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

Highlights from the news file for Tuesday, May 23

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TERRORISM TO TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT NATO, G7: The deadly bombing in Manchester has thrust the familiar scourge of terrorism back onto the world stage as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to leave for Europe for meetings with NATO and G7 counterparts. The NATO and G7 summits were already slated to touch upon the global fight against terrorism, which was a hot-button topic for Donald Trump even before he became U.S. president. But officials and experts expect the spotlight to fix even more firmly on the challenge after the suicide-bomb attack outside a concert in England that killed 22 people and injured dozens more. That could be a bittersweet shift for Trudeau, particularly during the NATO meeting in Brussels where much of the emphasis was expected to be on the amount allies spend on defence. Canada spends only around one per cent of GDP, which is half of NATO’s stated target and puts the country among the bottom one-third of allies, setting up a potentially uncomfortable discussion for Trudeau.

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BOMBER WAS MANCHESTER MAN OF LIBYAN DESCENT, OFFICIALS SAY: The man who police say blew himself up in a packed concert arena in Manchester, killing 22 people, did not make a strong impression on his neighbours. Residents of the Manchester suburb of modest brick semi-detached homes where 22-year-old Salman Abedi lived remembered seeing the tall, thin young man who often wore traditional Islamic dress. But few said they knew him well. Greater Manchester Police on Tuesday named Abedi as the suicide bomber who struck an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, wounding 59 people in addition to those he killed. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, although a top U.S. security official said the claim could not be verified. Abedi was a British citizen of Libyan descent, said a European security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about ongoing investigations.

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FREELAND ASSURES MEXICO OF NAFTA CO-OPERATION: Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Mexico City to reassure officials Canada is committed to a three-way renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement along with the United States. Freeland is downplaying any suggestion the NAFTA renegotiation might lead Canada to do a side deal with a hard-bargaining Trump administration — something Mexico doesn’t want. She said Tuesday it is simply common sense that the 23-year-old agreement is “modernized” by all three member countries. Some groups, such as the Canadian American Business Council, have said that if the going gets too tough between Mexico and the U.S., Canada should consider going it alone on a separate deal with the U.S. Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Videgaray said Freeland’s presence in Mexico City sends a strong signal. The two ministers are taking part in a day-long conference titled, “Mexico and North America: A Global Powerhouse.”

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STUDY DETAILS CHILDREN’S INCOME OUTCOMES: A new study from Statistics Canada says that Canadian children have, on average, fared better financially than their parents. The research published Tuesday finds that of Canadians who turned 30 between 2000 and 2014, between 59 and 67 per cent — depending on the year — had a family income that was equal to, or greater than what their parents earned at the same age. A similar finding came up when looking at Canadians who turned 40 during the same time period. The study says between 61 and 67 per cent — again, depending on the year being looked at — of those in the study had a higher family income at age 40 than their parents did at the same age. Statistics Canada says that any variations between years appears to correspond with general changes in the economy, a reference to the downturn in 2009 and the slow rebound that followed. A closer look at the numbers shows children with parents at the lowest income levels were more likely to have a higher family income than their parents did at age 30, while the opposite was true for those whose parents were among the top income earners.

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COURT SET TO OK FEMALE RCMP CLASS-ACTION DEAL: Approval of a settlement in a class action by sexually harassed Mounties is expected Wednesday, paving the way for tens of millions of dollars to start flowing to the women. During the hearing, lawyers for the plaintiffs will take Federal Court Judge Ann Marie McDonald through details of the settlement, which she certified as a class action in January. “This is the big step,” Megan McPhee, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, said in an interview Tuesday. “This is the step to implement the settlement.” McPhee said it’s important the judge understand what’s been agreed to, and the benefits of the deal for the women — all current and former female RCMP employees going back to 1974. One key part of the agreement is that women can make a claim for compensation without the RCMP knowing who they are. The confidentiality provision is unusual, McPhee said. A year ago, the two sides reached a tentative deal to compensate the women, with details announced in October, when RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson apologized for having failed the victims. The federal government also said it was setting aside at least $100 million to settle the claims.

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QUEBEC ELECTION POSTER BLASTS MULTICULTURALISM: A candidate in a Quebec provincial byelection has triggered controversy with a campaign poster that criticizes Canadian multiculturalism and shows a photo of a woman wearing a niqab. Alexandre Cormier-Denis is running for the Parti independantiste in the Montreal riding of Gouin. The poster has the slogan Choose Your Quebec above two photos of the same woman — one in which she is sporting a blue tuque with the Fleur-de-lis and the other in which she is wearing a niqab. Below the photos it is written “Canadian Multiculturalism, No Thanks.” Police withdrew the poster from outside a subway station after they received complaints but it was put back up outside another one because Cormier-Denis is a registered candidate in the May 29 vote. Cormier-Denis says multiculturalism ghettoizes immigrants in their own communities. “So while an election should be the time to give voters real choices, it is considered scandalous for a candidate to dare question the multiculturalist order that Ottawa imposes on Quebec,” he wrote on Twitter.

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VIDEO OF STUDENT FIGHT SPARKS PROTEST AT SCHOOL: Educators and RCMP are trying to keep the peace at a central Alberta school after someone posted a video on social media of a fight between a small group of Syrian and Canadian students. The scuffle outside Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School last week attracted online comments accusing the immigrants of whipping students and accusing school officials of not disciplining the Syrians. More than a dozen people showed up at the school parking lot Tuesday to protest, including an anti-Muslim group called Worldwide Coalition Against Islam. Principal Dan Lower says all the students involved in the fight — four Syrians and four Canadians — have been suspended for one week. Lower says the protesters have no connection to the school, Mounties are on hand as a precaution and regular classes are underway. He says students and parents have been told the fight has been blown out of proportion by people on social media.

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WAB KINEW GETS MORE SUPPORT FOR NDP LEADERSHIP BID: Author, indigenous rights activist and rookie politician Wab Kinew has picked up more endorsements in his bid to become leader of the Manitoba New Democrats. Former member of Parliament Judy Wasylycia-Leis, former provincial cabinet minister Nancy Allan and Michelle McHale, who dropped out of the leadership race earlier this spring, have all thrown their support behind Kinew’s bid for the party leadership that will be decided in September. Only two of Kinew’s caucus colleagues — Nahanni Fontaine and Matt Wiebe — have publicly endorsed his leadership bid to date. Kinew, first elected to the legislature last year, is currently the only candidate running to lead the Manitoba New Democrats, who were in power for 17 years before losing last year’s election to the Progressive Conservatives. The endorsements came as Kinew promised to work toward having an equal number of men and women in caucus.

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CHARGES LAID IN $3M INTERNATIONAL LOBSTER FRAUD CASE: More than $3 million worth of lobster is at the centre of a complex, international case involving fraud and theft allegations against three men from southwestern Nova Scotia, RCMP said Tuesday. The Mounties’ investigation started in July 2015 when allegations arose that a man from Shag Harbour, N.S., had allegedly defrauded a Shelburne County lobster company of $175,000 during the previous fishing season. During the course of the investigation, the RCMP looked into similar allegations that a lobster company in Clark’s Harbour had been defrauded of over $500,000 in 2014-15. RCMP say they also investigated allegations that a Barrington company was defrauded of over $500,000, a Shelburne County company was defrauded of $1.7 million and a Taiwan company was defrauded of over $250,000 — all in 2015-16. None of the allegations has been proven in court. Three men from Shelburne County were arrested last Wednesday.

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ICONIC TORONTO SIGN TO GET NEW LEASE ON LIFE: Theatregoers in Toronto will soon come face to face with a piece of local history that once represented a new beginning for generations of newcomers to the city. The glitzy, illuminated sign that once graced the front of the iconic Honest Ed’s department store was being dismantled Tuesday, months after the store itself sold its last bargain-priced item. The sign will be refurbished and find a new home over an entrance to the Ed Mirvish Theatre, named for the man who founded the discount store on his way to becoming one of the city’s leading impresarios. The brightly hued sign, measuring 9.14 metres tall by 18.28 metres wide and comprised of nearly a dozen smaller placards, featured 23,000 bulbs loudly displaying the words “Honest Ed’s.” Although the sign was installed in 1984, more than 30 years after Mirvish first opened the store known for its rock-bottom prices and occasional giveaways, it became a prominent and beloved landmark to residents and visitors alike.