National News

CALGARY - Colorado's governor was not willing to wade into the debate over capital punishment Thursday in light of an offer from the lawyers of theatre shooting suspect James Holmes.

MONTREAL - A former Montreal municipal-party fundraiser, referred to locally as "Mr.

TORONTO - In a move aimed at striking a balance between the needs of students and public post-secondary institutions, the Ontario government announced Thursday it is lowering the cap on average tuition fee increases over the next four years.

HALIFAX - Trailing in the polls and saddled with an anemic economy, Nova Scotia's NDP government is calculating its odds for re-election as the legislature resumes sitting Tuesday, probably for the last time before voters go to the polls.

TORONTO - The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s plans to build new casinos must be halted, given that the property values of some of its existing gaming venues have plunged, the New Democrats said Monday.

WINNIPEG - Provinces introducing laws to crack down on school bullies are taking different approaches as they decide where to draw the line between chronic abuse and a one-time insult or slight.

OTTAWA - If money talks, then it's saying Justin Trudeau has a lock on the federal Liberal leadership while Joyce Murray and Martha Hall Findlay are fighting over who'll finish second.

HALIFAX - The communications arm of the Nova Scotia government has seen its budget triple in the last decade, a rate of growth that outstripped other government departments during an era of fiscal restraint.

TORONTO - The governing Liberals say Ontario's most vulnerable job-seekers may not get the help they need if Ottawa goes ahead with the new skills training plan outlined in the federal budget.

OTTAWA - The federal budget has endorsed a major report that urged the government to use the hundreds of billions of dollars of projected military spending to a job-creation strategy for the Canadian defence industry.