National News
May 9, 2008OTTAWA - The link between Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier's ex-girlfriend and the Hells Angels is more than enough to warrant a national security probe, says the Bloc Quebecois, noting that organized crime gangs use "infiltration tactics."
The Conservative government continues to dismiss security concerns over Bernier's relationship with Julie Couillard, and accuse the opposition of unfairly opening up his private life.
FREDERICTON - The four Atlantic premiers say it's time for the federal government to kick in some cash for the Atlantic Gateway initiative - and a number of other projects as well.
Newfoundland's Danny Williams, New Brunswick's Shawn Graham, Nova Scotia's Rodney MacDonald and Robert Ghiz of Prince Edward Island are meeting Friday in Fredericton.
FOLEYET, Ont. - Ontario's top medical official says the elderly woman who died on a quarantined Via Rail train mostly likely didn't have an infectious disease.
Nor did the passenger who was airlifted to hospital with flu-like symptoms. Dr. David Williams, Ontario's acting chief medical officer of health, says the death and several illnesses on the train were unrelated and passengers are expected to continue their journey later Friday.
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Premier Danny Williams, accused of undermining a judicial inquiry into botched breast-cancer tests, was unrepentant Friday about making controversial comments this week on the tone of the probe.
The province's opposition parties and an independent expert on public inquiries questioned why Williams would call the inquiry a "prosecution" and "inquisitorial."
VANCOUVER - A heart specialist has told a public inquiry in Vancouver into the use of Tasers that a shock from the energy weapon can be deadly.
San Francisco cardiologist Zian Tseng says a Taser shock at a vulnerable period in the heartbeat can produce a fatal rhythm. He says the heart could be even more vulnerable if there is high adrenaline or drugs, such as cocaine, present in the person's system.
TORONTO - A retailer who claimed a $21.5-million winning lottery ticket and sparked a two-month internal investigation at Ontario's lottery corporation initially said the ticket belonged to a customer who had left the store, documents released under order of the province's privacy commissioner revealed Friday.
Store owner Eun Chul Shin "panicked" and told lottery officials in July 2006 that the winning ticket wasn't his because he was afraid that if he claimed it his information would be released to the media, according to internal documents from the Ontario Lottery Corp.
MERRITT, B.C. - The B.C. mother who found her three children murdered in their home has commented publicly for the first time, thanking the local community for their support.
A letter sent to the Merritt Herald said members of the public have shared in the "horrendous tragedy." The letter, signed Darcie Clarke and family, says the family has received support from all over.
OTTAWA - The House of Commons has passed a private member's bill which requires that foreign aid be focused solely on relieving poverty and promoting human rights.
Aid groups have welcomed the legislation, saying it will ensure that the fight against global poverty gets the attention it deserves. It also sets new reporting requirements for foreign aid, which supporters say means better accountability and transparency.
LONGUEUIL, Que - Only hours after confirming his decision to block a controversial foreign takeover of part of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX:MDA), federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice announced a major contract Friday between the company and the Canadian Space Agency.
In a speech at the space agency in the Montreal area, Prentice said the government has awarded a four-year $109 million contract extension for the Vancouver company, also known as MDA.
TRENTON, Ont. - The body of the 83rd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan has returned home.
The remains of Cpl. Michael Starker, 36, were returned to CFB Trenton Friday aboard a military aircraft. Starker was a Calgary-based medic and reservist who died Tuesday in southern Afghanistan when his patrol was ambushed.
OTTAWA - The Commons unanimously adopted a resolution Friday urging Myanmar's reclusive military regime to accept international relief teams in the wake of last weekend's catastrophic cyclone.
The government acknowledged how hard it is to deal with the "very difficult regime" and said it will do all it can to help the storm victims. The xenophobic Burmese junta has said it will accept aid, but is leery of allowing foreign aid workers into the country.
OTTAWA - The last surviving Canadian veteran of the First World War will become a Canadian again, just in time for his 108th birthday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Friday.
John Babcock, who has been living in Spokane, Wa., is to be granted Canadian citizenship in recognition of his military service to Canada and his expressed desire, Harper announced.
EDMONTON - A Toronto man is pushing off on a voyage of discovery with 200 other people to honour the explorer David Thompson and re-enact his epic 1808 canoe trek along the rivers of Western Canada to the Great Lakes.
Lavern Thompson has a personal stake in the 63-day, 3,600-kilometre journey in which a brigade of 16 replica fur trade canoes will paddle from Rocky Mountain House in central Alberta to Thunder Bay, Ont.
CALGARY - An investigation into a botched 911 call that a family believes contributed to their 18-month-old boy's death is blaming the Internet phone provider.
Elijah Luck's family waited in vain for help at their north Calgary home late last month while paramedics were rushing to an old address three provinces away in Mississauga, Ont.
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. - A 32-year-old man who killed a teenage girl and dumped her body in a remote southern Alberta ditch must serve at least 18 years in prison before he can apply for parole.
That was a judge's decision Friday in sentencing Colin Winsor, who was convicted in March of second-degree murder and indecent interference. Ashton Moen, 17, disappeared in June 2006.
EDMONTON - A young woman convicted of manslaughter for her part in the gruesome sex-slaying of a 13-year-old Edmonton girl has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
But the woman, who was 17 years old when she helped kill Nina Courtepatte, is getting three years credit for time already spent in custody. She showed no emotion when the judge read out the sentence in Court of Queen's Bench.
HAVRES-AUX-MAISONS, Que. - A judge in Quebec has reserved his decision until Oct. 24 in the trial of five people accused of violating the terms of their observer permits in the 2006 seal hunt.
The trial in the Court of Quebec wrapped up Friday after hearing evidence all week on the Iles-de-la-Madeleine. The five defendants are representatives of Humane Society International and Humane Society of the United States.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The adage that 'idle are the devil's workshop' may date to the 12th century, but it has a particularly poignant ring today in southern Afghanistan as the annual poppy harvest winds down and NATO forces brace for a possible spike in violence.
Village leaders and power brokers throughout Kandahar province are pleading with the Canadian military and development officials to focus more money and attention on massive make-work projects.
