In the news today, May 30

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence are expected to discuss the ratification process for the new North American trade agreement when they meet today in Ottawa. But Trudeau says he also wants to talk about what he calls the backsliding of women’s rights in the U.S. with Pence, who is a well-known opponent of abortion. Some states have recently passed anti-abortion laws, attempting to force the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its decision in the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade case that provides constitutional protection for a woman’s right to choose. Trudeau is to welcome Pence before they meet with the Canadian Council for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

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CHANGES TO SEGREGATION BILL GIVEN GREEN LIGHT

A committee of senators has approved changes to a bill that aims to end solitary confinement in Canadian prisons — including one key change that would place a 48-hour maximum on the amount of time an inmate can be kept in isolation. Last October, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale announced Bill C-83 would end the practice of segregating federal prisoners who pose risks to security or to themselves. Inmates who do pose risks would instead be moved to new “structured intervention units” where they are supposed to get better access to programming, interventions and mental-health care.

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SENTENCING TO BEGIN IN CFL PLAYER’S DEATH

A sentencing hearing is to begin today for a man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a Calgary Stampeders football player. Nelson Lugela, who is 21, was convicted earlier this year of shooting Mylan Hicks outside Calgary’s Marquee Beer Market in 2016. The trial heard that several Stampeders, including 23-year-old Hicks, a player on the team’s practice roster, had been celebrating a Canadian Football League victory over Winnipeg in a game hours earlier. A disagreement over a spilled drink in the bar intensified after closing time in the parking lot.

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B.C. COMMUNITY LOSING IV CHEMO CARE NEXT MONTH

Cancer patients who need intravenous chemotherapy in Haida Gwaii, B.C., will now have to take an eight-hour ferry trip to the northern mainland, highlighting some of the challenges of delivering health care in remote communities. Dr. Jaco Fourie, Northern Health’s medical lead for cancer care, says the authority has been unable to recruit a new pharmacy technician to mix the drugs. The loss of a single specialist in this case means about eight patients will have to seek treatment elsewhere as of June 21. Fourie says Haida Gwaii isn’t unique in its staffing shortage and the situation raises a concern about the future of delivering complex care in small communities.

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SENTENCING HEARING TODAY FOR FORMER TORONTO PASTOR

A former Toronto pastor found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his pregnant wife will face a sentencing hearing today. In February, a jury found Philip Grandine guilty in the death of his wife, who drowned in her bathtub in October 2011. Anna Karissa Grandine was 29 years old and 20 weeks pregnant when she died. Prosecutors alleged that Grandine drugged his wife with an anti-anxiety medication so she wouldn’t be as vigilant while he continued an affair with her friend. The Crown said he then failed to stop his wife from getting in a bath while sedated. Grandine had previously been tried for first-degree murder and was found guilty of manslaughter, but the conviction was overturned on appeal.

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INJURED NOVA SCOTIA WOMAN GIVES STRENGTH TO HIKERS

A man who publishes a hiker yearbook for the Appalachian Trail says the strength and courage of a Nova Scotia woman who was stabbed on the trail is giving strength to other hikers to continue their trek. Matthew (Odie) Norman said he’s in awe of the courage she showed after one man was killed and she was left for dead. The woman, whose name has not been released, hiked 10 kilometres while badly injured in order to get to help. The attack occurred in the early morning of May 11 in Wythe County, Va. James Jordan of West Yarmouth, Mass., is charged with murder and assault with intent to commit murder.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will make an announcement today for small and medium-sized businesses.

— Mark Machin, president and chief executive officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, appears before the House of Commons finance committee.

— The first-degree murder trial of Oscar Ferdinand Arfmann continues today. He is charged in the November 2017 death of Const. John Davidson of Abbotsford police.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today, May 30

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