Good morning,
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a busy day ahead of him at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He's meeting with business executives, including the heads of Alibaba and BlackRock, and giving a keynote speech.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the 11 remaining nations involved in the Trans Pacific Partnership talks have reportedly come to a deal. The wide-ranging trade deal had nearly collapsed when the Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of talks a year ago, but according to reports a new deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
Talks to renegotiate the North American free trade agreement continue in Montreal this week.
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TODAY'S HEADLINES
The RCMP's commanding officer in Nova Scotia says a doctor -- now retired from the force -- is facing allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted women between 1981 and 2003. The RCMP says local police are investigating, though no charges have been laid yet.
A sexual-assault case in Ontario is the latest to contribute to the complicated jurisprudence around alcohol and sex.
Germany is halting arms exports to Saudi Arabia because of how the country is conducting a violent military campaign in Yemen. Canada, which exported billions of dollars of armoured vehicles to the Saudis, says it is still working on an investigation of the Yemeni conflict that was ordered up last summer.
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney will defend NAFTA at a U.S. Senate committee in Washington next week.
The United States has averted a government shutdown for a few weeks, on the promise that immigration reform will get a fulsome debate in the next two weeks.
And executives at Facebook admit the social media platform may be doing harm to democratic debate. "As unprecedented numbers of people channel their political energy through this medium, it's being used in unforeseen ways with societal repercussions that were never anticipated," one wrote in a blog post Monday.
Globe and Mail editorial board on NAFTA: "Many people who have dealt with Mr. Trump report that his position on an issue tends to align with that of the last person he spoke to. Since he reportedly likes to watch TV and make phone calls in bed, where he can't be managed by his chief of staff, it's impossible to know who will have his attention during eleventh-hour NAFTA negotiations, except that it won't be someone who resides in Ottawa."
Andrew Coyne (National Post) on trade: "Not long ago, a business could locate in Canada with reasonable prospects of barrier-free access to most of the major markets of the world. Now, even the American border looks more and more like a wall: an investor today will think twice before putting a plant on this side. Much of the blame for that, certainly, can be attached to the Trump administration, but what are we doing to compensate on other fronts?"
Vicky Mochama (Metro) on federal disability policy: "To make life better for women, we must advocate with all women. To do that, we must deal with the very specific issues of women whose lives bear the weight of intersecting oppression. Not only must we confront untrue and minimizing myths about women with disabilities, there has to be a policy response that meaningfully works to reduce the violence they experience."
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