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

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Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, July 12

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FAMILY PLEADS FOR RETURN OF MISSING GIRL: Distraught family members are pleading for the safe return of a five-year-old Calgary girl whose mother was found dead in the basement suite where the two lived. Scott Hamilton, uncle of the slain woman, is asking that Taliyah Leigh Marsman be dropped off at a police station, a grocery story, a gas station — or anywhere else. He says the family will pick her up and no questions will be asked. Police issued an Amber Alert overnight for the girl. She is described as a mixed-race child with a slim build, brown curly hair and blue eyes. Police said they aren’t ruling anything out in their search, including the possibility that Taliyah was dropped off with someone who has yet to realize the girl is the subject of an Amber Alert.

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OBAMA PAYS TRIBUTE TO DALLAS OFFICERS SHOT IN RACIAL ATTACK: At a memorial for slain police officers, U.S. President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that a week of deeply troubling violence has seemed to expose “the deepest fault lines of our democracy.” But he insisted the nation is not as divided as it seems and called on Americans to find common ground in support of racial equity and justice. Obama acknowledged that Americans are unsettled by another mass shooting and are seeking answers to the violence that has sparked protests in cities and highlighted the nation’s persistent racial divide. Five Dallas officers were killed last Thursday while standing guard as hundreds of people protested the police killings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier in the week.

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TRUDEAU VISITS CANADIAN TROOPS IN UKRAINE: A show of force capped Justin Trudeau’s six-day swing through eastern Europe on Tuesday, underlining the risks and challenges Canada faces in an increasingly volatile and politically important part of the world. The prime minister flew into Lviv in western Ukraine before driving to a nearby military base for a first-hand look at the work of 200 Canadian soldiers who have been training the Ukrainian army since last summer. From a distance, Trudeau, his son Xavier and defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance watched through binoculars as a Soviet-era armoured personnel carrier led a group of Canadian and Ukrainian soldiers toward a wooden building. The air shook as the vehicle’s cannon fired several bursts in quick succession.

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ANGLICANS DISCOVER MISTAKE IN SAME-SEX VOTE: Questions about the integrity of the voting process in which Anglicans narrowly rejected a resolution to allow same-sex marriage emerged Tuesday, leading to a stunning reversal of the result. Some members stood up to say their votes had not been recorded during voting late Monday — when passage of the resolution failed by a single vote. The error was discovered after delegates requested a detailed hard copy of the electronic voting records. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the church, then declared the resolution in favour of same-sex marriage passed. Before the mistake was discovered, several bishops said they had planned to go ahead with same-sex marriages regardless of the initial result.

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TOP MOUNTIE PROMISES RECONCILIATION WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson says the Mounties must work jointly with indigenous people to develop strategies on reconciliation. He signed a protocol at the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont, committing to action. Paulson says the protocol will help improve the RCMP’s relationship with the AFN and with Canada’s indigenous communities. The move comes months after the commissioner was directly questioned about racism inside the RCMP during an AFN session. At the time, Paulson conceded there are racists in his force.

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BANKS SAY CANADA POST SHOULD STAY OFF THEIR TURF: The lobby group representing Canada’s big banks says Canada Post should not be allowed to expand onto its turf as a means of generating needed revenue. The Canadian Bankers Association says there is no public policy objective or existing gap in the marketplace that would warrant a Crown corporation becoming a retail bank. In a brief to the federal task force reviewing Canada Post, the bankers association says Canadians already enjoy widespread access to a highly competitive range of financial services.

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UN WATCHDOG SAYS HOUSING SHOULD BE A HUMAN RIGHT: The federal government’s push for a national housing strategy may fall short of its vaunted goals if it doesn’t make human rights a central pillar of the plan, a UN housing watchdog says. The Liberal government is in the midst of consulting on the national housing strategy that federal officials consider to be the most complicated file in front of Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.  The UN has repeatedly told Canada that it needs a housing strategy as part of its pointed warnings that the country’s homeless population, which now stands at about 235,000, is a human rights issue that needs to be addressed.

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MEMO SAYS NO NEW OIL PIPELINE NEEDED UNTIL AT LEAST 2025: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley is telling Ottawa to stop “dithering” on pipeline approvals, but an internal federal analysis may indicate why the Liberals are content to consult widely before making a decision. A memo to the deputy minister of finance says low oil prices mean there is enough transport capacity in Canada without any new pipelines until at least 2025. The memo, dated last December but obtained this week through the Access to Information Act, also says TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline would have only a marginal impact on the price differential for Canadian producers.

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“FAR AND AWAY THE BEST”: SANDERS FINALLY ENDORSES CLINTON: With hugs and handshakes, Bernie Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president on Tuesday and emphatically told his supporters their “political revolution” must now turn to electing his Democratic former rival. Sanders bestowed his long-awaited support before a boisterous New Hampshire crowd, declaring he wanted to make it “as clear as possible as to why I am endorsing Hillary Clinton.” He congratulated her for securing enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination and vowed to do everything he could to help her defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump.

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TV BOX PITS COPYRIGHT AGAINST INNOVATION: A legal battle is brewing over the use of TV boxes that grant access to web streaming content in a standoff that raises questions about the need to protect copyright while fostering innovation. The David-and-Goliath standoff pits some of the country’s biggest cable companies against small, little-known firms that sell set-top boxes, devices that come preloaded with software that allow customers to watch shows on their TVs — legally or not. Bell, Rogers, Videotron and Groupe TVA Inc. argue in a statement of claim that the distributors of the set-top boxes are infringing on their copyright by selling the devices and are asking the courts to permanently force them off the market.

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The Canadian Press

©2016 The Canadian Press