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

NEWBORN DEAD AFTER MOTHER’S STABBING IN MONTREAL: A newborn who was delivered by emergency C-section after its mother was stabbed multiple times died in hospital Monday, police said. A 37-year-old man who is the woman’s partner was taken into custody several hours later, said spokesman Jean-Pierre Brabant. Police were called to a home in the city’s Montreal North borough at about 2:30 a.m. and found the woman, 33, stabbed multiple times in the upper and lower body. The suspect was not at home when police arrived and the victim, who was eight months pregnant, was transported to hospital. “The woman is in stable condition,” Brabant said. “Unfortunately the baby did not survive its wounds and was pronounced dead in hospital.” Hours after the attack, around noon Monday, the suspect reappeared and approached a police vehicle not far from the scene of the crime. “After a brief discussion, he was arrested,” Brabant said. The suspect was known to police.

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DOCTORS URGE FIRST NATIONS HEALTH OVERHAUL: A group of physicians who provide medical care to First Nations in northwestern Ontario are calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Health Minister Jane Philpott to address the “escalating” mental health crisis in those communities. More than 20 doctors outlined their concerns in a letter released ahead of an Ottawa meeting Monday afternoon, noting they are distressed by the perpetual mental health crises in First Nations communities. Philpott and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins will discuss suicide and regional health problems with Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler — the head of an umbrella organization representing 49 reserves in northern Ontario. They are also expected to sign a joint charter to outline how they can work together to overhaul the way health care is delivered to northern Ontario reserves. Part of the overhaul required involves giving more resources and responsibilities to First Nations themselves, the doctors argue, because the bureaucracy does not have the proper tools to implement prevention and treatment plans.

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LOONIE GAINS NEARLY A QUARTER OF A U.S. CENT: The Canadian dollar gained nearly a quarter of a cent today after cresting above the 80 cent US threshold in morning trading. At the close, the loonie was up 0.23 of U.S. cent to an average trading price of 79.92 cents US. The dollar has been climbing since the middle of June, when speculation grew that the Bank of Canada was going to raise its key benchmark interest rate. The central bank hiked its key interest rate on July 12, its first rate increase since 2010.

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TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION CHAIR TO PROBE THUNDER BAY POLICE: The man who led the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that condemned Canada’s history with residential schools will now oversee a probe into a northwestern Ontario city’s police services board as the community grapples with tensions between its police force and Indigenous residents. The Ontario Civilian Police Commission says Sen. Murray Sinclair will lead an investigation into the Thunder Bay Police Services Board, which is responsible for a force that has come under fire from local Indigenous leaders in recent months. Several northwestern Ontario chiefs have criticized police handling of the deaths of local youths in the city, going so far as to ask the RCMP to take over the investigations. In May, the OCPC agreed to a request from one local leader to open an investigation into the police services board. Monday’s announcement naming Sinclair as the lead investigator also spelled out the OCPC’s specific concerns with Thunder Bay police. It says it has “serious concerns” with the quality of police probes into the youth deaths, statements made by members of the police board denying that racism is an issue, and the fact that the local police chief is now facing criminal charges.

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NO RUSSIAN COLLUSION, KUSHNER TELLS U.S. CONGRESS: Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner denied Monday that he colluded with Russians in the course of President Donald Trump’s White House bid and declared he has “nothing to hide.” Behind closed doors, Kushner spoke to staff members of the Senate intelligence committee for nearly three hours at the Capitol, then made a brief public statement back at the White House. “Let me be very clear,” he said. “I did not collude with Russia nor do I know of anyone else in the campaign who did so.” In speaking to Congress, Kushner — as both the president’s son-in-law and a trusted senior adviser during the campaign and inside the White House — became the first member of the president’s inner circle to face questions from congressional investigators as they probe Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible links to the Trump campaign.

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RICHARD STARKE QUITS NEW CONSERVATIVE PARTY: One of Alberta’s eight Progressive Conservative legislature members says he won’t be joining the new coalition with the Wildrose. Richard Starke says he has not been happy with the policy direction under PC Leader Jason Kenney and has no faith that will change under the new United Conservative Party. “The tone and the direction and the statements of the (PC) party are not consistent with what I believe to progressive conservatism,” Starke said Monday in an interview. Starke cited Kenney’s comments earlier this year on gay-straight alliances in schools. Kenney has said schools should inform parents if their child joins a GSA as long as it doesn’t put the child at risk. Starke said he will stay on in the legislature sitting as the lone member of the PC caucus. Over the weekend, members of the Wildrose party and the PCs voted overwhelmingly to join forces in time for the next election in 2019. Members on both sides voted around 95 per cent in favour of joining forces in time to field candidates in time for the spring 2019 election.

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FORMER B.C. BISHOP FOUND GUILTY OF POLYGAMY: A former bishop of an isolated religious commune in British Columbia has been convicted of practising polygamy after a decades-long legal fight launched by the provincial government. Winston Blackmore was alleged to have married 24 women as part of so-called “celestial” marriages involving residents in the tiny community of Bountiful. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan says the collective force of evidence against Blackmore proves that he was married to Jane Blackmore and 24 other women at the same time. Blackmore’s lawyer has already told the court that he will launch a constitutional challenge of Canada’s polygamy laws if his client is found guilty. Blackmore’s co-defendant James Oler is accused of having five wives and Justice Sheri Ann Donegan has yet to announce a verdict for him.

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NO NEW GROWTH TO B.C. WILDFIRES, OFFICIALS SAY: Luck was on the side of firefighters in British Columbia on Sunday as a windstorm failed to stir up the scores of wildfires that have been threatening communities across the province. The BC Wildfire Service said there was no significant growth of the 156 blazes currently burning. Nineteen new wildfires were sparked, with nine caused by lightning, five blamed on human activity and the rest under investigation. Although the wind storm didn’t kick up the fires, it did topple trees and bring down power lines in B.C.’s Shuswap region as well as around Golden and Revelstoke. There were no reports of injuries but BC Hydro said thousands of customers were still in the dark on Monday and estimates of when power might be restored would have to wait until crews stretched thinly by wildfire repairs had a better idea of the extent of the problem. The news was better around Princeton and 100 Mile House where evacuation orders were downgraded to alerts on the weekend, allowing anxious residents to return. More than 700 fires have scorched more than 3,700 square kilometres since April 1 in B.C.

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FANS DRESS AS ZOMBIES FOR GEORGE ROMERO MEMORIAL: Fans of the late George Romero are bidding farewell to the legendary horror director the best way they know how: by attending his public memorial in Toronto dressed as zombies. Romero died last week following a battle with lung cancer, according to a statement from his family. The director is credited with making zombies mainstream with his cult classic “Night of the Living Dead,” which was produced independently for US$100,000 and went on to become a staple of the genre. It spawned various sequels, including a 1990 remake. Romero made other horror flicks, including “Monkey Shines” and “Creepshow,” though none were nearly as iconic. The director moved to Toronto in 2004 where he shot many of his later films. Movie theatres in Toronto have booked showings of Romero’s films in the coming weeks, including an Aug. 6 screening of his last film, 2009’s “Survival of the Dead,” which will be attended by several members of the cast and crew. Other tributes have popped up in recent days, including a billboard in Pittsburgh that features a zombie from his original “Living Dead” film with a teardrop running down her face.

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The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

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

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