NEWS FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH 2018

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LOCAL
By Ana Bilokin

The Viens Commission, an inquiry into the treatment of Indigenous people by the public service system, has been granted a 10 month extension by the Quebec government.

According to CBC, the commission's new September 2019 deadline gives people more time to come forward with difficult stories of racism and abuse.

Once it has spoken to the 350 citizens that have filed reports, members of the community hope the inquiry will instigate change.

NATIONAL
By Allison O’Reilly

Screams and protest filled a Saskatchewan courtroom Friday evening just seconds after a jury declared Gerald Stanley not guilty in the murder of Colten Boushie.

According to CBC News, Stanley was acquitted on all charges after a two-week trial in Battleford, 130 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.Stanley's lawyer Scott Spencer had argued his handgun went off accidentally when he reached inside Boushie's vehicle to turn it off, killing the 22-year-old with a single shot to the back of the head.

Outside court after the verdict, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations vice-chief Kim Jonathan said the case is one more item on a list of "atrocities" towards Indigenous people.

Thousands of Canadians have organized rallies in cities and on First Nations to press for changes to the justice system.

INTERNATIONAL
By Loren O'Brien-Egesborg

All 71 passengers on a Saratov Airlines jet were killed after it crashed shortly after taking off at the Domodedovo airport in Moscow on Sunday.

According to BBC News, contact was lost four minutes after take-off and the plane crashed down at 1,000 metres per minute.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the crash and one of the recorders has been retrieved from the flight.