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

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Feb. 17

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WINNIPEG RALLY CALLS FOR BETTER TRANSIT SAFETY: Transit workers descended on Winnipeg City Hall Friday to call for safety improvements in the wake of the killing of a bus driver.  The workers say they expressed concerns long before this week’s stabbing of Irvine Jubal Fraser. Police said Fraser repeatedly told a passenger to get off the bus because it was the end of the line, and the passenger attacked him.

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NS TEACHERS PROTEST IMPOSED CONTRACT: Nova Scotia’s public school teachers walked off the job Friday and many descended on the legislature to protest the provincial government’s move to impose a contract on them.  Debate continued as the government slowly pushed the bill through the House.  The teachers have rejected three tentative contracts and continued a work to rule campaign.

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MINNESOTA SOMALI COMMUNITY ASYLUM SEEKERS PREPARED TO TAKE RISK: The recent flood of asylum seekers in the U.S. crossing into Canada in the dead of winter comes as no surprise to members of the largest American Somali community.  The head of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota says people will take risks when they’re left with no options.  Mohamud Noor expects the cross-border flow will increase given the contrast between President Donald Trump’s hardline views on immigration and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s welcoming tone.

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THREE CANADIANS TORTURED IN SYRIA TO GET COMPENSATION: The federal government will apologize and provide compensation to three Canadians tortured in Syria. The Canadian Press has independently confirmed a Toronto Star report that the government will settle lawsuits filed by the men over the federal role in their ordeals.  An inquiry led by former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci found Canadian officials contributed to the torture of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin by sharing information with foreign agencies.

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TRUDEAU DOESN’T WAVE CHEQUEBOOK AT NATO MEETING: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says money doesn’t always talk when it comes to contributing to NATO.  The issue of U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for NATO members to spend more came up Friday when Trudeau met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  Trudeau described Canada and Germany as principal NATO actors who do much of the “heavy lifting.” He pointed to Canada’s leadership of a multinational NATO mission in Latvia aimed at strengthening its eastern flank against Russia.

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MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER HEARS FROM VICTIMS’ FAMILY:  The father of a Calgary boy who was killed along with his grandparents says his two surviving sons still ask him why their five-year-old brother Nathan had to die.  Rod O’Brien spoke at Friday’s sentencing hearing for 57-year-old Douglas Garland, convicted in the slaying of Nathan and his grandparents Alvin and Kathy Liknes. The court decided to effectively ensure Garland will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole for 75 years.

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NB ARGUES BEER BATTLE STRIKES AT CANADIAN FEDERALISM:  The New Brunswick government is making its pitch for the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal of a court ruling that threw out a man’s $292.50 fine for buying cheaper beer in another province and taking it home. The provincial government says the ruling has upended decades of legal thinking and strikes at the heart of Canadian federalism. It contends the ruling could hamper government control over interprovincial trade.

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CANADA’S AUTO INDUSTRY NEED NOT BE CONCERNED WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RHETORIC, UNION LEADER SAYS: The head of Unifor says the Canadian auto industry shouldn’t be concerned with the protectionist rhetoric coming from the White House. Jerry Dias says the industry is on the cusp of a rebound, adding some of the recent growth comes from the union’s recent collective bargaining, which finagled about $1.5 billion total of investment into Canadian operations from Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler. The three companies say they have not wavered from those commitments, despite the protectionist rhetoric by President Donald Trump.

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AMERICAN CITIES ASK JUDGE TO KEEP TRUMP TRAVEL BAN ON HOLD: Municipalities across the U.S. including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Skokie, Ill., are urging a judge to continue blocking President Donald Trump’s travel ban. New York City’s chief lawyer Zachary Carter filed papers Friday in a Brooklyn court on behalf of nearly three dozen cities.  The papers were submitted in advance of a Tuesday hearing. An appeals court in Seattle has upheld a stay of the ban in a case brought by Washington state and Minnesota.

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BC SIGNS HEALTH FUNDING DEAL WITH OTTAWA: Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott says she has signed off on a 10-year, $1.4 billion health-funding agreement with British Columbia.  Philpott says the funding agreement with B.C. includes $785 million for better home care and more than $650 million for mental-health initiatives. B.C. has been at the epicentre of the overdose crisis caused by illicit opioids and Philpott also announced $65 million to combat the epidemic nationwide.

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The Canadian Press