, 35, was arrested last Thursday after police found the body of 30-year-old girlfriend Iana Kasian in the home they shared. The National Post reports that Leibel is the son of Toronto-area businessman Lorne Leibel, the owner of Touchstone Homes.

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BEER BATTLE: The federal Conservatives say a recent court ruling in New Brunswick on interprovincial trade should be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Last month, a judge threw out all charges against a man accused of illegally importing 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor from a Quebec border town in 2012. The ruling effectively removed limits on cross-border alcohol imports.

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TEXAS FLOOD RESCUES: Authorities say they have rescued another 40 people from floodwaters in a Texas county near Houston even though rain has stopped in most of the state. Some rivers and waterways are still rising slowly after torrential rain last week. Forecasters say flooding of the Brazos River in parts of southeast Texas will continue through Tuesday, when the river is expected to crest more than three feet above the previous record.

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U.S. CAMPAIGN POLL: A new poll shows American voters feel a massive disconnect with their political parties ahead of this year’s presidential election. The survey from The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found just 15 per cent of those polled are confident in the Democratic Party. Only eight per cent said they felt the same about the Republicans.

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MEMORIAL FOR GORILLA: Dozens of animal rights advocates and others held a Memorial Day vigil at the Cincinnati Zoo in remembrance of a gorilla that was fatally shot to protect a four-year-old boy who entered its exhibit. The male western lowland gorilla named Harambe was killed Saturday by a special zoo response team that feared the boy’s life was in danger. Video taken by zoo visitors showed the gorilla at times appeared to be protective of the boy but also dragged him through the shallow moat.

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