The Thursday news briefing: An at-a-glance survey of some top stories

Highlights from the news file for Thursday, March 30

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GOVERNMENT PUMPS BIG BUCKS INTO FORD: The federal and Ontario government are each putting $100 million into a Ford engine plant in Windsor, Ont. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will secure the industry and good jobs in the Windsor area for generations to come. The Ontario government says the money will create 300 new jobs at Ford. The funding is also aimed at helping Ford establish an advanced manufacturing program and supporting Ford’s plan to create a research and engineering centre in Ottawa to develop new automotive technologies.

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WHITE HOUSE SETS TABLE FOR NAFTA TALKS: The Trump administration has sent the American Congress a draft list of priorities for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. The next step will be for the U.S. to issue a formal notice that it wants to renegotiate the deal and spend a minimum of 90 days consulting lawmakers and industry, meaning formal talks with Canada and Mexico could begin in the summer or fall.

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THREE DEAD IN HEAD ON COLLISION IN ONTARIO: Two young indigenous girls were killed when the vehicle they were in collided with another vehicle in southern Ontario Wednesday. The chief of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation says the girls, aged 12 and 14, were travelling home with their youth group after a game of laser tag in nearby Hamilton. A 21-year-old man in the other vehicle also died and six others were injured.

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RCMP GET LEGAL HELP IN BC ELECTIONS ACT PROBE: The B.C. government has named a special prosecutor to give the Mounties legal advice in their probe of possible violations of provincial elections laws. A statement says David Butcher will help the Mounties in an investigation into contributions made to B.C.’s political parties. The B.C. Liberal Party said last week that it found 43 indirect political donations worth almost $93,000 and that it planned to reimburse the money. Earlier this month, an NDP spokesman said the party found two errors amounting to less than $9,000 when it reviewed donations over four years, while four other errors were being repaid or reviewed.

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O’LEARY CAUTIOUS ON CONTROVERSIAL SENATE: Perceived Conservative leadership frontrunner Kevin O’Leary says Sen. Lynn Beyak’s comments on residential schools are unfortunate. But O’Leary stopped short of saying he’d kick her out of caucus for saying some good had come out of the government-funded church operated schools. O’Leary did say Thursday that he would talk to Beyak about the “very embarrassing” situation.

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MILITARY REVIEWING HOW ITS MONEY IS BEING SPENT: The chief of defence staff says the military is in the process of making sure the billions of dollars it gets is being well spent. Gen. Jonathan Vance says there are some areas where more spending is needed such as infrastructure. Vance says he isn’t convinced the military is making the most of its multibillion-dollar budget, which is why he isn’t planning to ask for more money just yet.

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ALBERTA’S PREMIER MIFFED AT SASKATCHEWAN: Alberta’s premier is miffed that Saskatchewan is offering incentives for oil and gas companies to move on his side of the provincial boundary. Rachel Notley says she is looking at whether Brad Wall’s government is breaking regional free-trade rules. Wall says he isn’t offering any specific incentives, merely letting companies know about existing policies in Saskatchewan.

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INDUSTRY WATCHERS SAY CENOVUS TAKEOVER MAY BE LAST BLOCKBUSTER FOR A WHILE: Some industry watchers say Cenovus Energy’s blockbuster $17.7-billion deal to buy most of the Canadian assets of Houston-based ConocoPhillips will likely stand as the biggest acquisition in the oilsands sector for years to come. While other deals are expected to materialize, analysts note there are fewer significant assets available after more than a year of consolidation transactions in Alberta’s oilpatch worth billions.

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ICEBERG COMES CLOSE TO OIL RIG: A floating oil platform off Newfoundland had a near-miss with an iceberg the size of a small office building. Husky Energy says the berg came within 180 metres of the SeaRose FPSO early Wednesday morning. Such close encounters are rare and the iceberg changed course away from the oil rig.

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POLL SUGGESTS MOST AMERICANS DISAPPROVE OF TRUMP, EXCEPT ON ECONOMY:

Two months into Donald Trump’s presidency, a new survey shows Americans mostly disapprove of his overall performance but are more upbeat about his handling of the economy. The poll was conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research amid the collapse of the GOP’s health care overhaul. It found that 42 per cent of Americans approve and 58 per cent disapprove of the job Trump is doing. There’s a brighter side for Trump: Americans split evenly over the economy — often a major driver of presidential success or failure.

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