By Canadian Press

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

Nov 28, 2016 | 2:15 PM

Highlights from the news file for Monday, Nov. 28

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TOP SOLDIER PUTS MILITARY ON NOTICE OVER ASSAULT: A disappointed and angry chief of the defence staff put the military on notice Monday after a Statistics Canada survey found a troubling number of sexual assaults and other misconduct among active service personnel. The study’s findings include an estimated 960 men and women who say they were victims of sexual assaults in the last year — some of which occurred after the last time Gen. Jonathan Vance read the riot act to members of the Forces. Vance said commanders now will put more emphasis on “targeting” perpetrators with the “intelligence” contained in the Statistics Canada survey.

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PILOT DEAD AFTER CF-18 CRASH IN WEAPONS RANGE: A CF-18 fighter jet has crashed in Saskatchewan, near the Alberta border — killing the pilot. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says the next of kin have to be notified and his heart goes out to the family. He did not give out the name of the pilot who was based in CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. He says he needs to give the Royal Air Force some space to do their work.

unprovoked attack

Vulnerable man blasted with bear spray in quiet Nanaimo neighbourhood

7h ago

HOUSING TARGETS

Nanaimo named in new group of communities for provincial housing targets

5h ago

more housing

Nanaimo council endorses significant south end redevelopment

10h ago

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PMO SAYS TRUDEAU WON’T ATTEND CASTRO’S FUNERAL: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office says he won’t be attending any memorial or funeral services for the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro, saying his schedule wouldn’t allow him to attend. Instead, Trudeau has dispatched Governor General David Johnston to attend a memorial service scheduled to take place Tuesday in Havana. Trudeau’s decision follows harsh criticism at home and abroad for a laudatory statement issued on the weekend that praised the dictator’s legacy.

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ATTACKER PLOWS INTO CROWDS, STABS PEOPLE AT OHIO STATE CAMPUS: A university student plowed his car into a group of pedestrians at Ohio State University and began stabbing people with a butcher knife Monday before he was shot to death by a police officer. Police said they are investigating whether it was a terrorist attack. Eleven people were hurt, one critically. The attacker was identified as Ohio State student Abdul Razak Ali Artan. He was born in Somalia and was a legal permanent resident of the U.S., according to an official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the case and spoke on condition of anonymity. The details emerged after a morning of confusion and conflicting reports that began with the university issuing a series of tweets warning that there was an “active shooter” on campus.

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CSIS SAYS TERRORIST TRAVEL MAY BE LEVELLING OFF: Canada’s spy agency says the number of Canadians heading overseas to fight in Syria and Iraq appears to have levelled off. Brian Rumig of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service tells a Senate committee that CSIS is not seeing the same kind of jumps in the numbers of terrorist travellers that it saw two years ago. However, he cautioned the situation is fluid and that figures fluctuate is aware of 180 individuals with a nexus to Canada who are suspected of terrorist activity abroad.

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FIRST NATION AGAINST PIPELINE REJECTS STANDING ROCK-STYLE PROTESTS: A group of B.C. First Nations who are opposed to the plan for a pipeline expansion have come out of a meeting with Canada’s natural resources minister feeling like the fix is in. Chief Maureen Thomas says despite their frustration, there won’t be the kind of violent confrontations that are happening at Standing Rock over North Dakota’s Access Pipeline. She says the community doesn’t want to disrupt other Canadians and will continue to take the high road. The local delegation met with Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr on Parliament Hill ahead of the Liberal cabinet decision on the pipeline. 

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SECURITY A HOT TOPIC AT LA FRANCOPHONIE SUMMIT: Justin Trudeau has returned from his first visit to Africa as prime minister, but the issue of security on the continent will continue to dominate as he prepares to reveal the location for the promised UN peacekeeping mission. Trudeau has tasked Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who recently travelled through Africa on a fact-finding mission, with preparing a recommendation on where Canada should deploy up to 600 troops and about 150 police officers it has promised to contribute — at a cost of $450 million — to a UN peacekeeping mission. The Antananarivo Declaration that was reached by consensus at the summit includes a resolution reaffirming the desire of la Francophonie to encourage the participation of French-speaking personnel in peacekeeping operations deployed in French-speaking countries.

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ALBERTA ON TRACK FOR $10.8B DEFICIT: Alberta’s fiscal outlook for this year is a tiny bit better, but still billions of dollars in the red. Finance Minister Joe Ceci says the estimated deficit for this year has been revised to $10.8 billion, slightly lower than the $10.9 billion forecast three months ago. “(It’s) a small but measurable improvement,” Ceci told reporters at the legislature as he gave the second-quarter update for the 2016-17 budget. Ceci said there are signs that an economy bludgeoned by low and oil gas prices is stabilizing.

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NEW RULES FOR SASKATCHEWAN PIPELINES: Saskatchewan is proposing tougher rules for pipelines following an oil spill into the North Saskatchewan River that jeopardized the drinking water of thousands of people. Legislation introduced Monday would establish new inspection, investigation and compliance audit powers for government staff, as well as update and modernize penalties. It would also provide requirements for financial assurance from operators for pipelines in high-risk locations such as water crossings. Energy and Resources Minister Dustin Duncan is to decide if more changes are needed after the province’s investigation into the Husky Oil spill is complete.

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The Canadian Press