Five stories in the news today, March 21

Five stories in the news today, March 21, from The Canadian Press:

SENATE SPENDING REPORT DUE TO BE RELEASED TODAY

A report on senators expenses is set to be released today.Former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie was asked to look at the expenses of senators who were flagged by the auditor general. A Senate committee that oversees the upper chamber’s finances has reviewed the report.Some 30 senators were identified in the audit and ordered to repay the questioned amounts.Fourteen chose to go through the arbitration process while seven opted out of it. The others paid back the money.

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TORIES WANT TO KNOW IF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OFFICE HAS A FUTURE

The Conservatives intend to try to clarify the future of the Office of Religious Freedom, the funding and mandate of which is set to expire this month. They’re introducing a motion in the House of Commons today calling for the office’s mandate to be renewed. The governing Liberals have said that while they remain committed to Canada havinga role in protecting religious freedoms globally, they aren’t sure the office is the right vehicle. The office was set up by the former Conservative government in 2013.

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AIR CANADA FACING INVESTIGATION BY HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is looking into whether Air Canada discriminated against an Arab-Canadian man whose name appeared on an American no fly list.The man was barred from boarding a flight, and now the tribunal is tasked with determining whether the airline discriminated against him based on race, ethnicity or his Muslim religion — and whether its reliance on the American lists amounted to a discriminatory practice. Air Canada has insisted it does not profile passengers in a discriminatory way.

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REGULATORY AGENCY RELEASES OIL LEAK REPORT

A report on an oil leak at an oilsands site in eastern Alberta is due to be released today. The Alberta Energy Regulator has been looking into the 2013 leak of a bitumen-water mixture at Canadian Natural Resources’ Primrose oilsands site in eastern Alberta. An earlier review pointed to the problems at Primrose being twofold: faulty old wellbores at the site and the extraction method CNRL used.

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WILL THE PLASTIC WATER BOTTLE BE NEXT ON MONTREAL’S HIT LIST?

A passing mention by Montreal’s mayor that plastic-bottled water is next on the city’s environmental to-do list has caught the industry’s attention. After moving to ban plastic bags by 2018, Mayor Denis Coderre says it’s now time for a debate on the future of the ubiquitous plastic water bottle. The Canadian Beverage Association, which represents giants such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi Co. and Nestle, has hired a lobbyist to press its case for a recycling solution rather than a ban.

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