Highlights from the news file for Friday, Dec. 23
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MORE PROVINCES SIGN HEALTH DEALS WITH OTTAWA: One day after New Brunswick signed its own healthcare deal with the federal government, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador have reached separate agreements with the federal government. Over the next 10 years Ottawa will provide Newfoundland and Labrador with $87.7-million, and Nova Scotia with $157-million for home care improvements. Over the same period, it will support mental health initiatives with new funding of $73-million for Newfoundland and Labrador, and $130.8-million dollars for Nova Scotia.
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ECONOMY SHRANK IN OCTOBER: Canada’s economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in October.It’s the first decline in gross domestic product since May. Statistics Canada says a main reason behind the contraction was a two per cent drop in manufacturing output, the biggest monthly fall since December 2013.
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O’LEARY CONTINUES TO KICK THE TIRES ON THE CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP: Celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary says he’s amassed a team of advisers on whether he should run for leadership of the federal Conservatives — and now wants advice from Canadians. The reality T-V star and entrepreneur formally unveiled his circle of Conservative confidants today and also launched a website “O’Leary For Canada” seeking input from the public on whether he should officially join the race. There are 14 officially registered candidates in the Conservative leadership race and the deadline to sign up is February 24th.
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POLICE SAY CANADIAN WOMAN KILLED IN NEW YORK: Police say an American man killed his Canadian girlfriend inside a hotel room in upstate New York, then called 911 to report the slaying. Police in Syracuse say 38-year-old David Schmidinger called 911 around 11 a.m. Thursday from a street in the city, told a dispatcher he had killed his girlfriend and was waiting for the police. Police Chief Frank Fowler says when officers arrived, Schmidinger directed them to the nearby Hampton Inn, where police found the body of 44-year-old Michelle Paterson, of Brampton, Ont. Police say she was visiting Schmidinger and had arrived in Syracuse on Tuesday. Schmidinger pleaded not guilty to a second-degree murder charge Friday.
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GODFATHER OF GRASS WILL REMAIN LOCKED UP: An American man known as the “Godfather of Grass” will be held in custody in Montreal as he awaits extradition to the U.S. Immigration officials say John Robert Boone was calm but refused to answer questions from border services agents during a detention review hearing Friday afternoon. Boone was arrested without incident in Montreal on Thursday after eight years on the run, several months after police opened an investigation at the request of U.S. authorities. Boone will remain in detention at least until his next hearing, scheduled for Dec. 29. The 73-year-old spent more than a decade in prison after being convicted in the 1980s in what prosecutors called the “largest domestic marijuana syndicate in American history.”
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TAXMAN SCOOPS UP MORE STUDENT LOAN MONEY: Federal officials have scooped up more money from student loan borrowers who defaulted has yielded a small increase in collections. The Canada Revenue Agency says it collected $208.8 million this year, about $10 million more than it did two years ago when the government decided that loan writeoffs had spun out of control and collection efforts needed to ramp up. The year-over-year increases, though, have been relatively small: a two-per-cent increase between 2014 and 2015, and a three-per-cent increase between last year and this one.
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TRUMP CRITICAL OF OBAMA OVER ISRAEL: Donald Trump is criticizing the Obama administration’s decision to let the U.N. Security Council condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. In a striking break from past practice, the U.S. abstained in today’s vote — allowing the U.N. Security Council to condemn the settlements. In doing so, the Obama administration brushed aside Trump’s demands that the U-S exercise its veto, prompting Trump to tweet — “Things will be different after January 20th.”
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SYRIANS RETURN TO THEIR HOMES IN ALEPPO: Hundreds of Syrians are returning to the city of Aleppo to check on their homes after the last opposition fighters left the city. The rebel surrender ended a brutal chapter in Syria’s civil war, and marked President Bashar Assad’s most significant victory since an uprising against his rule began in 2011. The United Nations’ director of humanitarian relief director says Aleppo’s fall has hardly ended the suffering of the Syrian people, as large parts of the country remain outside of Assad’s control and opposition fighters continue to operate in rural areas.
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