Five stories in the news for Friday, June 2
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CANADA 'DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED' IN U.S. CLIMATE DECISION
Canada's environment minister says the world will continue marching toward a greener future -- with or without the United States. Catherine McKenna calls U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord "deeply disappointing." She says the president is costing his country a golden opportunity to profit from the growth of clean-tech initiatives around the world.
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EX-NURSE FELT 'URGE TO KILL' SENIORS IN HER CARE
A sentencing hearing will be held later this month for a former Ontario nurse who's admitted to killing eight seniors in her care. Elizabeth Wettlaufer pleaded guilty yesterday to eight counts of first-degree murder, along with four counts of attempted murder and two of aggravated assault. The crimes took place in three long-term care facilities and a private home over the course of nearly a decade. The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario is calling for a public inquiry.
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FEDERAL OFFICIALS TRY TO PUT BRAKES ON SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
The Trudeau government is being cautioned against setting up a publicly accessible database of high risk child sex offenders. The former Conservative government brought in legislation that cleared the way for such a database. But officials in Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's department have raised a number of concerns including the risk of vigilante style attacks. An internal memo says government officials and the RCMP would review the plan.
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GOVERNMENT UNDER PRESSURE OVER MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION
The governing Liberals are being asked to say what they'll do about three UN drug treaties that pose a conundrum for plans to legalize cannabis by the summer of 2018. Conservative foreign affairs critic Peter Kent says Canada's international reputation is at stake. He says the government should pull out of the agreements rather than violate them.
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WOMAN DIED TRYING TO CROSS BORDER TO GET TO DAUGHTER
The president of the Ghanian Union of Manitoba says a 57-year-old woman who died south of the border at Emerson was trying to get to Toronto to visit her only child. Mavis Otuteye's body was found near Noyes, Minn., last Friday, and an autopsy suggests the cause of death was hypothermia. Maggie Yeboah says she has spoken to Otuteye's daughter, who just gave birth several weeks ago. Yeboah says Otuteye's daughter "is in shock, she's devastated," and she's "blaming herself."
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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:
— Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses trade relations and transportation infrastructure with Congressmen Keith James Rothfus and Mike Kelly in Pittsburgh.
— Statistics Canada releases international merchandise trade figures for April, along with labour productivity, hourly compensation and unit labour cost for the first quarter.
— Brig.-Gen. Daniel MacIsaac, Joint Task Force-Iraq, provides an update on the Global Coalition to dismantle and defeat Daesh.
— A preliminary hearing is held for Nelson Tony Lugela, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Calgary Stampeders player Mylan Hicks.
The Canadian Press
