In the news today, Feb. 1

The parent of one of the players who died in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash is reflecting about the case now that sentencing arguments have wrapped up. Truck driver Jakirat Singh Sidhu has taken full responsibility for killing 16 people and injuring 13 others last April after he blew through a stop sign at a rural intersection. Scott Thomas got the chance to sit down for a private chat with Sidhu this week in Melfort, Sask. He wasn’t in court Thursday, but says he accepted Sidhu’s apology when they met. He says whatever sentence is handed down on March 22 won’t solve the problem of untrained truck drivers on Canada’s roads.

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SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON HALIFAX MURDER CASE

The Supreme Court of Canada will deliver a judgment today in the case of a Halifax-area man who admitted to burning his girlfriend’s body but insisted he didn’t kill her. Paul Trevor Calnen was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder in the death of Reita Louise Jordan in March 2013. The Hammonds Plains, N.S., man pleaded guilty to burning her body and scattering her ashes in a lake, but maintained he did not cause her death. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal tossed the murder conviction due to insufficient evidence and inadequate final instructions to the jury.

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SUSPECT IDENTIFIED IN TRANSIT OFFICER SHOOTING

RCMP are naming the suspect in a shooting on a train platform that left one transit officer with serious injuries in Surrey, B.C. Police say they’ve identified 35-year-old Daon Gordon Glasgow as the alleged gunman. Investigators believe Glasgow may try to leave the province to evade police, and RCMP have asked officers in other jurisdictions to keep a lookout for the man. A massive search for a gunman began Wednesday afternoon after Metro Vancouver Transit Police officer Const. Josh Harms was shot. Authorities say the 27-year-old was released from hospital late Wednesday evening and will meet with specialists to determine the extent of his injuries and treatment options.

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PASSENGER FOUND GUILTY IN FATAL BUS DRIVER STABBING

A jury found a passenger guilty of second-degree murder Thursday for stabbing a Winnipeg transit operator who had removed him from a bus at the end of a late-night shift. Irvine Jubal Fraser, 58, was stabbed multiple times during a fight with Brian Kyle Thomas in February 2017. Second-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life imprisonment with parole eligibility between 10 years and 25 years, which will be decided at a future hearing. Fraser’s death prompted calls for increased safety measures on Winnipeg buses, including safety shields for drivers. Many people in Winnipeg Transit jackets filled the courtroom throughout the trial.

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COURT ORDER AGAINST WET’SUWET’EN REMAINS

A lawyer for members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation who oppose a natural gas pipeline through their traditional territory says they will likely be ordered to maintain a 10-metre distance from any worksite or workers for several months. Michael Lee Ross says interim injunctions like the one granted to Coastal GasLink in December typically remain in effect until a judgment is delivered on the main injunction application to the court. He says that he and Coastal GasLink’s lawyers recently agreed to shift the hearing date deadline to May 31 from May 1.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde will attend the UN General Assembly launch event of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages.

— Gov. Gen. Julie Payette invests 35 recipients into the Order of Canada.

— Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett makes an announcement in Ottawa today with the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today, Feb. 1

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