PM TRUDEAU ACTS TO BRING CANADA CLOSER TO CHINA
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed to deepen Canada’s relationship with China and explore a possible free trade deal. After meeting with Trudeau today in Beijing, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told reporters through a translator that Canada and China will launch a feasibility study on an eventual free trade pact.
EXTENSION SECURED IN CANADA-CHINA CANOLA DISPUTE
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says existing dockage rules with China on canola exports have been extended beyond a Sept. 1 deadline as the two countries continue to negotiate a long-term solution. The two countries disagree on the level of “dockage” — foreign material such as weeds, other crops and detritus — that should be considered acceptable in Canada’s canola exports to China. The Chinese government had given Canada until Thursday to cut the level of foreign material in its deliveries by more than half.
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GRIM ECONOMIC READING FOR Q2 EXPECTED
The latest reading on the state of the Canadian economy is coming this morning and expectations are the results will be grim. Statistics Canada is set to release data on how the economy fared in the second quarter, a three-month period marred by the wildfires in Fort McMurray, Alta., which forced the suspension of several oilsands operations.
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MILITARY TOUTS PROGRESS ON SEXUAL ASSAULT
The military’s top brass says progress has been made in the war on sexual misconduct in the ranks, as evidenced by an increase in the number of cases being reported. But they admit that victory remains a distant and elusive goal, even as questions persist over what repercussions offenders are really facing. During the first six months of the year, military police received 106 complaints of sexual misconduct that warranted a criminal investigation — putting 2016 on pace for a 22 per cent increase over 2015.
