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

By The Canadian Press

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Sept. 28

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CARR HIGHLIGHTS PIPELINE BENEFITS: Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr is talking up the benefits of the Pacific Northwest LNG project in British Columbia. Carr says he doesn’t see how you could ask for a better example of how economic growth and environmental sustainability can work so well hand-in-hand. He adds thousands of jobs will be created and that serious attempts have been made to “meaningfully” consult with indigenous people. NDP leader Tom Mulcair says the Great Bear Rainforest is no place for a natural gas pipeline.

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FIRST NATION SAYS PIPLINE APPROVAL PROCESS RUSHED: An Alberta First Nation says court documents suggest political and industry pressure hustled approvals for an oilsands pipeline through regulators and reduced aboriginal consultation. Eriel Deranger of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation says it wasn’t given enough input and the project was being pushed through too quickly. TransCanada applied for approvals in November 2013, the pipeline was approved in October 2014 and construction has begun.

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POSSIBLE OPEC DEAL SENDS CRUDE SOARING: OPEC countries neared agreement on a preliminary accord Wednesday to limit oil production and support oil prices, despite lingering disagreements between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. Officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet informally on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algiers to try to find common ground on how to support oil markets. Experts say that would require a decision to limit output — an idea Iran still views with skepticism. Word of a possible deal to freeze oil production among OPEC members sent the price of crude soaring, driving up both the Toronto stock market and the Canadian dollar. The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 173.39 points to 14,731.43. The November crude oil contract gained $2.38, or 5.3 per cent, to settle at US$47.05 per barrel. The oil-sensitive loonie climbed 0.54 of a cent, to 76.28 cents US.

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SCHEER JOINS TORY LEADERSHIP RACE: Conservative MP Andrew Scheer is officially in the race to replace former Tory leader Stephen Harper. The Saskatchewan MP and former Speaker announced his candidacy at an Ottawa news conference on Wednesday after filing his paperwork and paying the first $25,000 of his registration fee. Scheer is the sixth official candidate vying to lead the party, following fellow MPs Maxime Bernier, Michael Chong, Tony Clement, Kellie Leitch and Deepak Obhrai.

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HOODFAR RETURNING TO CANADA: Homa Hoodfar is expected to return to Canada on Thursday morning. The retired Canadian-Iranian professor was released from prison in Iran earlier this week and flown out of the country. Concordia University says she’s expected to meet reporters upon arrival at Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport. Hoodfar had been detained since June at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on allegations of “dabbling in feminism” and security matters.

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NDP WANTS ACTION ON TORTURE: The New Democrats are calling on the Liberal government to immediately rescind a directive that allows security agencies to use information that may have been obtained through torture. Matthew Dube, the NDP public safety critic, says information obtained under torture is not reliable — and therefore the practice does not ensure the safety of Canadians. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said earlier this year the Liberals will review the “issues” raised by the foreign-sharing policy, enacted by the previous Conservative government.

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VANCOUVER PROPOSES LICENSING AIRBNBS: Vancouver is proposing that anyone who rents their principal residence on Airbnb or similar websites must obtain a business licence. The system would ban the rental of secondary units — like investment condos or basement suites — for short-term stays. Mayor Gregor Robertson says the goal is to protect the rental supply. Vancouver’s rental vacancy rate is .06 per cent.

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FORMER NOTARY SENTENCED IN PONZI SCHEME: A former notary who ran a Ponzi scheme in British Columbia that defrauded investors of more than $100 million has been sentenced to six years in prison. Provincial court Judge Gregory Rideout said Wednesday that Rashida Samji “knew exactly what she was doing and went forward with eyes wide open.” Court heard Samji collected money ranging from $50,000 to $12 million from investors over a nine-year period.

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BLACKBERRY TO LEAVE SMARTPHONE HARDWARE BUSINESS: BlackBerry is heeding calls to leave the smartphone hardware business that once helped forge its reputation as a global technology leader before it got swept aside by the likes of Apple and Samsung. The company said Wednesday it will stop designing its signature devices and outsource that work to external partners so that it can focus on its growing security software operations. “We believe that the phone market is evolving more and more into the intelligence market,” chairman and CEO John Chen told a media roundtable in BlackBerry’s home base of Waterloo, Ont.

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ROYAL TWEET VIA OLD TECH: Ninety-year-old Doug Bell has been tapping out coded messages for most of his life — and on Wednesday he sent a royal tweet to the Internet using Second World War technology. The legendary Yukon wireless telegraph operator demonstrated his old-school skills for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the MacBride Museum in the Yukon capital. After about 30 seconds of furious tapping and clicking, Bell asked the Royal couple to press a button and seconds later his message welcoming them to Yukon was sent out by Twitter to the Internet.

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U.S. CALLS ON RUSSIA TO END ALEPPO ATTACKS: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is threatening to end all co-operation with Russia on ending Syria’s civil war unless there’s an end to Russian and Syrian government attacks on Aleppo. More than 250 people are believed to have been killed in the city in the last week alone, and there are accusations Syrian government and Russian forces are intentionally targeting medical facilities in rebel-held areas. Doctors Without Borders says the assaults on the city have been unrelenting.

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WORLD LEADERS MOURN SHIMON PERES: Current and former world leaders mourned the passing of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres on Wednesday, praising him as a visionary who committed his life to the elusive goal of lasting peace in the Middle East. President Barack Obama described Peres as “soldier for Israel,” while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Queen sent their condolences. Peres died early Wednesday at the age of 93.

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