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

Highlights from the news file for Friday, April 28

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FORCES SEEK TO OUST 77 OVER SEX CASES: Military officials say they have moved this year to force out 77 service members found guilty of sexual misconduct. Many of the cases are older and none of the members have been released yet, as their files go through what the military says is due process. But the figure is touted as a solid step toward defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance’s promise of eradicating sexual misconduct in the Forces. Officials also say military police plan to review more than 150 old cases of sexual misconduct reported between 2010 and 2016 but deemed unfounded.

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FORMER SALVATION ARMY EXECUTIVE GUILTY OF FRAUD: A Toronto court has ruled a former Salvation Army executive diverted truckloads of donations made to the organization to a wholesaler as part of scheme to make money. David Rennie was found guilty this week of six charges related to the setup, including fraud, theft and trafficking in stolen goods, though he was cleared of a conspiracy charge after a judge found his co-accused not guilty. Justice Sandra Bacchus said in her decision that over two years, Rennie partnered with a wholesaler to cherry-pick the best donations and resell them for a profit, though it’s unclear exactly how much he benefited financially.

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8 YEARS FOR B.C. DRUNK DRIVER WHO KILLED 3: A British Columbia man who killed three people while driving drunk along a winding mountain highway has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison. Samuel Alec pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court last month to three counts of impaired driving causing death after he mowed down two cyclists who were out for a weekend ride north of Whistler in May 2015. Alec’s friend in the passenger seat of the vehicle was also killed. The judge has ordered that Alec be banned from driving for 15 years when he is released.

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N.S. LIBERALS PULL AD SUGGESTING MAY 30 VOTE: A campaign video posted to the Nova Scotia Liberal Party’s website Friday appeared to confirm a spring election is in the air. The video, which is no longer available, showed Premier Stephen McNeil posing next to a campaign slogan and the message “on May 30th vote Liberal.” It is the strongest hint yet that an election will be called in the coming days, although McNeil refused to confirm anything. “You saw an ad that was a mock-up of an ad, I wouldn’t read too much into it,” McNeil told reporters.

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CLARK SAYS B.C. WOULD MOVE ON U.S. COAL SHIPMENTS: British Columbia’s Liberal leader says she would take steps to ban thermal coal shipments through the province if the federal government doesn’t act during a fight over softwood lumber tariffs imposed by the United States. On the election campaign trail, Christy Clark says Ottawa has not yet responded to a letter she sent Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking for a stop to American thermal coal passing through B.C. ports. Clark says she expects Ottawa will act to keep “filthy” U.S. coal from reaching China in accordance with its climate-change agenda.

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HOOPP CHIEF EXECUTIVE QUITS HOME CAPITAL BOARD: The chief executive of HOOPP has resigned as a director of Home Capital Group and its subsidiaries, citing a potential conflict of interest following the pension fund’s decision to provide $2 billion of credit to the mortgage company. The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan manages more than $70 billion of retirement funds and will receive a $100 million non-refundable fee plus 10 per cent interest on money provided to Home Trust through the agreement. HOOPP chief executive Jim Keohane had been a director of Home Capital since last year.

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PROGRAM TO HELP SOLDIERS BECOME CIVILIANS: A Canada-wide research study is being launched with the aim of helping members of the Canadian Armed Forces and veterans transition to civilian life. The study, based around a New Brunswick-based program called Shaping Purpose, will examine the experiences of 84 Forces members and veterans. The research study and the evaluation of the program is expected to be completed in December 2018, with the intent to present the findings to the Canadian Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada in the spring of 2019.

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FEDS RUN $11.5b DEFICIT FOR FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 2016-17: The federal government ran a deficit of $11.5 billion over the first 11 months of its 2016-17 fiscal year, putting it well ahead of its spring budget forecast with one month to go. The result compared with a surplus of $7.5 billion during the April-to-February period a year earlier. Not counting a $3-billion contingency cushion, Ottawa’s spring budget projected a deficit of $23 billion for 2016-17. Robert Kavcic, senior economist at the Bank of Montreal, notes that the government generally runs a large deficit in March as Canadians file their tax returns and receive their refunds.

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U.S. AND CHINA DIFFER ON NORTH KOREA: The United States and China offered starkly different strategies Friday for addressing North Korea’s escalating nuclear threat as President Donald Trump’s top diplomat demanded full enforcement of economic sanctions on Pyongyang and urged new penalties. Stepping back from suggestions of U.S. military action, he even offered aid to North Korea if it ends its nuclear weapons program. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would adhere to past UN resolutions and wants a denuclearized peninsula, but he spelled out no further steps his government might consider.

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TRUMP TELLS NRA IT HAS ‘A FRIEND’ IN WHITE HOUSE: U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for gun rights Friday, telling attendees of a National Rifle Association convention that “the eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end.” Trump, the first sitting president to address the group’s annual convention in more than 30 years, assured the audience that he would defend their right to bear arms in a campaign-like speech reminiscent of his election rallies. “You have a true friend and champion in the White House,” he said.

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