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

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Nov. 22

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LIBERALS ANNOUNCE HOUSING STRATEGY: The Trudeau government launched a housing strategy on Wednesday that includes a $15.9-billion fund to create tens of thousands of new affordable housing units and repair tens of thousands more. The government also plans to create a federal housing advocate and legislate a right to housing. In all, the governing Liberals say they’ll put up $40 billion over the next decade.

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CANADIAN STARS WANT ACTION ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: A meeting is to be held on Thursday to discuss the issue of sexual harassment in Canada’s screen industry. Canada’s performers union ACTRA has invited industry stakeholders to the closed-door meeting to discuss how to implement practical, concrete measures to tackle the issue in a way that also leads to cultural change. Actress-writer Susan Coyne says while sexual misconduct has long been a part of the Canadian industry, it’s a problem that seems to be growing.

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RETIRED GENERAL ‘AMAZED” HOW LONG IT TOOK TO BRING MLADIC TO JUSTICE: Retired Canadian general Lewis MacKenzie says he is amazed it took six years to bring former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic to justice. Lewis MacKenzie is applauding an international court that has sentenced Mladic to life in prison for genocide and other crimes. MacKenzie commanded a UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the ’90s. Mladic’s forces carried out the worst massacre in Europe since Second World War in Srebrenica, where some 8,000 Muslim men and boys of fighting age were killed.

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UBER RAISING EYEBROWS OVER HANDLING OF PRIVACY BREACH: Privacy advocates are questioning the way Uber is handling a year-old security breach that saw hackers steal the personal information of millions of customers worldwide. Uber said on Tuesday that hackers stole names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers of 57 million riders. However it hasn’t said which customers had their data stolen or the number of Canadians affected. New York state has opened an investigation as state laws require companies to give notice if data is stolen. Canada does not have laws requiring disclosure of data breaches, and the federal Privacy Commissioner has not yet launched a formal investigation.

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ALBERTA’S PREMIER CALLS FOR PARTISANSHIP TO BE SET ASIDE ON ENERGY ISSUES: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says politicians of all stripes must get away from partisanship or both the environment and Canada’s energy industry will fail. She was in Ottawa this week to try to build support for pipeline expansions. In a speech to the Economic Club of Canada, Notley said the issue transcends political divides. She said the Conservatives must stop pretending climate change isn’t real and told her own party that efforts to protect the environment cannot come at the expense of people.

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CANADA’S IMMIGRATION MINISTER SAYS OUTDATED LAW MUST CHANGE: Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says a section of Canada’s immigration law barring anyone from settling in the country if they have a condition deemed a burden on medical or social services is outdated. He says the law needs to be brought in line with Canadian values. Hussen told a Commons committee on Wednesday that he’s committed to changing the rules currently spelled out in the country’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and isn’t closing the door to repealing the controversial section altogether.

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ONLY SMALL FRACTION OF BORDER CROSSERS GRANTED ASYLUM: Newly released federal figures say most of the asylum seekers who have crossed illegally into Canada so far this year were Haitian. The federal figures say so far, only 10 per cent of their claims have been accepted. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says the low number of claims being accepted should serve as a cautionary tale for those still contemplating crossing into Canada illegally from the U.S. to seek asylum.

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FEDS STILL UNSURE OF IMPACT OF SYRIAN RESETTLEMENT: The auditor general says the Trudeau government is finding it difficult to track the impact of its decision to resettle upwards of 40,000 Syrian refugees. A report from the auditor general says benchmarks like how many children are in school or how many Syrians are on income assistance weren’t being measured between fall 2015 and the spring of this year. The report says the government has failed to collect data to determine how efforts are going to integrate the refugees into Canadian society in the long term.

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NIGHTS GETTING BRIGHTER: A new study shows the world’s nights are getting alarmingly brighter. A German-led term reported on Wednesday that light pollution is threatening darkness almost everywhere. Satellite observations show Earth’s artificially lit outdoor area grew by two per cent a year since 2012. So did nighttime brightness. The researchers say the trend coincides with the rising outdoor use of energy and cost-saving LED lights and, due to satellite limitations, is even worse than reported.

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CAPTAIN KIRK WANTS TO BEAM OUT OF CONDO DEVELOPMENT: William Shatner is not thrilled that his name and a likeness is being used to promote an upcoming condo development in Hamilton. The “Star Trek” star took to social media to complain that his name and a caricature of him were attached to floor plans for a million-dollar two-bedroom penthouse. Shatner says he doesn’t recall giving permission to a Toronto developer to use his name.

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