NEW HOSTS OF 'THE NATIONAL' UNVEILED: Viewers familiar with some of the most prominent faces at the CBC will feel right at home when four new hosts take the helm of the "The National" this fall. The public broadcaster unveiled its new team on Tuesday, choosing Adrienne Arsenault, Rosemary Barton, Andrew Chang and Ian Hanomansing, to shepherd a refreshed version of the nightly program. All four of the journalists have a storied history with the CBC and have contributed to "The National" over the years, which could help the network craft some of the format changes set to debut on Nov. 6. Alongside the new hosts, the CBC also plans to make "The National" feel more timely in an age when news breaks on social media. The broadcaster now plans to air the newscast live across all six time zones from studios in Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto. By going live in each time zone, the hosts will be able to track developing stories in real time. Traditionally, "The National" tapes at 9 p.m. ET and repeats the same broadcast for the West Coast, unless a major breaking story is unfolding.

ONTARIO NAMES JUDGE TO LEAD LONG-TERM CARE PROBE: An experienced appeal court judge will head a sweeping public inquiry into systemic issues at Ontario's long-term care homes that may have contributed to the murders of eight seniors at the hands of a longtime nurse. The province announced Tuesday that Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Eileen Gillese will have a broad mandate to review policies, procedures and oversight of long-term care homes and will file a report to the Attorney General by July 31, 2019. The inquiry was triggered by the case of Elizabeth Wettlaufer, who pleaded guilty in early June to eight counts of first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault. Her crimes, which took place over the course of nearly a decade in three Ontario long term-care facilities and a private home, have made Wettlaufer one of Canada's most prolific serial killers. The judge who presided over her criminal case said the 50-year-old never would have been caught if she didn't confess to the killings while at a psychiatric hospital in Toronto last September. Court heard she had access to insulin and covered her tracks when using the medication to harm her patients.

TRUDEAU AND VANCOUVER MAYOR MEET: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's looking forward to working with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson on expanding transit infrastructure, improving housing affordability and tackling the deadly opioid crisis. But Trudeau declined to say whether the two planned to broach the sensitive topic of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion ahead of a meeting Tuesday. Trudeau's government approved Kinder Morgan's $7.4-billion proposal last November despite Robertson's stalwart opposition to the project, which would result in a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic in the waters off Vancouver. Robertson and Trudeau have had a friendly rapport, but the mayor has said he was "profoundly disappointed" by the federal government's decision, calling it a "big step backwards" for Canada's environment and economy. Trudeau was in the B.C. Interior on Monday to survey the damage caused by wildfires that drove almost 50,000 people from their homes at the peak of the crisis.

NOVA SCOTIA COURT APPROVES OPIOID LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT: A Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice has become the second judge to approve a $20-million legal settlement with OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma, amid objections from lawsuit participants who say their lives were permanently damaged by prescription painkillers. Justice John Murphy ruled Tuesday that he would accept the settlement, echoing the decision of an Ontario Superior Court judge that the amount falls within a "zone of reasonableness." Murphy said two spoken submissions at the hearing describing the devastating impacts of addiction to the painkiller gave him pause. However, he accepted plaintiff lawyer Ray Wagner's argument that if the case had proceeded to trial in Canada there were formidable legal obstacles to overcome and it could have meant years more of delay in the 10-year-old case. The plaintiffs had argued in their statement of claim that the U.S.-based manufacturer didn't provide adequate warning about potential addictions. Purdue did not admit liability in the national settlement, which still must be approved by courts in Saskatchewan and Quebec before individual payments that the judge estimated to average between $13,000 and $18,000 begin to flow.

THUNDER BAY, FIRST NATIONS LEADERS PLEDGE TO FIGHT RACISM: The city of Thunder Bay, Ont., and First Nations leaders in the region have signed a pledge to fight racism in the northern Ontario community, which has been plagued by tensions between Indigenous residents and local police. The statement acknowledges systemic racism exists in Thunder Bay and says it must be challenged by all members of the community. The statement signed by the city, Fort William First Nation and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation states the need to improve safety for Indigenous students attending school in Thunder Bay. It calls for leaders to develop an anti-racism campaign for the city and includes a promise to work together on short-terms measures to protect students for the coming school year. First Nations leaders say Thunder Bay has recently seen several acts of violent racism against Indigenous peoples, including the case of an Indigenous woman who died after being struck by a trailer hitch earlier this year. A Statistics Canada report from June states 29 per cent of all anti-Indigenous hate crimes across Canada in 2015 were committed in Thunder Bay.

BELL APPEALS CRTC'S SUPER BOWL AD DECISION: Six months ahead of the next Super Bowl, Bell Media is re-launching a fight over the CRTC's decision to ban substituting big-budget American ads with Canadian ones during the big game. Bell is part of group, which includes the National Football League and unions representing Canadian creators and advertisers, citing a new research report that estimates the new ad rules cost the Canadian economy $158 million. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's ban on simultaneous substitution of Canadian advertising over American broadcasts during the Super Bowl was announced in 2015 but took effect during this year's game. The report, which was prepared by a media-consulting company for Bell, claims the CRTC's decision reduced audiences and advertising revenues, and moved advertising dollars out of the Canadian television system. Bell claims its advertising revenues dropped by $11 million and it lost 40 per cent of its audience for the football game. CRTC spokesman Eric Rancourt said the regulatory agency is assessing the application and has no comments at this time, but will announce next steps in due course.

NO PLATFORM FROM UCP LEADERSHIP HOPEFUL KENNEY: Former federal cabinet minister Jason Kenney says he won't have a policy platform as he seeks the leadership of Alberta's new United Conservative Party. Kenney announced what he called a "grassroots guarantee" in Calgary on Tuesday. He said he will consult members of the new party and others before determining what promises he would campaign on as leader in the next provincial election. Kenney says this is not a U.S. presidential-style campaign and it would be wrong to unveil a platform two years before another election is held in Alberta. He said Albertans voted out the Progressive Conservative party because of its arrogance and it's important not to make the same mistake again. Kenney says he will continue to express his opinions on a number of issues but will let the party's base have the final say.

WOMAN WINS MONTREAL COMEDY TITLE FOR FIRST TIME: The first woman to win the Just For Laughs Homegrown Comics title says booking agents and fellow comedians need to do more to encourage women and other marginalized groups to perform stand-up. Twenty-two-year-old D.J. Mausner shared the honour with another female comedian, Courtney Gilmour, at the festival's recently concluded 35th edition. The Montreal-based Mausner says female artists are increasingly taking their place in the industry. She wants comedians to make an effort to ensure their sets are more accessible to people of colour and other groups who have been historically alienated from traditionally male-centred material. Martha O'Neill, founder of SheDot, a Toronto all-women comedy festival, says she's elated to see Mausner and Gilmour win the title but sad it took 19 years for a female comic to do so. O’Neill says booking agents are hesitant to include more women in comedy lineups and female comics still have to break the stereotype that women aren't funny.

EXCESSIVE DRINKING IN MONTREAL DIVIDED BY LANGUAGE: A new poll suggests the binge-drinking habits of Montrealers are firmly divided along linguistic lines. The survey commissioned for Educ'alcool by polling firm CROP indicates English-speaking Montrealers are more likely to drink to excess than their francophone counterparts, with allophones consuming even less alcohol. The results unveiled Tuesday suggest that nearly half of the anglophones surveyed admitted to binge drinking in the past year, while about 15 per cent admitted to driving while drunk. Educ'alcool had commissioned a study in 2015 that demonstrated stark differences between the communities. Director general Hubert Sacy says by tripling the number of those surveyed this year has revealed three very distinct groups when it comes to drinking habits. Sacy said in a statement that what is of deep concern is a lack of police checkpoints for alcohol in the Montreal area.

The Canadian Press