By Canadian Press

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

Jan 27, 2017 | 2:45 PM

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Jan. 27

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GM ANNOUNCES LAYOFFS IN ONTARIO: Unifor says nearly one-quarter of the workers at the General Motors CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., will be laid off in July. The union says up to 600 jobs are being cut in Canada and transferred to Mexico, where labour is cheaper. Unifor president Jerry Dias says the decision “reeks of corporate greed” and is a clear sign that it’s time to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. GM Canada says it gave Unifor advance notification of how product changeovers would affect workers at three Ontario plants, adding it will continue to work with the union to help manage the adjustment.

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NEW NEB PANEL STARTS WITH CLEAN SLATE: The latest National Energy Board panel appointed to review the Energy East pipeline is starting from scratch. The panel decided Friday to throw out nearly two years of decisions made by the previous panel, which stepped down after concerns about a potential conflict of interest.  The NEB said all hearing steps and related deadlines for the TransCanada project no longer apply as it begins to determine a new process for handling the application. The new panel was appointed this month and its members have promised not to speak with any members of the previous panel to avoid any real or perceived conflict of interest.

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LAW COMING ON POLITICAL FUNDRAISERS: The Trudeau Liberals are trying to staunch ongoing questions about so-called “cash-for-access” fundraisers with promises of transparency that critics say don’t go far enough, nor address the underlying concerns about the practice. Days before Parliament is set to resume, the Liberals promised to introduce legislation that would require greater public reporting about the political fundraisers. The Liberals said Friday that they would introduce legislation to force cabinet ministers, party leaders and leadership candidates to publicly advertise the fundraisers in advance and release a report some time after the fact about details of the event. The legislation would also require the events to take place in publicly available spaces, a move designed to address concerns about well-heeled donors bending the ears of cabinet ministers in private homes.

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COURT RULES SENTENCE APPROPRIATE FOR MAN CONVICTED OF TERROR CHARGES:  Ontario’s appeal court ruled Friday that a 12-year prison sentence handed to an Ottawa man for his role in a terrorist conspiracy was appropriate. The court said it found no reason to make changes to the sentence handed to Misbahuddin Ahmed, who was convicted of two terror counts in July 2014.

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MILITARY PLANE CRASHES IN SASKATCHEWAN:  The military says two pilots were able to safety eject Friday from a training aircraft that crashed near its base in Moose Jaw, Sask. Both pilots suffered what are described as non-life-threatening injuries. The military says the pilots were an instructor and a student with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

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MILITARY MEDIC DENIES DOING UNNECESSARY BREAST EXAMS: A former medical technician denies performing unnecessary and inappropriate breast exams at several military recruiting centres in Ontario. Retired petty officer James Wilks faces eight counts of breach of trust and one of sexual assault after six women accused him of conducting the exams at military recruiting centres in London, Windsor and Thunder Bay between 2005 and 2009. Wilkes says he never asked any of the women to take off their shirts or bras or otherwise expose themselves to him, nor did he ever touch any of them. Prosecutors and Wilks’s lawyer are expected to deliver their final statements next week, before a military panel decides on a verdict.

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NEW DEMOCRATS DEMAND APOLOGY FROM MANITOBA PREMIER: The NDP says Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister should apologize for comments he made about night hunting and young indigenous men. MacLean’s magazine quoted Pallister as saying that many indigenous men shoot off guns in the middle of the night. His comments follow a speech he made last week in which he said tension surrounding night hunting is leading to a “race war.” The NDP says Pallister should apologize and educate himself about First Nations.

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TEACHERS TO RESUME WORK TO RULE JOB ACTION:  Nova Scotia teachers say they’ll resume their work-to-rule job action on Monday. They blame Premier Stephen McNeil, taking issue with his comment that two new days off that teachers are getting should be used for marking and classroom preparation. Union president Liette Doucet says she understood the latest tentative agreement allowed teachers to decide on their own how to use the days off. She says McNeil’s comments have shattered the union’s trust in the government.

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WHITE HOUSE SAYS US, MEXICO TO WORK OUT BORDER: The White House says President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto agreed to work out differences on a border wall “as part of a comprehensive discussion” on their bilateral relationship. The two leaders spent about an hour on the phone Friday. In a statement following the call, the White House said the leaders recognized their “clear and very public differences” on the issue of who will pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump campaigned on a pledge to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. But Pena Nieto has repeatedly said his country won’t pay for the wall.

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‘VERY KIND’ MAN ACCUSED OF KICKING, INSULTING MUSLIM WOMAN:  His mother says Robin Rhodes is a “very kind” man who goes out of his way to hire people of different races. But police say his treatment of an employee at Delta Airlines’ Sky Club at New York’s Kennedy Airport Thursday night was anything but kind. They say Rhodes kicked and insulted the 60-year-old woman, who was wearing a hijab while she was sitting in her office. The woman says Rhodes cursed Islam and shouted, “Trump is here now. He will get rid of you.” Rhodes is charged with assault, harassment and other crimes.

The Canadian Press