By Canadian Press

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

Nov 24, 2016 | 6:15 PM

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, Nov. 24

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LIBERALS MOVE TO UNDO CONSERVATIVE ELECTORAL CHANGES: The Liberal government has introduced legislation that would undo some controversial changes to Canada’s voting process brought in by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper. Maryam Monsef, the minister for democratic institutions, says the legislation also adds some new measures, which include creating a new national register of future voters. She says Canadians need to do more to encourage young people to make voting a habit. The new bill also expands the right to vote to more than a million Canadians living abroad.

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TRUDEAU CHAMPIONS GENDER EQUALITY IN LIBERIA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Africa and the rest of the world will never achieve peace and stability without empowering women and girls – and encouraging men to support them. During a panel discussion Thursday in Monrovia on the leadership roles that women can play in peace security, governance and sustainable development, Trudeau said when you try and settle a conflict that doesn’t involve women in the solution, it’s not going to last. Trudeau said he opted for Liberia as the first stop on his first visit to Africa since he became prime minister in part because of the leadership of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

permanent home

'We're hugely grateful:' Nanaimo Men's Shed group finds a place to call home

53m ago

Making an impact

Nanaimo woman publishes books to open awareness of neurodiverse children

13h ago

iconic voice

Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole, a welcome voice for a half-century, dead at 90

20h ago

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FIGHTER JET PURCHASE SLAMMED: Two former heads of military procurement have slammed the Liberal government’s plan to buy 18 Super Hornet fighter jets as a legally dubious waste of taxpayer dollars. The Liberals announced this week that the government will launch an open competition next year to replace all 77 of the air force’s CF-18s — a process that’s expected to last up to five years. In the meantime, they say they will enter negotiations to purchase Boeing Super Hornets without a competition because the air force is facing a critical shortage of warplanes, which poses an “urgent” need.

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RCMP AND CHINA REACH AGREEMENT ON FENTANYL: China has agreed to help the RCMP in the battle to block the flow of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids into Canada. The Mounties say commissioner Bob Paulson and the vice-minister of China’s public security ministry met this week and agreed to work together to disrupt the flow of the drugs. It also says discussions to formalize joint investigations will begin next week. Paulson says fentanyl and other opioids pose a grave threat to community safety in Canada. Discussions to formalize joint investigations are to begin next week.

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CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE LEITCH SAYS SHE’D SCRAP THE CBC: Federal Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch is talking about what she would do with the CBC if she ever becomes prime minister. Leitch says she would scrap it — saying it’s unfair that private media companies are struggling to stay afloat while the public broadcaster is able to rely on federal subsidies. Leitch says she would keep the parts of the CBC that provide emergency services to remote and rural parts of Canada. Leitch has already made headlines by proposing screening new immigrants for what she describes as “anti-Canadian values.”

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SENATOR SAYS RUSSIA WILL ABIDE BY UN NORTH POLE DECISION: A Russian politician is indicating his country might be willing to play nice in long-standing dispute with Canada over who controls the North Pole. Igor Chernyshenko, a senator from Russia’s northern city of Murmansk, says his country will respect any UN decision on which country controls a swath of the Arctic seabed known as the Lomonosov Ridge, which extends across the North Pole. Russia, Canada and Norway have all filed competing claims and it could take as long as 15 years for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to decide the matter.

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GROUP CALLS FOR CHANGE IN CHILD POVERTY PROGRAM: An anti-poverty group is calling on the federal government to make a small change to its key measure to combat child poverty rates to ensure families aren’t left behind as the cost of living rises. The group Campaign 2000 says the Liberal government’s new income-tested child benefit could fall short of its lofty goals because it isn’t automatically adjusted to combat rising food and housing prices. Earlier this year, the parliamentary budget watchdog calculated that 200,000 fewer families would be eligible for the benefit by 2021, with that number continuing to drop as some families see their income levels rise.

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EARTHQUKE HITS EL SALVADOR’S PACIFIC COAST: A magnitude 7.0 earthquake rattled El Salvador’s Pacific coast Thursday, but the country’s civil defence agency said there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries. Lina Pohl, the country’s environment minister, said there was a tsunami alert, with the possibility of waves three metres high along the coast. Nicaragua, which was also close to the epicentre, also reported a tsunami alert. Nicaragua, meanwhile, was already under alert after category 1 Hurricane Otto made landfall on the country’s Atlantic coast.

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WILDFIRE ROARS THROUGH ISRAELI CITY: A wildfire roared through parts of Israel’s third-largest city on Thursday, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes as the country’s leaders raised the possibility that Arab assailants had intentionally set the blaze. Spreading quickly due to dry, windy weather, the fire raced through Haifa’s northern neighbourhoods, sending panicked residents fleeing from the area. While there were no serious injuries, several dozen people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and Israel called up hundreds of military reservists to help police and firefighters.

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TRUMP TEAM PLANNING INAUGURATION FESTIVITIES: The scramble to shape his administration underway, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s team has simultaneously begun turning its attention to raising tens of millions of dollars for festivities related to his Washington inauguration. Trump, who vowed during the campaign to “drain the swamp” of special interests corrupting Washington, has set $1 million donation limits for corporations and no limits for individual donors. At the same time, Trump’s inaugural committee will not accept money from registered lobbyists, in line with his ban on hiring lobbyists for his nascent administration.

The Canadian Press