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

Highlights from the news file for Friday, Dec. 9

TRUDEAU HAILS CLIMATE PLAN: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is claiming victory in his campaign to craft a national “framework” agreement on climate change — even though Saskatchewan and Manitoba remains provincial holdouts. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s full-throated opposition to the plan, which includes imposing a price on carbon, was fully expected going into Friday’s day-long first ministers meeting. But surprise resistance from British Columbia’s Christy Clark and Manitoba’s Brian Pallister threatened throughout the day to upset Trudeau’s hopes for a triumphant finale to a year of federal-provincial climate negotiations. A last-minute addition to the agreement appeared to bring Clark on side, with Wall the only premier not on board. Pallister also did not sign but left the door open to signing later on.

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INDIGENOUS LEADERS SHOULD BE AT 1ST MINISTERS MEETINGS, SAYS FIRST NATIONS LEADER: The head of the Assembly of First Nations says Canada needs to change the Constitution to ensure indigenous leaders can be in the room when the prime minister meets with the premiers. Indigenous leaders were invited to Friday’s meeting with the premiers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, but they were frustrated at being excluded from the afternoon session on climate change. Perry Bellgarde says Aboriginal Peoples and their traditional way of life suffer some of the worst effects of climate change and they should be fully involved in decisions on what to do about it. Bellgarde says the Constitution does not recognize First Nations, Metis and Inuit leaders as representatives from an order of government and says until that changes Aboriginal Peoples will always be excluded.

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BIDEN SAYS REALITY WILL PROPEL GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION: U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden says the world is heading toward greenhouse gas reduction, even if the incoming administration of Donald Trump isn’t making it a priority. Biden was in Ottawa to speak to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers. He said whatever uncertainty exists around Trump’s environmental policies, he’s confident the United States will continue making progress toward a low-carbon future.

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JOHN GLENN’S BODY TO LIE IN STATE: U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered that U.S. flags on all public buildings and military posts be flown at half-staff as a “mark of respect for the memory” of retired astronaut John Glenn. Glenn died Thursday at a Columbus, Ohio, hospital at age 95. Burial is being planned for Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington. Glenn also served as a Marine combat pilot and he represented Ohio in the U.S. senate for more than two decades.

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SHIPBUILDING PROGRAM FACES MORE SETBACKS: Federal government documents are pointing to more delays in the construction of the navy’s new supply ships and the Canadian Coast Guard’s highly anticipated polar icebreaker. The documents recently tabled in the House of Commons say the delays are expected to cost taxpayers as the navy and coast guard are forced to rely even more heavily on stop-gap measures to address their needs. A defence official blames the delay on “challenges associated with completing the detailed design and organizing the entire supply chain” for the delay in the supply ship schedule.

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SLAIN DOCTOR’S FAMILY GRATEFUL FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT: Family members of a doctor found strangled and beaten to death in a suitcase says they’re grateful for the public’s support that they’ve received. Dr Elana Fric-Shamji’s family is urging that donations in her honour be made to those fleeing abusive households. Elana’s husband, Dr. Mohammed Shamji, 40, was arrested on first-degree murder charges earlier this month.

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SEARS STARTS SELLING GROCERIES: Sears Canada is getting into the grocery business. The Toronto-based retailer, which has been struggling with store closures and sagging sales, has signed a partnership with two speciality supermarket operators to run food markets at some of its locations. Management is hoping it will bring customers to Sears more frequently.

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BRITISH COLUMBIANS GET BLAST OF WINTER: The normally mild weather of British Columbia’s south coast has been replaced by snow and cold weather. Earlier this week, Environment Canada anticipated a considerable amount of snow to hit the south coast starting Thursday evening, but the weather agency has since dialled back its forecast. It changed its prediction to between five and 10 centimetres of snow for the Lower Mainland and between 10 and 15 centimetres for southern Vancouver Island. Forecasters say Thursday night’s snow didn’t materialize until Friday morning. Vancouver Island has so far received the worst of old man winter, with 12 centimetres of snow in some areas.

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MAN SAYS HE FOUND MOUSE IN COFFEE: A man in Nova Scotia who says he pulled a dead mouse from a cup of Tim Hortons coffee is asking for an apology from the restaurant chain. Jim Elliott says he bought two take-out coffees two weeks ago from the outlet in Stewiacke, N.S., and later placed one of the unopened cups in his refrigerator so he could drink it later. Elliott says he reheated the cup in his microwave the next afternoon, and when he opened the plastic flap to take a sip, he felt something touch his lips. Reached Friday, the manager of the outlet referred all inquiries to Tim Hortons head office in Toronto, which did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

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