The Friday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Nov. 10

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CANADA SAYS PROGRESS BEING MADE ON SALVAGING TPP: International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says progress is being made on a Trans Pacific trade deal. Champagne’s comments at the APEC summit on Friday came after a day of twists and turns that put the blame on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for helping to derail a meeting of leaders to discuss the deal. Champagne says the government won’t settle for any deal and that Canada is better off because of newly agreed improvements in the area of intellectual property.

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TRUDEAU MEETS SUU KYI ABOUT MYANMAR CRISIS: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was described as being very direct with Myanmar’s leader about the state-led violence that has triggered a refugee crisis. Canada’s special envoy on the crisis, Bob Rae, said on Friday that Trudeau was very direct with Aung San Suu Kyi and the two leaders didn’t immediately agree with each other. Suu Kyi has faced widespread international criticism for not speaking out against allegations that include arson, rape and shootings by Myanmar soldiers.

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GOVERNMENTS MAY WEED OUT MORE MARIJUANA REVENUE: A federal tax proposal says Ottawa and the provinces could rake in another $1 billion a year in tax revenues from legalizing marijuana. Liberal MP Bill Blair, who is the government’s point person on legalizing pot, released the policy today as he kicked off a series of public consultations. The federal plan would add an excise tax of $1 per gram of marijuana or 10 per cent of the final retail price, whichever is higher. The revenues will be divided equally between Ottawa and the provinces and territories.

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VISITORS TO CANADA TO BE QUIZZED ON WHETHER THEY’RE CARRYING MARIJUANA: A senior federal border services agency official says visitors to Canada will be asked if they are bringing marijuana into the country as recreational pot use is legalized. Peter Hill told a Commons committee that signs will be posted at border points to remind people that unauthorized importation of pot remains illegal. The border agency says the new question to travellers about marijuana will be similar to those that officers already ask about other controlled or prohibited goods.

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PROGRAM TO DETECT FENTANYL BEING EXPANDED: A program testing street drugs for the opioid fentanyl is being expanded from a single supervised consumption site in Vancouver to all overdose prevention sites in B.C. Dr. Mark Lysyshyn with Vancouver Coastal Health says results from the single supervised consumption site show the testing is saving lives. The B-C Coroners Service says fentanyl was detected in about 83 per cent of fatal overdoses so far this year.

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DOCTOR SAYS SCHOENBORN’S OUTBURSTS HAVE DROPPED: A psychiatrist says a man found not criminally responsible for killing his three children still struggles to control his anger. But Dr Marcel Hediger told a British Columbia Review Board Hearing on Friday that Allan Schoenborn’s outbursts have become less frequent. Psychiatrist Dr. Stephen Hart, an expert witness for the Crown, told the review board on Friday that he was skeptical that Schoenborn would be ready for escorted outings within the next two to three years, if ever.

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ONTARIO PARK CLOSED DUE TO LAND CLAIM PROTEST: Ontario Provincial Police say a park on the shores of Lake Huron has been closed to the public due to a demonstration. Police say a trailer has been parked at the entrance to Pinery Provincial Park in what police say is in support of a land claim. It’s not the first time there have been land claim protests at the park, which is not far from Camp Ipperwash, where a land claim demonstration turned deadly in 1995.

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FREE LEGAL ADVICE COMING TO NOVA SCOTIA SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS: Sexual assault victims in Nova Scotia will be able to get free legal advice to help them work out their options after an assault. Victims will receive up to four hours of independent legal advice through a federal-provincial pilot project. Justice Minister Mark Furey says the government has been told clearly that victims and survivors needed better support.

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NEWFOUNDLAND MOTORIST HAS RACKED UP FINES IN THE SIX FIGURE RANGE: Police in Newfoundland say they recently pulled over a driver who owes $158,000 in unpaid fines. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary say the man was caught driving with a suspended driver’s licence and no insurance on Thursday morning in St. John’s. Police say unpaid fines of $10,000 and even $20,000 are not uncommon, but $158,000 is unusual.

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FAMILY PHOTO AT APEC SUMMIT CAUSES STIR: It may be an offbeat photo, but it’s no joke. World leaders, including President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, donned matching silk button-down shirts at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Friday in Vietnam. Since 1994, the summit included a “family photo” in local attire for an annual display of co-operation among world leaders. It was a departure for Trump, who’s rarely photographed in anything but a suit and tie or a golf shirt.

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