Six stories in the news for Wednesday, May 3
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PM TRUDEAU TO HEADLINE FUNDRAISER IN MONTREAL
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised political donors would not get preferential access to his government, and now the Liberals are trying to show they mean it as they revive their fundraising efforts. Trudeau will appear at a party fundraiser this evening in Montreal, which is unremarkable except for the fact that anyone can go. Anyone, that is, who has up to $250 to spare for a ticket, wants to give that money to the Liberal Party of Canada, and is not registered to lobby the PMO.
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B.C. NDP VOWS TO FIGHT PIPELINE, BUT WON'T SAY HOW
British Columbia's New Democrats are vowing to do all they can to stop Kinder Morgan Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion if they're elected next Tuesday, but Leader John Horgan isn't saying how he would do so. Horgan will only say he'll raise the $7.4-billion pipeline expansion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the day after the election.
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FINAL ARGUMENTS IN FATAL GAS AND DASH TRIAL
A Calgary jury will hear final arguments today in the trial of a man charged in the hit-and-run death of a gas station worker. Joshua Cody Mitchell, 22, is on trial facing several charges, including second-degree murder. Maryam Rashidi, 35, tried to stop a driver from leaving a Calgary Centex gas station without paying for $113 worth of fuel in June 2015.
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CROWN WRAPS ARGUMENTS IN B.C. POLYGAMY TRIAL
The prosecution in the trial of two B.C. men accused of having multiple wives has wrapped up its case. Winston Blackmore is the head of a religious group in the province where residents follow the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints, a faith that condones plural marriage. Blackmore is on trial in B.C. Supreme Court in Cranbrook, B.C., alongside James Oler, and each is charged with one court of polygamy. Blackmore allegedly has 24 wives, while Oler is accused of marrying four women.
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VERDICT TODAY FOR WOMAN WHO GAVE PIGS WATER
A judge will deliver the verdict today in the case of a Toronto woman charged after giving water to pigs on a truck headed to slaughter. Anita Krajnc, of the group Toronto Pig Save, has pleaded not guilty to a mischief charge, although she has admitted that she gave water to the pigs. One of Krajnc's lawyers has argued Krajnc was acting in the public good, and was therefore not breaking the law. The Crown has argued the pigs were the property of a farmer, and Krajnc was interfering with his property.
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GIN RECALL EXTENDED COUNTRYWIDE
Federal health authorities have extended a recall of gin that contains far more alcohol than what is declared on the label. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the recall of 1.14-litre bottles of Bombay Sapphire London Dry Gin began in Ontario and is now countrywide. The recall was initiated the gin's alcohol content was found to be 77 per cent — not the 40 per cent declared on the label.
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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:
— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet in Montreal with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
— Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz will speak to a business audience in Mexico City.
— Statistics Canada will release the Canadian international merchandise trade figures for March.
— The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to decide if it will hear an appeal over a ruling on cross-border alcohol shopping.
— The Fraser Institute will release a study examining carbon taxes and the cap-and-trade systems in Canada.
The Canadian Press
