Six stories in the news for today, Nov. 17

Six stories in the news for Friday, Nov. 17

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ONTARIO LIBERALS SEEK TO END COLLEGE STRIKE

The Ontario legislature is normally quiet on Fridays, but will reconvene today as the Liberal government tries to introduce back-to-work legislation to end a nearly five-week strike by college faculty. The NDP had blocked an attempt to table the bill yesterday by refusing unanimous consent.  Some 500,000 students have been out of class since the strike by 12,000 college staff began Oct. 15.

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HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW

Summer pool hours extended and discounts applied as Big Marble Go Centre upgrades start

Apr 18, 2024

Medicine Hat company drawing in clients with witty signage

Apr 16, 2024

Medicine Hat College holding event for missing and murdered Indigenous women awareness day

Apr 16, 2024

KEYSTONE PIPELINE SPILLS OIL IN SOUTH DAKOTA

TransCanada Corp. said its original Keystone pipeline has leaked an estimated 795,000 litres of oil in South Dakota, just days before Nebraska is set to decide the fate of plans to expand the pipeline network. The company said the pipeline between Hardisty, Alta. to Cushing, Okla., and a line to Patoka, Ill., was expected to remain shut while it responds to the spill.

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NAFTA TALKS RESUME TODAY

A fifth round of talks aimed at forging a new North American Free Trade pact officially begin today in Mexico City. These negotiations are expected to focus on less contentious elements of the treaty. As a result, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her counterparts are sitting out this round. The previous talks in Washington last month were acrimonious, with each country swatting aside each other’s major demands.

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CHALLENGE TO QUEBEC FACE-VEIL LAW IN COURT TODAY

Lawyers contesting Quebec’s controversial face-covering law will be seeking a temporary legal reprieve today. A Quebec woman, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association launched a challenge last week. Their lawyers will seek a temporary suspension of the section of the law that forces public sector employees and private citizens to have their face uncovered when giving or receiving public services.

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NEW DRUG AVAILABLE FOR ASSISTED DYING

Only a tiny percentage of Canadians who’ve received medical assistance to end their lives has chosen to self-administer a lethal drug cocktail. But that could change now that secobarbital — the drug most commonly used for assisted suicide in other countries — is available in Canada. Secobarbital is considered the best way for suffering individuals who want to control the manner of their death as much as possible, including administering the medication themselves.

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U.S. PAYROLL FIRM CHALLENGES STATSCAN JOB FIGURES

An inaugural private-sector Canadian jobs report calculates that the economy actually shed jobs last month, contrary to a sizable gain reported two weeks ago by Statistics Canada. The report from ADP — a U.S.-based payroll processor known for releasing jobs data ahead of the American government — estimates 5,700 payroll jobs were lost in October. That’s a big difference from the 35,300 jobs that Statistics Canada suggests were added in October.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Bombardier Inc. CEO Alain Bellemare will hold a news conference in Pointe-Clair, Que.

— Statistics Canada will release the consumer price index for October and the stock and consumption of fixed capital, 2016.

— The Halifax International Security Forum begins today and runs through Sunday.

— Liberal MP Amarjeet Sohi will make a clean technology funding announcement in Edmonton.

— Gov. Gen. Julie Payette, will invest 10 Officers and 34 Members into the Order of Canada during an Ottawa ceremony.

— A plaque will be dedicated recognizing Montreal’s Windsor Hotel as the site of the NHL’s formation in 1917.

The Canadian Press