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

By The Canadian Press

Highlights from the news file for Friday, May 19

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SASK TEEN GUNMAN WANTED TO MARK ANNIVERSARY OF LA LOCHE SHOOTING: The teen who has admitted to killing four people in La Loche, Sask., last year wanted a gift to mark the first anniversary of the shootings. The courts are trying to determine if the teen, who can’t be named under youth offender laws, should be sentenced as an adult or a juvenile. A pre-sentence report tabled in court Friday details how the teen asked staff at a Saskatoon youth detention facility whether they would buy him a present on the anniversary of the shooting. The hearing will resume in June when the defence presents its case.

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CANADA’S POT REFORMS GAINING INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION — MCLELLAN: The head of a federal government task force on legalizing marijuana is being watched around the world. Anne McLellan, a former Liberal cabinet minister, says other countries want to see how successful Canada is at developing a legal market for cannabis, how it addresses organized crime and how it deals with drug-impaired driving. Once it happens, Canada will become the first G7 country to legalize marijuana.

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TRANSPORT MINISTER MEETS WITH AIRLINES ABOUT PASSENGER RIGHTS: Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau is calling for Canada’s airlines to live up to the spirit of the federal government’s passenger bill of rights, even though the legislation does not come into force until next year. Garneau met with some 30 airline, airport and tourism officials in Ottawa on Friday. He says he sensed a “constructive approach” from the airlines. New federal rules will set minimum levels of compensation for people who voluntarily agree to be bumped from a flight and force airlines to establish clear standards of treatment and compensation for circumstances such as lost or damaged luggage.

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SOFTWOOD BAILOUT DELAYED: A federal aid package to help softwood lumber producers deal with the effect of U.S. duties won’t go before cabinet until the end of the month. Cabinet discussed a package of options for up to $1 billion in aid for the softwood industry earlier this week, but negotiations with industry and provincial governments aren’t done. A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr had hoped to have the plan ready to present publicly by the end of this week, but things didn’t quite come together in time.

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PM WEIGHS IN ON BOEING-BOMBARDIER TRADE SPAT: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is blasting the U.S. government for taking up Boeing’s complaint against rival Bombardier. Trudeau says he’ll always defend Canadian companies. But Trudeau refused to elaborate on the government’s suggestion that it might abandon plans to buy 18 of Boeing’s Super Hornet fighter jets if the aerospace giant pursues claims that Bombardier gets unfair subsidies.

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TRUMP STARTS FIRST FOREIGN TRIP: U.S. President Donald Trump has departed for his maiden overseas trip as president amid the controversy surrounding investigations into whether his campaign associates collaborated with Russia to sway the election. Air Force One departed Friday with the president, first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as a group of his top advisers and journalists covering the trip.

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TRUMP REPORTEDLY CALLED FORMER FBI DIRECTOR ‘NUT JOB’: The New York Times is reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump told Russian diplomats that firing “nut job” FBI director James Comey had relieved “great pressure” on him. The newspaper report cites the White House’s official written account of the Oval Office meeting. The Washington Post is separately reporting that the FBI investigation into possible co-ordination between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign was moving closer to the White House. Law enforcement officials now consider a senior Trump adviser a “person of interest” in the probe, the Post reported.

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OTTAWA BEING ACCUSED OF PUTTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS IN DANGER: The NDP says the federal government is asking some women fleeing domestic violence to get their abuser to sign a form in order to get a child benefit. B.C. New Democrat Wayne Stetski says constituents have been coming forward with letters from the Canada Revenue Agency, asking them to verify that they are eligible for the monthly allowance. Stetski says the requirement puts the victim in danger and needs to be corrected. The government is promising to look into the issue as quickly as possible.

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OPP LOOK AT THROWING DARTS AT FLEEING VEHICLES: Ontario Provincial Police say they’ve launched a pilot project that will test the use of laser-aimed darts armed with GPS technology to help track fleeing cars. OPP Const. Kerry Schmidt says when a motorist fails to stop or accelerates away after being stopped, Schmidt says a projectile can be fired at the vehicle where it sticks and emits a GPS signal that can be tracked. Schmidt says this will allow officers to be constantly updated on the whereabouts of the suspect vehicle and safely move in and make an arrest.

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ONTARIO TEACHER SENTENCED ON SEXUAL EXPLOITATION CHARGES: An eastern Ontario teacher who had sexual encounters with several students and traded nude photos with them has been sentenced to two years in prison. Jaclyn McLaren pleaded guilty in March to two counts of sexual exploitation, two counts of luring, possession of child pornography and making explicit material available to people under 18 and people under 16. Police originally laid 42 charges against McLaren, 37, who taught French at a school near Belleville.

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