Five stories in the news for Monday, June 10

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FANS, CITIES PREPARE FOR TORONTO RAPTORS POSSIBLE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP

Excitement is building across Canada for a game that could win the Toronto Raptors their first N-B-A Championship tonight. Outside of Scotiabank Arena where the Raps will face the Golden State Warriors, the City of Toronto is preparing for what could be a wild night. Several streets will be closed to protect hoards of fans from getting hit by cars. And police are asking Torontonians to watch the game responsibly. Farther afield, fans in Halifax can watch the game at block parties, while those in Regina can take it in at the home stadium of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Start time for the game is 9 p.m. Eastern.

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‘WE THE REAL NORTH:’ NBA FEVER IN THE ARCTIC

In the tiny hamlet of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut — more than three-thousand kilometres northwest of Scotiabank Arena — the Toronto Raptors’ famous slogan takes on a whole new meaning. Paula Cziranka, a high school teacher in the remote community, says people there like to say “We the real North.” Cziranka says nearly everyone in town is awaiting the outcome of tonight’s Game 5 with “bated breath.”  She says basketball has been a “big deal” in Cambridge Bay for years. A men’s team from “The Bay” has won the prestigious Arctic Shootout tournament in Yellowknife for two years running.

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LIBERALS TO ANNOUNCE SINGLE-USE PLASTICS BAN

The federal government will announce a plan today to ban harmful single-use plastics such as drinking straws as early as 2021. A government official with knowledge of the plan says no list of banned products will be unfurled immediately. Rather, the government wants to look at the best evidence and conduct studies to determine which products should be outlawed to help reduce the millions of tons of plastic waste that end up in oceans. The announcement will be made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Montreal, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna in Toronto and Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in British Columbia.

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FACEBOOK LAUNCHES POLITICAL-AD ‘AUTHORIZATION’

Anyone who wants to buy political ads on Facebook in the lead-up to the next federal election will have to be approved by the company, but non-advertising that simply blurs lines —like a recent doctored video of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — may still be permitted on the social-media site. Facebook is launching its “authorization” process for political advertising today, including a number of steps to confirm that an entity or group buying an ad is real and is based in Canada. Starting June 30, political ads that appear on Facebook will show who paid for them and give options for users to view a range of information about each ad’s reach.

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CAN’T CONCEIVE? BETTER TO LAY OFF POT: DOCTOR

A doctor who works in a London, Ontario fertility clinic says men and women who smoke pot, and are struggling to conceive, should avoid using the drug until more is known about its possible effects on fertility. Doctor Sara Ilnitsky says some studies suggest that changes in ovulation patterns and reduced sperm motility are associated with smoking cannabis. The obstetrician-gynecologist and a co-author outline key points about marijuana and fertility in today’s publication of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Federal Infrastructure Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne makes an announcement in Montreal.

— Indigenous Peoples adversely impacted by large dams will hold an Ottawa press conference.

— Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Toronto Mayor John Tory make an infrastructure announcement related to flood mitigation.

— Edmonton trial for Tasha Mack, charged in the death of her boyfriend’s 19-month-old son.

— Manitoba Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires announces climate initiative for the trucking industry.

— Marion Buller, chief commissioner of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, speaks in Vancouver.

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The Canadian Press