By Canadian Press

Six stories in the news for today, Oct. 20

Oct 20, 2017 | 2:30 AM

Six stories in the news for Friday, Oct. 20

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POT ON THE TABLE AS HEALTH MINISTERS MEET

It’s cannabis day today at a meeting of federal, provincial and territorial health ministers in Edmonton. Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor is to deliver an update on progress to have marijuana legalized as of next July 1. The premiers and some police agencies have said the timeline is too ambitious and Canada won’t be ready by next summer. During Thursday’s session, the ministers floated the idea of an electronic prescription database to help fight the opioid crisis.

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Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

ONE OF 3 VICTIMS OF ARENA AMMONIA LEAK IDENTIFIED

One of the three men who died following an ammonia leak at an ice rink in southeastern British Columbia has been identified as Lloyd Smith, an off-duty part time paramedic. BC Emergency Health Services said Smith, who began his career as a paramedic with the agency in 1996, was working “at his other job with the City of Fernie when he died.” Former prime minister Stephen Harper’s wife, Laureen, tweeted Thursday night that Smith was a childhood friend.

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MEN HURT IN SASK. WILDLIFE FIRE STILL IN HOSPITAL

A father and son who were badly burned while fighting a grass fire on their land in southwestern Saskatchewan are still in a Calgary hospital’s intensive care unit. The family of Ron Wedrick and his son Evan says they are being treated by a team of burn treatment specialists. Grass fires whipped up by high winds gusting to more than 100 km/h threatened several towns and villages in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan earlier this week.

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SENTENCING HEARING EXPECTED TO WRAP AT LA LOCHE TRIAL

Final submissions are expected today at the sentencing hearing for a teenager who shot and killed four people and injured seven others at a home and a high school in northern Saskatchewan. The teen has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and seven counts of attempted murder in the January 2016 shooting in La Loche. The hearing is to determine whether the teen is sentenced as an adult or a youth.

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MICHAEL PITFIELD DIES AT 80

Michael Pitfield, a former Senator, clerk of the Privy Council, and close confidante to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, has died at the age of 80. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the death last night, calling Pitfield’s contributions to public life “far-reaching and enduring.” Following his time with the Privy Council and as secretary to the cabinet, Pitfield joined the Senate in 1982 and sat as an independent until his retirement in 2010.

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BEDBUGS ON PLANES? NOT SURPRISING SAYS EXPERT

A Vancouver entomologist says it’s no surprise bedbugs are hitching rides on commercial flights, given the spread of the insects and a rise in global travel. UBC professor Murray Isman says bedbugs do get into luggage, but it’s rare to hear of the insects bothering passengers. One a recent British Airways flight from Vancouver to London, Heather Szilagyi says she and her family landed to discover they were covered in bites.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will tour Resolute Forest products in Alma. Que.

— Bombardier CEO Alain Bellemare and Airbus CEO Tom Enders speak to the Montreal Board of Trade.

— Statistics Canada will release the retail trade figures for August and the consumer price index for September.

— Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer will visit Burlington, Kitchener and Cambridge in southwestern Ontario.

— Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca will make a transit announcement in Oshawa.

The Canadian Press