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In the news today, April 19

Apr 19, 2018 | 2:30 AM

Eight stories in the news for Thursday, April 19

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PM TRUDEAU MEETS WITH COMMONWEALTH LEADERS

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will take part in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting today in London as he continues his U.K. visit. Domestic problems followed the prime minister to the British capital on Wednesday as he was greeted by environmental activists calling on the Liberal government to scuttle the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

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OTTAWA, QUEBEC STRIKE DEAL ON ASYLUM SEEKERS

Tensions between Quebec and the federal government were eased last night after new agreements were struck aimed at helping the province deal with an ongoing surge in asylum seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border. Following a meeting in Ottawa of an ad hoc task force, a working group was struck to look at the costs Quebec says it has borne due to irregular migration and a triage system will be set up to ask asylum seekers arriving in Quebec where in Canada they ultimately hope to stay.

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LIBERAL CONVENTION KICKS OFF TONIGHT IN HALIFAX

Thousands of federal Liberals are descending on Halifax for what’s being billed as the unofficial launch of the ruling party’s re-election campaign. The party expects about 3,000 supporters will have registered by the time its national convention kicks off tonight, making it one of the largest, non-leadership conventions in its history. This is also the first time Liberals have held a convention in Atlantic Canada, where they won every seat in 2015.

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FREELAND HEADS TO U.S. AS NAFTA DECISION LOOMS

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is heading to Washington at a critical juncture in the NAFTA negotiations, as the countries consider what a deal might include if there is to be one this spring. Sources close to the talks say major decisions have yet to be made regarding not only the content of an agreement, but even the very structure of how it might be presented. Freeland is in Washington for meetings today and sources say she could go there again next week.

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FUNERAL TODAY FOR VICTORIA POLICE OFFICER

Police officers from across Canada and the United States will march down a Victoria street today ahead of the funeral for Const. Ian Jordan, who died last week after spending 30 years in a mostly unresponsive state. Jordan was badly injured in a crash with another police cruiser as both officers raced towards the same emergency call in September 1987. He remained unresponsive for the next three decades until his death.

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TOM COCHRANE RELEASES REVISED “BIG LEAGUE”

Tom Cochrane has released a reworked version of his song “Big League” in honour of those affected by the fatal bus crash on April 6 involving the Humboldt Broncos team bus and a tractor-trailer. Universal Music says the singer-songwriter will donate all proceeds to a fund created to support those affected by the crash. Cochrane introduced an acoustic version of his revised song on April 10 to begin TSN’s NHL playoff preview special.

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BRONCOS GOFUNDME PAGE STOPS TAKING DONATIONS AS PLANNED

A GoFundMe page dedicated to the Humboldt Broncos, believed to be the largest of its kind in Canadian history, stopped taking donations at midnight Wednesday as planned. In the end, the effort raised $15,185,700 from more than 142,000 contributors from across Canada and around the world. Team president Kevin Garinger said this week that money raised in the GoFundMe campaign would be transferred to the new Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund.

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RULING EXPECTED TODAY IN BORDER BEER CASE

A New Brunswick man seeking cheaper suds will find out today if his 2012 beer run to Quebec will change the rules governing cross-border purchases. The Supreme Court of Canada is to make a key ruling on interprovincial trade, in a case that began when Gerard Comeau of Tracadie was stopped by police with 14 cases of beer and three bottles of liquor in his trunk. He was fined nearly $300, but a New Brunswick trial judge ruled that the charge violated constitutional law.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— The RCMP will provide an update on the Humboldt Bronco bus collision.

— Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer holds a news conference in Montreal related to Quebec.

— Statistics Canada releases employment insurance figures for February.

— Finance Minister Bill Morneau attends the G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors dinner in Washington.

— The Fraser Institute will release a report on how Canada’s environmental record ranks among other high-income countries.

— Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister will give a state of the province speech to the Brandon Chamber of Commerce.

— The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) holds a safety and flight operations conference in Montreal.

— Former IOC vice-president Dick Pound appears at Ottawa’s Rideau Club to report on anti-doping and other issues.

 

The Canadian Press