By Canadian Press

In the news today, Aug. 21

Aug 21, 2019 | 2:17 AM

Four stories in the news for Wednesday, Aug. 21

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ETHICS REPORT NOT HURTING LIBERALS: POLL

A new poll suggests a scathing ethics report on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair hasn’t so far hurt the Liberals’ chances of re-election this fall — and it hasn’t helped the Conservatives. Indeed, the Leger poll suggests the two parties were locked in a dead heat, with the support of 33 per cent of voters, as they jockey for position at the starting gate for the Oct. 21 vote. Liberal support was unchanged from last month, despite last week’s damning report from federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion, who concluded that Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act by pressuring his former attorney general to halt a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. Conservative support was down three percentage points from last month, despite the party’s best efforts to re-ignite public outrage over the SNC affair.

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ETHICS COMMITTEE TO MEET ON SNC-LAVALIN

Six Liberal MPs will hold the key to whether the Commons ethics committee hears more about the SNC Lavalin affair today. Conservatives and New Democrats pushed for an emergency meeting in Ottawa, where MPs will debate whether to dig deeper into the affair that the Conservatives call a scandal. Opposition parties ethics commissioner Mario Dion to testify, but the Liberals hold a majority on the 10-member committee. Voting in favour of the motion to invite Dion to appear would mean keeping the SNC-Lavalin controversy in the headlines as MPs gear up for the Oct. 21 election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has defended himself by insisting he was acting in the best interests of Canadians, is now suggesting voters want to move on.

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MENG QUESTIONED ON ALLEGED IRAN BUSINESS: DOCUMENTS

Court documents released ahead of a Huawei executive’s extradition trial suggest a Canadian border official questioned Meng Wanzhou about her business before RCMP arrested her. The nearly 1,100 pages of material released Tuesday were collected by Meng’s defence team, which plans to argue that her arrest at the Vancouver airport on Dec. 1 was unlawful. The U.S. is seeking her extradition to face allegations of fraud in violating Iran sanctions, but both Meng and Huawei have denied any wrongdoing. The documents include a statement from Acting Supt. Sanjit Dhillon of the Canadian Boarder Services Agency, who says he asked Meng what she did for work and whether her company sold products in countries that it should not. He says Meng appeared confused and he rephrased it, asking if the company sold products or did business in Iran, to which he says Meng initially replied, “I don’t know,” before saying the company has an office in Iran.

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COUNTRY MUSIC STAT TO RUN FOR CONSERVATIVES

One of Nova Scotia’s best-known country music stars is walking on to the political stage. George Canyon has announced he’s running as a Conservative candidate in the riding of Central Nova in the upcoming federal election. His name was added to the Tory roster after existing candidate Roger MacKay dropped out this week, for what he said were “personal reasons.” Canyon has won several Juno and Canadian Country Music Association awards for his work, and currently sings the national anthem at Calgary Flames games. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has made multiple stops in the Atlantic provinces already this summer, and for his part, Canyon said he’s eager to get going.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer holds a press conference in Richmond Hill, Ont., to discuss the SNC-Lavalin affair ahead of the emergency meeting of the House of Commons ethics committee.

— Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohil will discuss the progress on the Trans Mountain pipeline in Sherwood Park, Alta., today.

— Statistics Canada will release its consumer price index for July.

— Royal Bank of Canada holds conference call to discuss its third-quarter results.

— An inquest begins today in Campbell River, B.C., into the police-involved shooting death of James Butters, also known as James Hayward.

— Const. Bradley Chief Body of the Blood Tribe Police Service will appear in court today in Lethbridge, Alta. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault.

— Junny Gallaza, 59, of Calgary is scheduled to appear in court for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenaged boy through a youth basketball program.

The Canadian Press