Five stories in the news for Wednesday, Nov. 23

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CLOSING ARGUMENTS EXPECTED IN HAWKES’ TRIAL

Closing arguments will be made today in the trial of a prominent Toronto pastor accused of performing sex acts on a teenage boy more than 40 years ago in Nova Scotia. Brent Hawkes, a high-profile rights activist, has pleaded not guilty to charges of indecent assault and gross indecency. The charges stem from events in the mid-1970s, when he was a teacher in his mid-20s in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.

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PROSECUTION EXPECTED TO LAUNCH CASE IN TRIAL INVOLVING POLYGAMIST SECT

Crown lawyers are expected to begin presenting evidence in a trial of three people linked to a polygamist sect in southeastern B.C. Brandon Blackmore, Gail Blackmore and James Oler are each accused of unlawfully removing a child from Canada for sexual purposes on allegations that date back to 2004. Opening statements were to take place Tuesday, but the case was adjourned while lawyers discussed what evidence will be heard.Oler and Gail Blackmore have chosen not to hire a lawyer, which slowed down proceedings.

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MP CHARLIE ANGUS EYEING NDP LEADERSHIP

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus is expected to step aside as NDP caucus chair today as he eyes a possible leadership bid. The 54-year-old northern Ontario MP, who also serves as his party’s indigenous affairs critic, is mulling his options as New Democrats look to replace Tom Mulcair as leader in October 2017. Angus, first elected in 2004, is an outspoken advocate for indigenous communities, including Attawapiskat First Nation — a reserve in his riding that garnered international headlines last spring for a series of youth suicides.

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LIBERALS POISED TO MAKE SOME ELECTORAL REFORMS:

The Trudeau government is expected to introduce a bill on Thursday that will restore the right to vote to expatriates who’ve lived outside the country for more than five years. Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef served the required 48-hours notice yesterday that she will introduce a bill to amend the Elections Act and make what she calls “consequential amendments” to other legislation. The opposition parties are questioning whether the Liberals will deliver on Trudeau’s most significant democratic reform promise — that last year’s election would be the last conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system. Monsef has said she’ll introduce separate legislation in May to deliver on that promise.

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HARRIS PAINTING COULD CHALLENGE CANADIAN ART SALE RECORD

After the record-breaking sale of a prized Lawren Harris piece last fall, another highly touted painting from the Group of Seven member is headed to the auction block in Toronto. Heffel Fine Art Auction House estimates the 1926 oil canvas “Mountain Forms” could fetch between $3 million and $5 million — including a 18 per cent buyer’s premium — at its fall live auction tonight. The canvas could challenge the Canadian art record set in 2002 when Paul Kane’s 1845 oil canvas “Scene in the Northwest – Portrait” sold for $5,062,500, after including the buyer’s premium.

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