By Canadian Press

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

Jun 2, 2017 | 3:00 PM

Highlights from the news file for Monday, June 5

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CONDOLENCES FOR CANADIAN TERROR VICTIM: Messages of sorrow and condolence have been pouring in following the death of a Canadian woman in Saturday’s terror attack in London. Christine Archibald, 30, was enjoying a warm spring night with her fiance, Tyler Ferguson, when she was struck as a van plowed into people strolling on London Bridge. Archibald was a social worker who worked with homeless people before moving to Europe to be with her fiance. Archibald’s family, who live in Castlegar, B.C., are asking that people honour her memory by making the community a better place.

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GOODALE SAYS CANADA WON’T BE INTIMIDATED: Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says there will be “seamless collaboration” among security and intelligence agencies across the country in preparation for events around Canada Day. Goodale says municipal and provincial police forces will be involved in security measures along with the RCMP, and that officials will do everything possible to keep Canadians safe. “We will not be intimidated by the kind of horrible behaviour that has been exhibited so recently in the United Kingdom,” Goodale said. A moment of silence was held in the House of Commons on Monday in remembrance of seven people killed in the weekend terror attack including 30-year-old B.C. woman Christine Archibald.

Trades in Sask.

Skilled trades need not limited to building homes

7h ago

Raising concerns

Battlefords and Meadow Lake MPs weigh in on new federal budget

12h ago

Tragic events

Sask. Gov't confirms investigation after former Pine Grove inmate passes away in hospital

Apr 16, 2024

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NO INQUIRY INTO EX-SOLDIER’S MURDER-SUICIDE: Nova Scotia’s medical examiner has ruled out conducting a fatality inquiry into a murder suicide involving a former Canadian soldier who killed his wife, mother and young daughter before killing himself in the family’s rural home earlier this year. Lionel Desmond, a 33-year-old veteran of the war in Afghanistan who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, took his own life after shooting his 52-year-old mother, his wife Shanna, 31, and their 10-year-daughter Aaliyah. Catherine Hartling, Shanna Desmond’s aunt, has renewed her call for some sort of public inquiry, saying other family members want the same thing but are still too distraught to speak out.

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JAILING OF SEX ASSAULT VICTIM TO BE INVESTIGATED: Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley has launched an independent investigation into what she calls the failure of the provincial justice system at every level in the way it treated the victim of a vicious sexual assault. A 28-year-old indigenous woman from central Alberta was forced to spend five nights in the Edmonton Remand Centre during her testimony at a 2015 preliminary hearing for the man who attacked her. Ganley said she wants to know if the fact that the woman was indigenous and living on the street played a role in how she was treated by the justice system.

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3 TORONTO POLICE OFFICERS ON TRIAL: Crown prosecutors allege three Toronto police officers sexually assaulted a parking enforcement officer 2 1/2 years ago when they had non-consensual sex with the woman at a downtown hotel after a long night of partying. Joshua Cabero, Leslie Nyznik, and Sameer Kara have all pleaded not guilty. Det. Sgt. Jeffrey Attenborough, who received a complaint from the female parking officer, testified that he visited the complainant at her home along with forensic officers who seized some of her clothing from the night of the alleged assault. The trial is taking place before a judge alone.

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RBI CEO EXTENDS OLIVE BRANCH TO TIMS FRANCHISEES: The head of Tim Hortons extended an olive branch Monday to disgruntled franchisees, saying he is now willing to directly discuss their concerns with them about how the coffee-and-doughnut chain is run. Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, said he has been meeting with some store owners who have accused the company of mismanagement, including using tactics such as intimidation to improve the bottom line. RBI has been in a public tussle with a rogue association of Tim Hortons cafe owners called the Great White North Franchisee Association, which formed to raise franchisee concerns.

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GTA HOME SALES PLUMMET: Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell by 20.3 per cent last month compared to a year ago, Canada’s largest real estate board said Monday, a sign that recent efforts to stabilize the city’s searing housing market are having an effect. The average selling price for all properties in May was $863,910, up from $752,100 the same month last year, the Toronto Real Estate Board said. But that was down from $919,614 in April, the first month-over-month drop this year. The data captures the first full month following Ontario’s announcement of 16 measures aimed at reining in house prices.

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GENERAL EXPECTS ISIL MISSION EXTENSION: The commander of the Canadian Forces mission in Iraq and Syria says he expects the government to extend the mission past its next scheduled expiry at the end of the month. Brig.-Gen. Dan MacIsaac says he looks forward to seeing the renewed commitment in Wednesday’s long-awaited defence policy review. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Gen. Jonathan Vance, the chief of the defence staff, are to unveil the government’s new blueprint for national defence. The document is expected to lay out military priorities for future overseas deployments.

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FEDS ORDER WIRELESS DECISION REVIEW: A government-ordered review of a recent decision restricting access to the roaming networks of Canada’s big wireless service providers is being hailed as potential good news for consumers. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled in March that Rogers could block customers of Sugar Mobile, a subsidiary of Ice Wireless, from roaming on its network. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Monday the decision not only effectively paralyzed the startup, but also prevented other smaller mobile service providers from offering cheaper plans and consequently limits choice in the market.

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COSBY TRIAL HEARS FROM ACCUSER: A woman who says Bill Cosby drugged and violated her at a Los Angeles hotel bungalow two decades ago testified Monday in his sexual assault trial. Kelly Johnson wiped back tears as she described the 1996 encounter. She said she lost consciousness soon after Cosby pressured her to take a large white pill. Johnson, then in her mid-30s, said her next memory was of waking up on a bed with her dress yanked down and her breasts exposed. Cosby’s trial stems from an alleged assault on another woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004, but prosecutors were allowed to call Johnson as a witness because her allegations are similar.

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The Canadian Press