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

By The Canadian Press

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, Dec. 14

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FOUR DIE IN ONTARIO HELICOPTER CRASH: Four employees with Ontario electrical utility Hydro One died in a helicopter crash on Thursday. A witness who lives near the crash site north of Kingston said that Hydro crews had been working for weeks on power lines strung on nearby towers. The helicopter was apparently heading for a landing. The Transportation Safety Board was sending a team of investigators to the crash site.

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INVESTIGATION BEGINNING INTO SASK PLANE CRASH: Transportation Safety Board investigators were heading to the site of a plane crash in Northern Saskatchewan. No one was killed in Wednesday’s crash near the community of Fond du Lac, but at least five people were seriously injured and needed to be airlifted to hospital. West Wind Aviation, the airline that operated the plane, said it doesn’t know why its aircraft crashed.

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WOMAN CHARGED IN ALTERCATION THAT SERIOUSLY INJURED A BABY: A woman in Toronto faces five charges including attempted murder in connection with an altercation that resulted in serious injuries to a four-month-old infant girl and the stabbing of a man. Police allege the man and woman started arguing and the woman, who had a knife, went on to injure the man and baby. Police aren’t providing details of the attack but the baby remains in hospital in critical condition.

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TRUDEAU SETS STAGE FOR JUNE’S G7: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is outlining how Canada will host the G7 summit set for June in Charlevoix, Que. He said on Thursday that Canada will host ministerial level meetings with its G7 counterparts across the country before leaders convene in Charlevoix, Que., next June. He told a Facebook Live event that he wants to spread the economic benefits across Canada as it hosts the leaders’ summit. Improving gender equality will be a major priority at all those ministerial meetings, he says.

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CANADA EXPANDS GUIDELINES ON TORTURE-TAINTED INTELLIGENCE: The Trudeau government has flushed out its directives on the use of foreign intelligence likely obtained through torture to include Canada’s military, diplomatic service and electronic spy agency. It means those agencies are prohibited from using information gleaned from torture, unless it means saving lives. That includes preventing a terrorist attack or protecting Canadian soldiers on overseas missions. The government says the directives are designed to ensure Canadian officials have clear guidelines and are not complicit in any abuse.

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POLOZ LEERY ABOUT BITCOIN: Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is warning about Bitcoin, saying the purchase of the cryptocurrency is “closer to gambling than investing.” Poloz told The Canadian Club on Thursday that Bitcoin is not a reliable store of value and does not constitute “money.” Poloz’s comments come one day after the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board Janet Yellen called Bitcoin a “highly speculative asset” that “doesn’t constitute legal tender.”

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RCMP TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT SEX ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: The RCMP say they’re going to review nearly 300 sexual assault cases they originally determined were unfounded. The Mounties reviewed more than 2,200 files from last year and concluded no violation of the law had taken place. The force determined that 284 cases needed further investigation.

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TRUMP SUPPORTS DISNEY’S 21st CENTURY FOX DEAL: The White House says President Donald Trump supports Disney’s purchase of much of 21st Century Fox. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says Trump called media magnate Rupert Murdoch to congratulate him on the deal. Disney is buying the Murdoch family’s Fox movie and television studios and some cable and international TV businesses for about $52.4 billion. Sanders says Trump thinks the deal “could be a great thing for jobs.”

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