Six stories in the news for today, Nov. 16

Six stories in the news for Thursday, Nov. 16

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CANADA OFFERS PEACEKEEPING TROOPS, EQUIPMENT TO UN

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has offered the UN soldiers, equipment and $21 million to help boost the number of female peacekeepers around the world. But his announcement yesterday in Vancouver was somewhat vague when it comes to just where Canadian troops and military equipment would be deployed. Government officials say those decisions may be six to nine months down the road.

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COMING FRIDAY — NAFTA ROUND FIVE

The fifth round of talks to revamp the North American Free Trade pact officially begin Friday in Mexico City. But unlike previous rounds, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and her counterparts won’t be there. All three say they held substantive talks at the recent Asia-Pacific summit and will be in constant touch with their chief negotiators. This set of negotiations is expected to focus on some of the less contentous elements of the trilateral treaty.

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QUEBEC CANNABIS BILL EXPECTED TODAY

The Quebec government is expected to table its own cannabis legislation today and set up a provincially owned corporation to control and sell the drug. Ottawa has promised marijuana will be legal across Canada by next July 1 and has left it up to the provinces to create their own legal framework on how the law would be enforced on their territory.

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VALERIE PLANTE TO BE SWORN IN AS MONTREAL MAYOR

Montreal’s first female mayor will be sworn in this afternoon (4 p.m. ET). Valerie Plante trailed incumbent Denis Coderre in the polls prior to election, but on Nov. 5, she captured more than 51 per cent of the vote. Plante, 43, entered municipal politics in 2013 when she won a council seat and she was elected leader of the left-leaning party Projet Montreal three years later.

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SECURITY DETAINEE SEEKS RELAXATION OF STRICT MONITORING

Federal authorities are balking at terror suspect Mohamed Harkat’s desire for more leeway to use the internet and travel freely within Canada, saying he continues to pose a threat almost 15 years after being arrested. Harkat is asking the Federal Court of Canada to approve his application for less strict monitoring of his everyday activities by the Canada Border Services Agency as he awaits the outcome of his protracted legal saga.

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SIX NEW NAMES ENSHRINED IN CANADA’S WALK OF FAME

Six more people have been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame — sprinter Donovan Bailey, actress Anna Paquin, environmentalist David Suzuki, civil rights leader Viola Desmond, country singer Stompin’ Tom Connors, and businessman Ted Rogers. The Walk of Fame on Toronto’s King St., was launched in 1998 and the six new additions bring the number of honoured Canadians to 173.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley will provide details of Alberta’s proposed cannabis legislation.

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with B.C. Premier John Horgan in Vancouver.

— Leadership candidates for the Saskatchewan Party attend a debate in North Battleford.

— Statistics Canada releases will include the monthly survey of manufacturing for September.

— The Fraser Institute will release a study on provincial and federal climate policies.

— The Halifax Women’s History Society will unveil a monument to honour women volunteers during the Second World War.

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