Jack's Newswatch

#1 — CBC | Judge’s nude photos ordered returned

A provincial court judge has ordered a Winnipeg man to return sexually explicit pictures of a prominent Manitoba judge to her husband.

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#2 –CBC | Fuel tanker aground in Northwest Passage

A fuel tanker carrying 9½ million litres of diesel fuel has run aground in the Northwest Passage, the Canadian Coast Guard confirmed Thursday.

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#3 — CNews | Maritimes brace for Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Earl continued its northward track Thursday, sparking watches and warnings along the North American east coast, but life in at least one of the Nova Scotia towns in its path carried on as usual.

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#4 — CNews | Police prepare for ‘the worst’ in missing woman case

ORANGEVILLE, Ont. – Police hunting clues to Orangeville nurse Sonia Varaschin’s disappearance fear she may be dead, a lead OPP detective said Thursday.

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#5 — Globe | PM’s top adviser leaving after months of Tory turmoil

Guy Giorno, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s most senior adviser, is stepping down, as the Conservatives seek to recalibrate after a politically troubled summer.

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#6 — LFP | $115M lawsuit launched against G20 police

TORONTO – Two Torontonians are launching a $115-million class-action lawsuit against police on behalf of everyone detained during the G20 protests in July.

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#7 — NP | Harper laughs at ‘bizarre’ Bloc complaints over national park passes

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper ridiculed the Bloc Quebecois Thursday over its complaint that he engaged in federalist propaganda earlier this year by sending a letter to Grade 8 students throughout the country inviting them to use a free pass to visit national parks.

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#8 — OC | Cornwall suspect surrenders

A 17-year-old youth wanted by police in connection with a stabbing death in Cornwall on Aug. 25 turned himself in on Thursday afternoon.

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#9 — MG | Franklin expedition logbooks to be unearthed

GJOA HAVEN, Nunavut — The search for the logbooks of the ill-fated Franklin expedition — the Holy Grail of Arctic exploration history — has taken on new life.

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#10 — Star | ‘Bear dude’ video sets bad example, B.C. minister says

VANCOUVER—The grinning man with greying hair quickly darts backwards as a British Columbia black bear playfully paws at a green pail the man is hoisting before slopping out food for two of the hungry beasts.

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Note:

Video available.

Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | LaFortune accused faces new charges

The man accused of assaulting Dustin LaFortune now faces more criminal charges.

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#2 — CBC | Jail sex video scandal spurs 6 suspensions

Six of the seven men who allegedly watched on a security camera monitor while two women engaged in sex in a Kamloops, B.C., jail cell have been suspended.

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#3 — CNews | Toronto woman ID’d as fatal motorcycle victim

TORONTO – The woman who was killed after falling off a speeding motorcycle in Whitby, Ont., on Friday has been identified as Ioana Bocunescu, 40.

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#4 — Globe | Blatchford: Juicy details of Manitoba judge’s undoing provide grist for myriad pundits

There’s a delightful tale about a Toronto Superior Court judge who occasionally hosts groups of high-school students visiting the courthouse and who sometimes even takes questions from them.

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NP | Manitoba judge embroiled in sex scandal removes self from bench

Star | Nude photos raise questions about private lives of judges

WFP | Couple in unwanted spotlight

#5 — Globe | B.C. got details of Ontario HST deal before provincial vote

Weeks before the British Columbia election campaign began last year, senior officials in the B.C. Finance Ministry were given confidential details of Ontario’s harmonized sales tax agreement with Ottawa – information that B.C.’s Finance Minister Colin Hansen maintains he knew nothing about until after the polls had closed.

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#6 — LFP | Missing woman victim of ‘foul play’

TORONTO – Missing nurse Sonia Varaschin was the victim of foul play, the Ontario Provincial Police said in an announcement Wednesday.

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#7 — FP | New credit card rules take effect

OTTAWA — New regulations came into effect Wednesday that the federal government says will protect credit-card holders from unexpected costs and help them make better financial decisions.

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#8 — OC | Pakistani Taliban implicated in alleged Ottawa terror plot

OTTAWA — The Pakistani Taliban, which claimed responsibility for May’s failed Times Square bombing, is now implicated in the alleged jihadist scheme to bomb Ottawa.

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#9 — MG | Bastarache gives Bellemare some ammunition

QUEBEC – Former justice minister Marc Bellemare was granted the status of full participant at the Bastarache commission yesterday, allowing him to better fend off the vigorous attacks his opponents are promising in the weeks ahead.

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#10 — Star | Ottawa won’t fund MS trials, but others could

OTTAWA–A federal decision not to fund clinical trials for an experimental multiple sclerosis treatment cannot stop Saskatchewan from going ahead, but the province would have other scientific and ethical hoops to jump through first.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | MacKay denies Afghan committee request

The Conservative government has refused a parliamentary committee’s request to allow the military’s former top lawyer to testify without legal restrictions on the Afghan detainee affair, CBC news has learned.

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#2 — CBC | Vader a suspect in McCann disappearance

Travis Edward Vader is now considered a suspect in the case of missing Alberta couple Lyle and Marie Ann McCann, RCMP said Tuesday.

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#3 — CNews | Suspected Tamil Tigers segregated from migrants

More than three dozen Tamil migrants have been segregated from 492 others who arrived by boat for questioning by police on suspicion of being linked to the Tamil Tigers, or other inadmissible groups, including war criminals.

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#4 — CNews | Harper, Ignatieff lay out election themes

BADDECK, N.S. – Within days of each other, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his main opponent, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, have now sketched out the themes each will likely offer up to Canadians in the next election campaign.

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#5 — Globe | Natives fear Ottawa aiming to convert reserves to private land ownership

Ottawa has quietly ordered a study of Canada’s most economically successful first nations, raising the prospect of a new approach to developing businesses on reserves while sparking fear among some native leaders that their rights to land and resources are at risk.

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#6 — LFP | Khadr trial to resume Oct. 18

OTTAWA — The historic war crimes trial of accused terrorist Omar Khadr is set to resume Oct. 18, more than two months after his lawyer collapsed in court.

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#7 — FP | Housing will be banks’ next sore spot

Canada’s housing market was a key source of strength that shielded the banks from the financial crisis but a flurry of recent warnings about a market bubble is raising concerns the vast mortgage holdings on bank balance sheets is about to become a millstone.

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#8 — OC | Terror suspect’s house bugged for six months

OTTAWA — Prosecution evidence in the domestic assault case Awso Peshdary comes from microphones planted by police in his house, an Ottawa court heard Tuesday.

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#9 — MG | Health agencies won’t sanction national trials of controversial MS treatment

OTTAWA — Canada’s leading multiple sclerosis scientists and researchers have recommended there be no Canadawide clinical trials of a controversial treatment for the disease because of the overwhelming lack of scientific evidence on the procedure’s safety.

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#10 — Star | Missing woman may be linked to bloody crime scene

Police investigators are holding out hope that a 42-year-old Orangeville woman is still alive, even though blood has been found splattered in her car and home.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | N.L. soldier hit by Afghan bomb dies in Germany

A 21-year-old soldier from western Newfoundland died Monday morning at a military hospital in Germany, more than a week after he was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

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#2 — CBC | Bellemare grilled during cross-examination

Former Quebec justice minister Marc Bellemare often looked down at his hands and gave monosyllabic answers during his third day of testimony at an inquiry examining the province’s judge nomination process.

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#3 — CNews | Is the Tea Party Canada-bound?

OTTAWA – Are Canadians getting fed up with government regulations, rules and taxes? The man behind an attempt to start a Tea Party movement in Canada hopes so.

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#4 — Globe | Police swapped circuit boards ahead of terror arrests

Police snuck into an Ottawa apartment and replaced dozens of detonation devices with harmless replicas before one of Canada’s biggest-ever terrorism busts.

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#5 — Globe | Wildrose cries foul after Alberta clerk censures party for press releases

The clerk of the Alberta legislature has censured one of the province’s opposition parties over its use of government money in partisan press releases, a move the party says impinges on its members’ free speech.

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#6 — LFP | MPs fired up over move to kill long-gun registry

Chatham-Kent-Essex MP Dave Van Kesteren usually listens to police. Two of his sons are officers and he calls Chatham-Kent police Chief Dennis Poole a friend.

But Van Kesteren can’t agree with the official police position that Canada’s long-gun registry is a valuable, even if flawed, resource.

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NP | Layton on political tightrope with gun registry compromise

#7 — NP | Provinces should fund quit-smoking drugs: CMA

OTTAWA — The Canadian Medical Association Journal is calling on provincial governments to publicly fund medications designed to help Canadians quit smoking.

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#8 — OC | University of Ottawa prof accused of bombing synagogue wants French evidence tossed

OTTAWA — An Ottawa university professor accused in a deadly 1980 Paris synagogue bombing wants new handwriting evidence a prosecutor likened to a “smoking gun” in the extradition case against him tossed after alleging French authorities abused the process of the Canadian courts.

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#9 — MG | Increasing prices in hottest Canadian housing markets a concern: Report

OTTAWA — Steep housing price increases in six of Canada’s hottest real estate markets since 2002 have all the hallmarks of an “accident waiting to happen” if mortgage rates rise too sharply, warns a new report.

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#10 — Star | Public sector wage freeze could lead to strikes: CAW

KITCHENER—A top union leader warns Ontario could see an end to years of public sector labour peace if Premier Dalton McGuinty sticks with plans for a two-year wage freeze affecting more than 1 million workers.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | Quebec shale gas debate heats up

The provincial government says it’s moving cautiously toward allowing energy companies to explore the St. Lawrence River Valley.

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#2 — CBC | Winnipeg MP Glover shuffled to Indian Affairs

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a small shuffle of parliamentary responsibilities Sunday involving a Winnipeg MP.

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#3 — CBC | Stranded Nunavut cruise ship passengers rescued

The Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen have rescued the passengers of a cruise ship that ran aground on an uncharted rock in Nunavut’s Coronation Gulf.

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#4 — CNews | Hunt for G20 riot ringleaders goes hi-tech

Toronto Police are using hi-tech facial recognition software to comb through tens of thousands of images in the hunt for the ringleaders of the G20 riots, the lead investigator says.

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#5 — Globe | Elevated levels of toxins found in Athabasca River

A study set to be published on Monday has found elevated levels of mercury, lead and eleven other toxic elements in the oil sands’ main fresh water source, the Athabasca River, refuting long-standing government and industry claims that water quality there hasn’t been affected by oil sands development.

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#6 — LFP | Veterans blast Ottawa

A week is too long to wait for someone calling a suicide hotline — and shocking when the person seeking help is a veteran who risked his life serving in Afghanistan.

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#7 — NP | Despite Ignatieff’s marathon bus tour, Liberals say no election on horizon

ADDECK, N.S. — When Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff arrives for his party’s summer caucus meeting in this picturesque Cape Breton town aboard his well-travelled bus Monday, he will have shaken countless hands, kissed dozens of babies, overdosed on Tim Hortons coffee and worn out the checkered shirts that have dominated his wardrobe for the past eight weeks.

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#8 — OC | Terror threat not hyped: ex-spy master

OTTAWA — The day after his unexpected resignation was announced last spring, Canada’s former spy master warned the government not to underestimate the spectre of domestic terrorism.

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#9 — MG | Piece of missing Cessna found on Quebec coast

Rescuers have found a piece of an airplane that went missing last Thursday around Baie Comeau. The debris suggests the float plane, a Cessna 180K, crashed into the water.

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#10 — Star | Conrad Black case targets Net defamation standards

Conrad Black’s ongoing legal fight in the United States has attracted considerable attention in Canada, yet there is a side courtroom battle at home over alleged defamatory content on the Internet that merits closer attention.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | Man held in terror probe rearrested

A fourth man arrested by police investigating the alleged Ottawa-based terrorism cell was ordered released on bail Saturday — but was then rearrested immediately on new charges.

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#2 — CNews | More possible HIV assault victims: Calgary cops

CALGARY – Days after a man accused of aggravated assault for allegedly infecting two women with the HIV virus turned himself in to Calgary police, Calgary officials are saying it is possible the same man might have had encounters with females in this city.

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#3 — CNews | Motorcycle passenger falls off, killed

WHITBY, Ont. – A motorcycle passenger was killed Friday night in a disturbing accident on the busy 401 in which the body was hit by an unknown number of vehicles, none of which stopped to help.

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#4 — CNews | Female docs needed in flood-ravaged Pakistan

TORONTO – Mississauga, Ont., doctor Naeema Degani says women caught up in the flooding in Pakistan are choosing female physicians over their male peers to obtain much-needed help.

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#5 — Globe | Former Quebec official backs Bellemare’s influence allegations

Damaging allegations before a public inquiry this week by ex-Quebec justice minister Marc Bellemare are being corroborated by a former senior government official.

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#6 — Globe | ‘We’ve accomplished enormous things,’ Miller says at his council’s last meeting

He wasn’t exactly weepy as he donned the mayor’s chain for the last time. But David Miller looked just a little emotional as he recited the bureaucratic motions ending the last council meeting of this term, and his last as mayor.

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#7 — NP | Quebec creating new system to determine English schooling

Following a Quebec court’s ruling that allows students to enrol in English-language public schools, the province’s parliamentary commission is about to draft a new language law to replace its failed Bill 104.

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MG | Quebec court overturns students’ access to English schools

#8 — OC | After thousands of years, Canada’s ‘majestic’ ice shelves disintegrating

Canada is home to plenty of ice, but the ancient, undulating ice shelves on the north coast of Ellesmere Island are something special.

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#9 — MG | Mounties watched HIV-positive woman have sex in cellblock: reports

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Mounties in Kamloops are refusing to respond to media reports that an HIV-positive woman had a sexual encounter with another woman in an RCMP detachment holding cell as four officers and three municipal staff looked on and did nothing to stop them.

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#10 — Star | How panhandlers use free credit cards

What would happen if, instead of spare change, you handed a person in need the means to shop for whatever they needed? What would they buy? Can you spare your credit card, sir?

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Popularity: 3% [?]

#1 — CBC | Judge slams RCMP for destroying evidence

A provincial court judge in Regina has slammed the RCMP for destroying video evidence that could have been used in a drinking and driving case.

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#2 — CBC | Federal deficit reaches $7.2B

Ottawa’s budget deficit reached $7.2 billion at the end of June , the end of the government’s fiscal first quarter, the federal Finance Department reported Friday.

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#3 — CNews | Parliament Hill was terror target

OTTAWA – The Ottawa men charged with being part of a homegrown terrorist cell were plotting to bomb Parliament Hill, alleged a former counter-terrorism agent Friday — and they hey allegedly planned these systematic attacks using Ottawa Public Library computers.

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Globe | A new threat: homegrown and high-tech

NP | Eighth suspect sought in alleged homegrown terror plot

#4 — Globe | Service Canada to cut 600 employees who handle EI claims

Hundreds of government workers who handle employment insurance claims are about to join the ranks of the unemployed.

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#5 — Globe | Critics call for investigation into mixed martial arts lobbying in Ontario

The NDP renewed its call Friday for Ontario’s integrity watchdog to investigate whether illegal lobbying played a role in the governing Liberals giving their blessing to mixed martial arts.

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#6 — LFP | Wind project steps ahead

SARNIA — Brooke-Alvinston Township is one step closer to being the home to a new wind farm.

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#7 — NP | Controversy swirls over Canada’s part in Roma debate

PARIS — Canada is being drawn into the controversy over President Nicholas Sarkozy’s controversial initiative to expel Roma migrants, with Immigration Minister Jason Kenney coming under criticism for agreeing to attend a France-hosted meeting here next week that has been described by some as an “anti-Roma” gathering.

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Star | DiManno: Roma are the eternal outsiders

#8 — OC | Accused in torture-confinement case laughs as charges read

CALGARY — He’s accused of confining, sexually abusing and torturing his former roommate, a man whose broken body was dumped at a Regina hospital more than four months ago.

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#9 — MG | Quebec unionized nurses says contracts with private nurses illegal

MONTREAL – Unions representing 58,000 Quebec nurses have launched a court battle aimed at barring hospitals from using nurses provided by private agencies in the Richelieu-Yamaska region.

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#10 — Star | Ontario launches plan to curb narcotics abuse

Ontario has proposed a new plan to curb the rampant abuse of narcotics in the province, where prescriptions for drugs such as OxyContin have risen 900 per cent in the past decade.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | Alleged terrorism plot targeted Canada

Three Ontario men accused of taking part in a domestic terrorist plot and possessing plans and materials to create makeshift bombs had allegedly selected specific targets in Canada, sources told CBC News.

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LFP | Canada’s a big bull’s-eye for terrorist

NP | RCMP identify six terror bomb plot suspects; accused of financing weapons

#2 — CBC | Canada’s biggest opium poppy field busted in B.C.

Two men have been arrested at a three-hectare opium poppy field in Chilliwack, B.C., the largest operation of its kind ever discovered in Canada, according to the RCMP.

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#3 — CBC | Col. Williams waives preliminary hearing

Col. Russell Williams made a brief court appearance in Belleville, Ont., via video link Thursday, waiving his right to a preliminary hearing.

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#4 — Globe | In Potash battle, Chinese players weigh bid

China is emerging as the pivotal player in discussions around a bid for Potash Corp. (POT-T153.34-1.17-0.76%) that would be rich enough to rival giant miner BHP Billiton Ltd.’s $38.6-billion (U.S.) hostile offer.

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#5 — Globe | Provinces on hook in future trade disputes: Harper

The federal government intends to ensure it will never again have to foot a hefty bill if a province’s actions force Ottawa to compensate foreign investors under international trade agreements, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.

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#6 — NP | Alcohol and gambling top oil and gas revenues in Alberta

CALGARY — Alcohol and gambling revenues are fuelling Alberta’s government, outstripping oil and gas.

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#7 — NP | Liberals plan to take census issue to Commons

The Liberals are vowing to bring the census battle to the House of Commons in September by tabling a bill to reinstate the long-form census and remove the threat of jail time for not completing a questionnaire.

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#8 — OC | Developer of genetically engineered salmon eyes Canadian regulators

OTTAWA — The developer of genetically engineered salmon for human consumption is now setting its sights on Health Canada, after U.S. regulators on Thursday announced their review of AquaBounty Technologies Inc.’s historic application for the American market is nearly complete.

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#9 — MG | PM announces Beaufort Sea haven for beluga whales

TUKTOYAKTUK, N.W.T. — Fresh from dancing his way into the hearts of some northerners, Prime Minister Stephen Harper didn’t let up on the populist touch Thursday: jumping on an all-terrain vehicle to race around Arctic roads, and declaring his government will protect beluga whales in the Beaufort Sea.

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#10 — Star | Rob Ford is Mr. Popular at city hall

They threw smiles his way. They laughed at his jokes.

Rob Ford isn’t typically the popular guy at city council meetings, but with the right-wing writing on the wall, the race to capture the possible mayor-in-waiting’s affection has begun.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | Alberta deficit projected at $4.7B

Alberta’s deficit is projected to be $4.7 billion at the end of the current fiscal year, according to figures released Wednesday by Finance Minister Ted Morton.

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#2 — CBC | RCMP make arrests for ‘terrorist offences’ in Ottawa

The RCMP say they have arrested two Ottawa residents and expect to make more arrests for what they describe as “terrorist offences.”

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#3 — CNews | Missing B.C. plane found. four dead

VANCOUVER – B.C. RCMP have said the four people who were in a plane that crashed while en route from Penticton, B.C., to Victoria more than a week ago are all dead.

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#4 — Globe | Police say there may be other victims in Alberta torture case

Calgary police say they are investigating whether the suspect arrested in a gruesome torture case that spans two Prairie provinces may have other alleged victims.

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#5 — Globe | Charest invoked ‘oath of secrecy’, Bellemare

When former Justice Minister Marc Bellemare quit politics, Premier Jean Charest reminded him that he was sworn to secrecy and could not reveal any information about the role of party fundraisers in the nomination of judges and the handling of cash payments to the party, a commission of inquiry has heard.

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#6 — LFP | Police watchdog issues Pham report

Fred Preston was seeking revenge after his wife left him when he opened fire on provincial police, killing one officer and shooting at the slain officer’s partner before being felled by six bullets.

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#7 — NP | Spending, transportation leading issues in municipal vote: poll

Voters consider how the city spends taxpayer dollars to be the most important issue in a Toronto mayoral race that has placed frugal councillor Rob Ford in the lead, says a survey released on Wednesday.

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#8 — OC | PM steals show with impromptu dance

INUVIK, N.W.T. — Prime Minister Stephen Harper: So you think you can dance?

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#9 — MG | ‘Tens of thousands’ of faulty rail cars riding Canada’s tracks with dangerous goods: TSB

“Tens of thousands” of defective railway cars, many of which could be transporting hazardous materials, might be riding the nation’s railroads, Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.

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#10 — Star | Province’s wage-freeze talks go off the rails

Secret wage-freeze talks between the provincial government and unions representing tens of thousands of health-care and education workers have quietly collapsed, the Star has learned.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

#1 — CBC | Slain Canadian tried to save Manila hostages: wife

A Canadian man who was killed along with two of his children in a hostage-taking aboard a tour bus in the Philippines on Monday died trying to save other passengers, his wife says.

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#2 — CBC | Investors charged in Potash Corp. deal

U.S. securities regulators have charged two Spanish investors with trading on secret information about BHP Billiton PLC’s bid to acquire Saskatchewan-based PotashCorp.

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#3 — CNews | Nortel retirees stand to lose one third of pension

MONTREAL – No one would want to see their monthly pension chopped by a third but that’s exactly what’s facing some former employees at the bankrupt, scandal-ridden telecom firm Nortel.

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#4 — CNews | Gun registry vote: MPs stuck between party whip, voters’ lash

OTTAWA — Some MPs who once supported scrapping the long-gun registry are now caught between their party whips and their voters’ lashes.

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Star | Canadians don’t need another gun registry report, Ottawa says

#5 — Globe | Protecting workers could complicate Afghan withdrawal

Stephen Harper admits he’s still searching for answers to the question of how Canada will protect its civilian workers in Afghanistan after Canadian troops withdraw in 2011.

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#6 — LFP | No way to know how provinces spend federal health money: Fraser

OTTAWA – Canadians don’t know whether they’re getting good value for money out of the health-care system, Auditor General Sheila Fraser said Tuesday.

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#7 — NP | Border officials face long haul to ID Tamil migrants

VANCOUVER — At the continuation of hearings into the detention of hundreds of Tamil migrants on Tuesday, a clearer snapshot emerged of some of the challenges that federal officials face in trying to verify their identities.

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#8 — OC | First Nations national calls for new ‘public policy project’ to replace the Indian Act

OTTAWA – Assembly of First Nations national chief Shawn Atleo is challenging bureaucrats to help drive a new ‘public policy project’ to replace the Indian Act and remake the relationship between Canada and 1.3 million aboriginal people.

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#9 — MG | Facebook on possible collision course with privacy watchdog

OTTAWA — The clock has run out on Facebook to revamp its privacy rules to avoid a public showdown with Canada’s privacy czar over how it protects the personal information of its 500 million users worldwide.

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#10 — Star | Postal union gives stamp of approval to Gaza mail mission

Through rain, sleet and an international blockade, the Canadian postal workers union is serious about getting mail to Gaza.

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Popularity: 2% [?]