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

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Jan. 6

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NO KNOWN CANADIAN CASUALTIES IN FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT SHOOTING: Canadian government officials were trying to determine whether any Canadians were among the casualties of a mass shooting Friday in the baggage area of the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The office of Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said it had no immediate information about Canadian citizens being among the five people reported dead or eight injured after a gunman opened fire. Air Canada and WestJet had said all their passengers and employees at the Fort Lauderdale airport were accounted for and safe.

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TRADE TRIBUNAL FINDS CANADIAN SOFTWOOD HURT CANADIAN PRODUCERS: The American International Trade Commission says there is a reasonable indication that softwood lumber products from Canada materially injured U.S. producers, setting the stage for the imposition of preliminary duties. The trade commission announced Friday it made a preliminary determination of harm from Canadian lumber that is “allegedly subsidized and sold in the United States at less than fair value.” The finding could result in duties that Canadian softwood producers say would result in job losses and plant closures north of the border.

rental rules

Thousands of short-term rentals go back to long-term May 1: B.C. government

2h ago

sweet sounds

Nanaimo woman tries to coax trapped killer calf out of tidal lagoon with her violin

7h ago

grow local

'People can literally get their hands dirty:' Earth Day event to highlight Nanaimo food security

10h ago

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WALMART REACHES DEAL WITH VISA: A business group is expressing concern at a truce in a war between Walmart Canada and Visa over merchant fees could result in higher costs for smaller businesses. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says it suspects Walmart negotiated a reduction in merchant fees, which could effect small merchants. CFIB President Dan Kelly says whenever a large merchant comes up with a special deal, it’s at the expense of smaller merchants. The companies have not provided any details of the agreement announced on Thursday. 

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CANADA’S JOBS PICTURE SLIGHTLY IMPROVED: Canada’s job market had a promising end to 2016, albeit due to an increase in part-time work. Statistics Canada’s year-end employment review Friday said the country added 153,700 net new part-time jobs last year and just 60,400 full-time positions — a number so low it was statistically insignificant. The agency reported gains of 156,000 full-time jobs in 2014 and 147,000 in 2015.

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POLICE CONFIRM NOVA SCOTIA DEATHS A MURDER SUICIDE: Autopsies confirm the deaths of four members of a Nova Scotia family were a murder-suicide. RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Clarke says the wife, daughter and mother of Afghan veteran Lionel Desmond died of gunshot wounds and Desmond died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Clarke told reporters Friday it’s a very tragic and disturbing case. Desmond was diagnosed with P-T-S-D after a tour in Afghanistan in 2007.

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HEALTH CANADA TO SEND RAPE KITS TO NORTHERN ONTARIO RESERVES: Health Canada is responding to complaints from indigenous leaders that they lack the resources to deal with sexual assault cases. The government is sending rape kits to reserves in Northern Ontario. Rape kits are a vital forensic tool for investigating assaults. Nishnawbe Aski police Chief Terry Armstrong says the shortage of such kits has meant victims have had to be sent to hospitals in outlying areas such as Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay.

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REPORT SAYS PUTIN ORDERED EFFORT ON US ELECTION: A new declassified report says Russian President Vladimir Putin “ordered” an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election. The report says the Russian government developed a “clear preference for President-elect Donald Trump.” It says the goal of Moscow’s meddling was to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Hillary Clinton and harm her electability and potential presidency. U.S. intelligence officials released the 25-page public version of the report Friday, after they briefed Trump and top lawmakers on Capitol Hill from a longer, classified version.

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AMERICAN AMBASSADOR TO OTTAWA RESIGNS: The U.S. ambassador to Canada is stepping down. Bruce Heymen was forced out of his post alongside other political appointees as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. Heymen will step down effective Jan. 20, the day Trump is officially sworn in as president. The New York Times reported this week that Trump’s transition team had issued a blanket request that ambassadors appointed by President Barack Obama surrender their posts by inauguration day.

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TRUDEAU TO FREQUENT A COFFEE SHOP NEAR YOU: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is about to launch a campaign-style tour to try to touch base with ordinary Canadians amid accusations last year of being cozy with wealthy donors at elite Liberal fundraisers.  Trudeau plans to talk to people at coffee shops and church basements across the country. The first leg of the tour is to start at the end of next week in southern Ontario with Trudeau travelling from Ottawa to London.

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PM SPENDS CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS WITH AGA KHAN: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were guests of the Aga Khan over the holidays on the wealthy religious leader’s private Bahamian island. A spokesman for the prime minister confirmed a published report that the Aga Khan invited the Trudeau family and a few friends to join him on Bell Island. The Aga Khan is the hereditary spiritual leader of the world’s approximately 15 million Ismaili Muslims and a renowned philanthropist. Trudeau’s office noted that the Aga Khan and Trudeau “have been close family friends for many years.”

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The Canadian Press