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Six stories in the news for today, Aug. 25

Aug 25, 2017 | 2:30 AM

Six stories in the news for Friday, Aug. 25

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WILDFIRE FORCES MORE EVACUATIONS IN B.C.

An evacuation order affecting about 1,100 people living east of Kelowna, B.C., is in effect because of a nearby wildfire.  The BC Wildfire Service says the blaze was reported shortly after 1:30 p.m. Thursday and quickly grew to about 380 hectares in size.  Elsewhere, calmer weather and continuing progress battling other B.C. wildfires means more people can return home while campers and hikers will be able to access more of the backcountry.

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SENTENCING HEARING CONTINUES IN SASK SCHOOL SHOOTING 

A Saskatchewan court will hear final submissions at the sentencing hearing of a teen who shot and killed four people and injured several others at a high school in La Loche last year. The teen pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder. The hearing is to determine whether the teen is sentenced as an adult or a youth.

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FATHER OF BABY WHO DIED IN EDMONTON FIRE OFFERS REWARD

The father of a five-month-old baby who died in a suspicious Edmonton house fire says he’s offering a $25,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. Cordell Brown and six others who lived in the house escaped Tuesday’s fire, but his baby died of smoke inhalation and his wife suffered critical injuries. Brown urged people to “do what’s right” and get in touch with police.

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SHOULD SCHOOLS BEAR SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD’S NAME?

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is rejecting a call to remove the name of Canada’s first prime minister from public elementary schools in the province. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has passed a motion saying school districts should rename all schools and buildings named after Sir John A. Macdonald because he was in power when the first residential schools were approved. Wynne says Macdonald was far from perfect but the motion misses the mark.

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REPORT SAYS HOUSEHOLD DEBT COULD AFFECT HEALTHY CREDIT RECORDS

Research presented to officials at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the steady climb of the household debt-to-GDP level has put Canada’s long-term economic growth prospects at risk. The document pointed to a study that argued household debt accumulation eventually hampers economic growth over the longer term.

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CANADIAN PASSPORTS TO ALLOW ‘X’ GENDER OPTION

Transgender Canadians will be able to indicate that they don’t identify as either male or female on their passports by the end of the month. It’s the latest step in the federal government’s plan to eventually allow individuals to identify their sex as ‘x’ (unspecified) on passports and other government-issued documents that typically allow people to tick only “m” or “f.”

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will discuss NAFTA with the Unifor and UAW presidents in Toronto.

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Goderich, Ont., and the Stratford Festival.

— The New Brunswick government will release its first quarter financial results.

— Sofiane Ghazi, who is charged in the deaths of his pregnant wife and child, returns to court in Montreal.

— Gov. Gen. David Johnston will invest 45 recipients into the Order of Canada during a ceremony in Ottawa.

 

The Canadian Press