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

Aug 24, 2017 | 3:30 PM

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, Aug. 24

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TEACHERS’ UNION CALLS FOR FIRST PM’S NAME TO BE TAKEN OFF SCHOOLS: An Ontario teachers union says the provincial government should remove the name of Canada’s first prime minister from all schools and buildings. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario cites what it calls Sir John A. Macdonald’s role as the “architect of genocide against Indigenous Peoples.” The union passed a motion at its annual meeting last week, but it was not unanimous.

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DUFFY TAKES SENATE AND RCMP TO COURT OVER EXPENSE INVESTIGATION: Sen. Mike Duffy has launched a lawsuit against the Senate and the RCMP for their handling of accusations about his expenses. He is seeking more than $7.8 million for loss of income and benefits and damage to his reputation. Duffy alleges in court documents that his 2013 suspension by the Senate was unconstitutional and that the RCMP were negligent in their investigation. Duffy was acquitted of 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery that were laid against him.

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FEDERAL CABINET MINISTER LEAVES POLITICS: Public Works Minister Judy Foote has resigned from cabinet and will leave politics due to personal reasons. Foote has been battling breast cancer and was told the cancer causing gene she has been passed on to her children. While her two adult daughters and son are free of cancer, she says the news has put things into perspective for her.

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KHADR FACES LEGAL ACTION IN ALBERTA: Lawyers representing the widow of an American soldier are launching legal action in Alberta against Omar Khadr. The move duplicates one in the Ontario courts seeking enforcement of a massive U.S. damages award against the former Guantanamo Bay detainee. The claim calls on the Canadian courts to recognize the judgment from Utah, and to issue a “corresponding” judgment in the amount of $173.88 million — the Canadian value of the US$132.1-million American award made in 2015. Khadr, 30, has been on bail in Edmonton for the past two years pending his appeal in the U.S. of his convictions before an American tribunal.

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SCHEER CALLS FOR CHANGES IN REFUGEE CROSSINGS: Conservative leader Andrew Scheer says the Trudeau government should designate the illegal entry points into Canada being used by thousands of asylum seekers as official crossings. Nearly 10,000 people have been apprehended crossing illegally into Canada from the U.S. since January. The reason they’re choosing to come through unofficial openings in the border is an agreement between Canada and the U.S. that precludes people from making asylum claims at official land border points. Scheer says if the crossings were designated official, that would both deal with the problem and also send a signal to those in the U.S. that they can’t just cross and get asylum.

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ALBERTA WOMAN VERBALLY ABUSED BY SELF-PROCLAIMED NAZI: A teacher who came to Canada from Bangladesh eight years ago says a man who said he was a Nazi was verbally abusive, making racist attacks at her for wearing a hijab during a visit to Manitoba this summer. Kaniz Fatima of Calgary posted video of the July encounter on social media this week and says women who wear hijabs must be prepared for such comments. Fatima says the man became abusive and told her he was a Nazi, then ordered her to take off her hijab and go back to her country.

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VIDEOS PROMPT POLICE TO INVESTIGATE BC TRANSIT CONFRONTATION: Police are investigating a confrontation captured on video that featured “profane and racially slanted language.” Metro Vancouver Transit police say they started looking into the matter after several videos were posted on Facebook following the confrontation on Monday afternoon. Police say officers boarded a SkyTrain in Burnaby, B.C., after someone used the emergency alert system and spoke to a witness who told them a woman had been swearing at an elderly couple before leaving the train. Police say they’ve identified the woman and intend to talk to her about her conduct.

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INQUIRY INTO MURDERED, MISSING INDIGENOUS WOMAN CONTINUES: The chief commissioner of the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women is moving forward despite calls from some aboriginal groups for resignations and a reset. Chief commissioner Marion Buller says she and her colleagues intend to go ahead with community hearings next month, but will do so in a better way. In recent months, the commission has faced questions from concerned relatives who say they have lost faith in the inquiry because it is not giving families enough of a voice.

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NHL REMEMBERS BRYAN MURRAY: A memorial was held in Ottawa on Thursday for longtime NHL coach Bryan Murray. Murray died earlier this month at the age of 74 after a three-year battle with colon cancer. Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Mike Babcock attended the memorial, as were former NHL players including Daniel Alfredsson and Luc Robitaille and current members of the Senators roster.

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HOSTAGE SITUATION IN SOUTH CAROLINA ENDS WITH ONE DEAD, GUNMAN WOUNDED: A hostage situation in a Charleston, S.C., restaurant has ended with the gunman being shot by police. Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the restaurant employee shot by the gunman Thursday has died. Police says all the hostages at Virginia’s restaurant were rescued safely, it’s not clear how many there were. Police say the restaurant on tourist-heavy King Street was packed at lunchtime and officers helped rescue the wounded man and a number of diners.

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The Canadian Press