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

Jun 28, 2017 | 2:45 PM

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, June 29

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PM SAYS INDIGENOUS PROTESTERS SHOULD BE RESPECTED: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says indigenous Canadians are planning to spend Canada Day holding demonstrations should be treated with respect. The purpose of the demonstrations is to remind Canadians that for those from First Nations, there is little to celebrate. A group from northern Ontario tried to set up a teepee on Parliament Hill on Wednesday and clashed with police, eventually they were allowed to set up on the edge of the parliamentary grounds. Trudeau said Thursday that Canadians must understand that Canada has failed indigenous peoples for centuries and he hears their message.

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CANADA’S MILITARY WILL REMAIN IN IRAQ: The federal government says members of Canada’s military will be in Iraq for at least two more years, contributing to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Canadian soldiers are in Iraq in a non-combat role in what is described as “assist and advise.” Canada currently has about 200 special forces troops in northern Iraq, as well as 50 medical personnel and tactical helicopters, and a surveillance plane and air-to-air refueller based out of Kuwait.

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SENTENCING HEARING UNDERWAY FOR ALBERTA MURDERER: Sentencing arguments were held Thursday for an Alberta man who was convicted Wednesday of killing three people. The first-degree murder charges Derek Saretzky, 24, was convicted of carry an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. However, the court can decide to make the periods of parole ineligibility consecutive, which would add up to 75 years. Saretzky was convicted in the slayings of two-year-old Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, her father Terry Blanchette and a friend of Saretzky’s parents Hanne Meketech.

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CHALLENGE TO PRISON SEGREGATION LAW SHOULD BE PUT ON ICE: The federal government says a constitutional challenge to Canada segregation laws in prison should be put on hold. The government argues that legislation and policy changes will address the issues that will be argued. The issue civil liberties groups are taking up is administrative segregation that can amount to indefinite solitary confinement. The isolation is frequently used to manage difficult inmates, especially those whose safety may be at risk in the general population.

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ROYAL VISIT TO CANADA KICKS OFF: Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall begin a visit to Canada Thursday, landing in Iqaluit before travelling to Ottawa for Canada 150 celebrations. Charles says there is a sentimental nature to being in Canada’s Far North, which played a key role in his first visit to Canada as prince in 1970, when the Northwest Territories was marking its own centennial.

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CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT IN BRITISH COLUMBIA?: British Columbia’s minority Liberal government is expected to fall Thursday as the New Democrats and Green party have indicated they’ll combine forces in the legislature. If the Liberals fall, Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon must decide whether to dissolve the legislature or allow the NDP to form a minority government with the backing of the Green party. Premier Christy Clark has indicated she is ready to tell Guichon the legislature can’t work, if the lieutenant-governor asks for her opinion.

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OFFICIALS MAY HAVE FIGURED OUT HOW BC NOROVIRUS OUTBREAK SPREAD: B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control may have determined the spread of a mysterious norovirus outbreak that forced the closure of 13 West Coast oyster farms and curtailed operations at others as hundreds of Canadians fell ill. An article in the British Columbia Medical Journal says sewage is often the cause of ocean contamination and contaminants spread by currents affected oyster farms along Vancouver. Researchers determined the norovirus outbreak began last November and made more than 400 people sick across Canada by March. 

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LOW GAS PRICES PREDICTED THIS WEEKEND: Retail fuel price tracking website GasBuddy.com predicts the lowest average Canada Day long weekend gasoline prices in seven years. Gas Buddy says drivers will be paying an average of 104.4 cents per litre, 13 cents less than the 10 year average of $1.17. It is also the lowest Canada Day long weekend price since 2010.

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AMAZON PRIME MEMBERSHIPS GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS. Amazon says sign-ups for its Amazon Prime membership soared by 80 per cent in Canada last year. The world’s largest online retailer won’t disclose the total number of Canadian Prime members, but it says the year-over-year gain makes Canada one of the countries with the fastest growth rates. An analysis by BMO Capital Markets said that Amazon is by far Canada’s largest e-commerce retailer.

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UN HOPES FOR GENEROUS US REFUGEE POLICY: The UN refugee agency says it hopes for a “generous approach” from the United States as the Trump administration adjusts U.S. refugee resettlement policies. Spokesman William Spindler noted the U.S. “tradition of generosity toward those fleeing war and persecution” after the administration set new criteria for visa applicants from six mostly Muslim nations and all refugees.

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The Canadian Press