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Six stories in the news for today, Oct. 10

Oct 10, 2017 | 2:30 AM

Six stories in the news for Tuesday, Oct. 10

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TRUDEAU, HARPER TO CROSS PATHS IN WASHINGTON

The current prime minister and his predecessor will both be in Washington this week for the same reason — the renegotiation of NAFTA. Stephen Harper is scheduled to attend a panel discussion on trade Wednesday afternoon, just as Trudeau is a few blocks away at the White House, discussing trade with President Donald Trump.  The fourth round of NAFTA talks in Washington are expected see a ratcheting up in intensity as countries begin to broach more difficult issues.

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IS TRUMP TRYING TO KILL NAFTA?

Call it the art of the non-deal. As the fourth round of NAFTA talks begins this week near Washington, a consensus is growing that a series of untenable U.S. bargaining positions is part of simple plan by U.S. President Donald Trump to eventually walk away from the trade pact to please his domestic base. Some cite a Buy American proposal presented in the third round of talks in Ottawa two weeks ago. But the U.S. might wade into another contentious area in this round: its desire for more access to Canada’s protected and supply managed dairy industry.

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POLL: MANY DON’T WANT ‘CANADA FIRST’ APPROACH

A new survey suggests Canadians don’t want this country going down the same path as the U.S. The Ekos-Canadian Press survey asked Canadians whether they’d like to see Canada become more or less like the U.S., or for things to remain as they are. Fifty-two per cent said they’d like this country to be less like the U.S., and 60 per cent of those surveyed don’t want a “Canada First” policy similar to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach. The survey was conducted between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1.

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N.S. HOSPITAL REWRITES RULES AFTER DEATH

A Nova Scotia hospital has rewritten waiting time rules and end-of-life protocols in response to the disturbing story of how a 68-year-old man dying from pancreatic cancer languished for six hours in an ER hallway. A report on the death of Jack Webb says that as of July 1, the Halifax Infirmary requires internal medicine specialists to meet their patients within two hours when transferred to the hospital after being seen by another facility.

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N.S. ACTIVISTS PUSH FOR REPARATIONS DISCUSSION

African-Nova Scotian organizers say it’s time for a centuries-overdue discussion about Canada’s legacy of slavery, its lasting harms on black Canadians and potential forms of reparation. “Canada is lagging behind (many countries) on the reparations issue because we haven’t had enough support from the government,” says Lynn Jones, who chairs the Nova Scotia chapter of the Global Afrikan Congress. “We’re having these conversations around the province … and if the government were in tune, the government would be doing this.”

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PENGUINS: WHITE HOUSE VISIT NOT ABOUT POLITICS

Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins view today’s trip to the White House as the final celebration for a championship season, not some sort of statement about where they stand on President Donald Trump.  Crosby said Monday there is “absolutely no politics involved” and hopes it stays that way. Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan he expects full team attendance for the brief ceremony.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Statistics Canada will release the value of building permits for August.

— Indigenous survivors hold a news conference to respond to the national settlement for the ’60s Scoop survivors.

— Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer will speak about the effects of a planned tax hike on Edmonton businesses.

— The BC Utilities Commission holds a community input session in Nanaimo as part of its review of the Site C dam project.

— Trial continues for Ontario Liberals Pat Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed in a bribery case regarding a Sudbury byelection in 2015.

— Criminal trial continues in Ottawa for Ali Omar Ader, charged in kidnapping of journalist Amanda Lindhout.

— Trial continues in Ottawa for Basil Borutski, charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of three Ottawa Valley women in 2015.

— N.L. Services Minister Sherry Gambin-Walsh unveils the new, more secure driver’s licence for the province.

 

The Canadian Press