National News

THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Ontario's Liberal leadership contenders clashed Sunday over the question of whether northern Ontario should be given more independence to resolve its own economic and social issues.

MONTREAL - Montreal police continued to search for clues on Sunday following the death of a man believed to be connected to organized crime, the latest in a string of killings in Quebec's largest city that one expert predicts will continue.

TORONTO - The office of Manitoba's chief veterinarian said Sunday it has received and will review footage of the treatment of pigs at a hog farm that has sparked accusations of animal abuse.

OTTAWA - Backbench MPs from the party that gave Canada its first transcontinental railroad appear to be in a losing, behind-the-scenes struggle over cuts at Via Rail, leaving some communities scrambling for new transit options.

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que.

MONTREAL - The accused Quebec election-night shooter is being sent for a psychiatric evaluation after delivering a lengthy rant in court Friday about how he was sent on a mission by Jesus Christ to rid Quebec of its "separatist problem.

EDMONTON - A police officer has testified that an Alberta MP locked himself in his truck and refused to co-operate the night he was pulled over for suspected drunk driving. Sgt.

OTTAWA - The sudden and severe jitters among Conservatives over their stealth fighter program are due to sticker shock as well as doubts that the country's aerospace industry might not reap as many benefits as initially trumpeted, according to govern

TORONTO - The government's branding of an Egyptian man as a terrorist threat to Canada's national security is based on flimsy evidence tainted by torture, Federal Court heard Friday.

WINNIPEG - The union for Manitoba's social workers says the government was warned long ago that child welfare in the province was so overwhelmed that children were in danger.