Five stories in the news for Thursday, April 25
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WILSON RAYBOULD: FEDS WANT TO JUST ‘MANAGE THE PROBLEM’ OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said the Liberal government made promises on Indigenous issues but backtracked on reconciliation and resolving long-standing problems after taking the reins of power. Wilson-Raybould made the comments in a speech to the First Nations Justice Council in British Columbia, saying she went to Ottawa in 2015 when the Liberals were keen to recruit Indigenous candidates. She said she faced resistance, including when she issued a directive over how federal government lawyers should handle civil cases with Indigenous people and was then shuffled to the veterans affairs portfolio.
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CANADA SAYS SOLUTION COULD COME SOON TO GARBAGE DISPUTE WITH THE PHILIPPINES
Environment Minister Catherine McKenna thinks a solution can be found in the coming weeks to the argument over who’s responsible for dozens of containers of Canadian garbage that have been sitting in a port in Manila for almost six years. A Global Affairs Canada official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are still underway, told The Canadian Press it’s expected that the garbage will be returned to Canada. The Canadian ambassador in the Philippines made similar comments to the Philippine News Agency after Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to “declare war” on Canada over the trash.
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FEDS OFFER PROVINCES 50/50 SPLIT ON ABANDONED BUS-ROUTE SERVICE
The federal government will split funding for bus service on rural routes abandoned by Greyhound in northern Ontario and Western Canada, but Transport Minister Marc Garneau says only British Columbia has so far taken him up on the offer. Garneau made his comments Wednesday after meeting with B.C. Transportation Minister Claire Trevena. It was the fourth discussion between the ministers on a 50/50 cost-sharing plan to service routes that were dropped when Greyhound shut down operations last fall, citing a loss of $70 million over six years.
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MANITOBA FILES CARBON TAX LAWSUIT
The Manitoba government has filed its own court challenge of the federal government’s carbon tax, following similar moves by Ontario and Saskatchewan. In documents filed in Federal Court, the Manitoba government seeks a judicial review to quash the federal tax on the grounds it exceeds Ottawa’s constitutional authority. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and New Brunswick — all provinces lead by conservative governments — have refused federal Liberal demands to enact their own carbon levies. That prompted Ottawa to impose its own tax in those provinces, which started April 1 at $20 per tonne and will rise to $50 per tonne by 2022. A date has not been set for the hearing.
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INQUIRY INTO ALBERTA RCMP OFFICER’S KILLING LOOKS AT BAIL HEARING PROCESS
An Alberta Justice official has told a fatality inquiry into the death of a Mountie that the province is right not to force prosecutors to tell bail hearings about a suspect’s criminal record. Assistant deputy minister Eric Tolppanen spoke Wednesday at the inquiry into the shooting of Const. David Wynn at an Edmonton-area casino in 2015. Career-criminal Shawn Rehn was out on bail on other charges when he killed Wynn and wounded an auxiliary constable. Tolppanen said it’s unnecessary that prosecutors be legally required to tell bail judges about a suspect’s criminal record, the nature of the alleged offence and bail history. He said such a requirement would limit the ability of prosecutors to present their cases as they see fit.
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ALSO IN THE NEWS:
— Preliminary hearing in the case of Commissioner of Competition Tribunal vs. Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for allegedly using deceptive ticket pricing practices, demanding it display the full price up front.
— Constitutional arguments will be heard in the case of Lorne Grabher, whose surname-personalized licence plate was revoked because it was deemed offensive to women.
— Fatality inquiry into the deaths of Const. David Wynn and Shawn Rehn. Rehn was out on bail when he shot Wynn in a casino. He then shot himself in a nearby home.
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The Canadian Press
