By Canadian Press

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

Nov 21, 2016 | 3:30 PM

Highlights from the news file for Monday, Nov. 21

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OTTAWA AIMS TO PHASE OUT COAL BY 2030: The Liberal government is moving to phase out the use of coal-fired electricity in Canada by 2030 as part of its overall clean-energy strategy. The goal is to make sure 90 per cent of Canada’s electricity comes from sustainable sources by that time – up from 80 per cent now, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said Monday. Coal power in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia accounts for 10 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Under the federal plan, provinces can choose to phase out coal entirely and replace it with lower-emitting sources — as Alberta is doing — or they can use carbon capture and storage technology, McKenna said.

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WATCH HYDRO BILLS AS COAL PHASED OUT, ONTARIO SAYS: Ontario has some advice for its fellow provinces as as they move to meet the federal government’s newly unveiled goal of eliminating coal-fired power generation in Canada by 2030: keep an eye on those electricity bills. The province’s Liberal government likes to boast that shutting down coal plants has all but eliminated Ontario’s once-ubiquitous smog days, making life easier for people with asthma and other breathing problems. But it cost billions of dollars to build new transmission lines and replace coal with power from natural gas, wind, solar and biomass projects. Electricity rates for homes and small businesses in Ontario jumped 70 per cent between 2006 and 2014 as coal was being phased out.

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TSUNAMI WARNING ISSUED AFTER QUAKE IN JAPAN: An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 7.3 struck off the coast of Fukushima prefecture in Japan. A tsunami warning for waves of up to three metres was issued. The Japan Meteorological Agency says the quake struck around 6 a.m at a depth of 10 kilometres. It warned people along the coast to move to higher ground. Fukushima prefecture is north of Tokyo and home to the nuclear power plant that was destroyed by a huge tsunami following an offshore earthquake in 2011.

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RCMP OFFICER FOUND GUILTY OF ABUSING HIS 11-YEAR-OLD SON: An Ottawa judge found a suspended RCMP counter-terrorism officer guilty in a “gut-wrenching” case Monday after hearing how the accused chained up his 11-year-old son in the basement and tormented him with a barbecue lighter. The evidence presented at trial — illustrating how the adolescent boy was abused, confined, burned, beaten, assaulted and starved — was “unequivocal and overwhelming,” Justice Robert Maranger said in his written ruling. But ultimately, Maranger said, it was the video evidence created by the boy’s own father that proved the most damning. Three separate recordings, described by Maranger as “difficult to watch,” were found on the man’s cellphone.

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CANADA WAITS FOR BAGDAD TO OK ARMS FOR KURDS: The Liberal government’s plan to provide weapons to Kurdish forces fighting Middle East militants has hit another snag. More than 10 months after the arms and ammunition were promised, government officials say they are waiting for the Iraqi government in Baghdad to sign off on any arms shipment. It’s the latest delay involving Baghdad and Canadian military support for the Kurds in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. This comes amid rising tensions between Baghdad and the Kurds over who will ultimately control large parts of northern Iraq.

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MOSCOW AND BEIJING AFTER CANADA’S SECRETS, CSIS SAYS: Canada’s spy agency is openly warning that Russia and China are out to steal the country’s most prized secrets. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which rarely identifies security threats by name, makes the frank statement in briefing notes prepared for service director Michel Coulombe. While Canada grapples with the problem of jihadi-inspired extremists, the long-standing threat of espionage is also a worrisome preoccupation, the spy agency says in the notes. “Russia and China, in particular, continue to target Canada’s classified information and advanced technology, as well as government officials and systems.”

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LAWSUIT CLAIMS BULLYING, ASSULT OF FORCES WOMEN: A proposed class-action lawsuit claims female Armed Forces members face systemic gender and sexual-orientation-based discrimination, bullying, harassment and sexual assault. A statement of claim against Ottawa was filed Monday with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. The plaintiff in the case is Glynis Rogers, a 29-year-old former member of the Canadian Armed Forces from Nova Scotia, but if the case proceeds, the class could include any women who claim similar treatment. Lawyer Ray Wagner says Rogers suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and depression because of her experiences in the Forces and was eventually discharged.

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POPE ALLOWS ALL PRIESTS TO ABSOLVE ABORTION: Saying nothing is beyond the reach of God’s mercy, Pope Francis told Catholics worldwide he is allowing all priests to absolve the faithful of abortion — women and health workers alike — even while stressing that it is a grave sin in the eyes of the church to “end an innocent life.” In an Apostolic Letter made public Monday, Francis said he was extending indefinitely the special permission he had granted to all rank-and-file priests during the just ended Holy Year of Mercy. Because the Roman Catholic Church holds abortion to be such a serious sin, absolution had long been a matter for a bishop, who could either hear the woman’s confession himself or delegate it to a priest considered an expert in such situations, a potentially intimidating scenario for many of the faithful.

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SUSPECTED FENTANYL DEATHS MOUNT IN WINNIPEG: Police in Winnipeg say fentanyl is an epidemic that is responsible for a growing number of deaths that now include two more suspected fatal overdoses. Const. Jason Michalyshen said officers were called on Sunday to a downtown hotel, where staff discovered the body of a 30-year-old man who had been staying there. About nine hours later, police and paramedics were called to a south-end home where two men, who were 21 and 22 years old, were in medical distress. Tests were being done to determine whether fentanyl — an opioid 100 times more powerful than heroin — played a role in both cases. The city’s firefighters’ union has said that the city is facing a fentanyl crisis and first responders are dealing with multiple overdoses every day.

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ALBERTA TORY LEADERSHIP HOPEFUL KENNEY HIT WITH FINE: Alberta Conservative leadership hopeful Jason Kenney is getting a $5,000 slap on the wrist. Kenney broke campaign rules by setting up a hospitality suite close to a delegate selection committee meeting in the Edmonton-Ellerslie riding last week. Kenney’s campaign team says in a statement that the rules are too vague. They add his appearance and the proximity of the suite were not intended to sway delegate votes. The party imposed the fine Sunday after receiving a report from Rob Dunseith into the delegate selection process in Edmonton-Ellerslie on Nov. 16. Party rules dictate there should be no partisan lobbying at the votes and that, for the same reason, leadership candidates should stay away.

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ACCUSED IN B.C. SCHOOL STABBING BREAKS SILENCE: A man accused in a deadly stabbing at a British Columbia high school has broken his courtroom silence after rebuffing previous attempts by court officials and lawyers to engage with him. Gabriel Klein responded to questions from a judge during an appearance in B.C. Supreme Court in Chilliwack on Monday after refusing to engage with the legal system since his arrest on Nov. 1. Klein faces one charge each of second-degree murder and aggravated assault after he allegedly entered an Abbotsford high school and attacked two female Grade 9 students. On Monday, he told the judge he understood the proceeding after it was explained to him that a lawyer had agreed to take his case and that he would return to provincial court next week.

The Canadian Press