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

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, May 25:

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G7 SUMMIT OPENS ON THURSDAY: When the G7 Summit opens Thursday in Japan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be promoting his plan to stimulate the Canadian and global economies through increased government spending. Some G7 countries agree with that view, but not German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Trudeau will be holding bilateral meetings with both Merkel and French President Francois Hollande during the summit.

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STEPHEN HARPER GRADUALLY BOWING OUT: Stephen Harper is going to step down as a member of Parliament and launch his next career as an advocate for international causes that dominated his foreign policy when he was prime minister. Plans are slowly coalescing for a foundation or institute that would focus on advocacy for Israel and Ukraine as well as maternal, newborn and child health. Harper may give some hints as to his future plans when he addresses the Conservative convention in Vancouver on Thursday night.

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NO DECISIVE MILITARY VICTORIES: VANCE: The chief of the defence staff says Canadians need to accept that the days of decisive military victories are long gone. Gen. Jonathan Vance told a major defence industry conference in Ottawa that conflict prevention is going to be a key job for the Canadian military in an increasingly uncertain world. But he says modern peacekeeping is becoming more dangerous, and stopping conflicts before they start is complicated.

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DEFENCE INDUSTRY DEFENDS SAUDI ARMS DEAL: The association representing Canada’s defence industry is defending the controversial $15-billion sale of light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia by an Ontario company. Christyn Cianfarani, president of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, said it is the responsibility of her industry to follow the rules set by the government. “As an industry association, we certainly don’t take positions on the judicial practices of other nations,” said Cianfarani.”Nor are we responsible for setting the foreign policy of the country.” Groups such as Amnesty International have criticized the Liberals for honouring the deal approved by the previous Conservative government, for General Dynamics Land Systems to sell the vehicles to the Saudis.

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BMO CUTS POSITIONS FROM WORKFORCE: The Bank of Montreal says it is cutting about 1,850 positions from its workforce as consumers shift more of their banking online and technological advancements allow it to digitize some of its operations. There were 46,166 full-time equivalent employees at the bank as of the second quarter, a decline of 616 employees from the previous quarter. The lender said it will trim its head count by an additional four per cent, which amounts to roughly 1,846 positions, as it took a $132 million restructuring charge relating to severance costs for employees.

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STUDY FINDS NEW OILSANDS POLLUTION ISSUE: A new study in the journal Nature finds that Alberta’s oilsands are one of the largest sources of organic aerosol air pollution in North America. Data from airborne measurements over the bitumen-producing region in August 2013 found that oilsands production generates at least 45 to 84 tonnes per day of the tiny particulate matter — comparable to mega-cities such as Paris and Mexico City. The study, whose lead authors are Environment Canada scientists, says secondary organic aerosol production should be taken into consideration when assessing the environmental impact of current and planned oilsands development.

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MAN WHO KILLED 5 FOUND NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE: A Calgary man has been found not criminally responsible for stabbing five young people to death at a house party two years ago. Justice Eric Macklin of Court of Queen’s Bench delivered the verdict in the first-degree murder trial of Matthew de Grood. Macklin said he accepted findings from two psychiatrists and a psychologist who testified that de Grood was psychotic at the time of the killings. “I find on a balance of probabilities that at the time he caused their deaths, Matthew de Grood was suffering from a mental disorder that rendered him incapable of appreciating or knowing that his actions were wrong,” Macklin said.

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CONVICTED SERIAL KILLER SEEKS NEW TRIAL: A lawyer for a British Columbia man convicted of killing three women and a teenage girl says his client deserves a new trial because the judge made disparaging comments about the defence counsel that were only made public after a sentence was imposed. Cody Legebokoff was given life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years by a Prince George, B.C., judge for the first-degree murders of 15-year-old Loren Leslie, 23-year-old Natasha Montgomery and Jill Stuchenko and Cynthia Maas, who were both 35. His lawyer Eric Gottardi told the B.C. Court of Appeal that despite the “overwhelming” evidence against Legebokoff, the appearance of unfairness at the trial means the case must be heard again.

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PHOTO POSSIBLE LINK TO MISSING SYRIAN GIRL: Canadian relatives of a missing five-year-old Syrian girl say they have had no luck trying to get information on her whereabouts. Longtime Halifax resident Mohamed Masalmeh is appealing for help after a photograph surfaced on the Internet, suggesting his cousin Mira may have survived the capsizing of a boat of refugees off Italy in August, 2014. Relatives were initially told everyone in the family had drowned, but now think she’s alive.

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