Seven stories in the news today, April 22

By The Canadian Press

Seven stories in the news today from The Canadian Press:

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PM TRUDEAU SIGNS CLIMATE DOCUMENT TODAY AT UN

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be among the world leaders at the United Nations today as dozens of them sign the Paris climate-change accord. The agreement enters into force once it’s signed by 55 countries accounting for 55 per cent of global emissions. The agreement creates a system to evaluate whether counties are keeping their commitments: Canada’s is to reduce emissions 30 per cent by 2030.

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MIKE DUFFY BACK IN SENATE AFTER ACQUITTAL

After a three-year hiatus from his third-floor office in the Centre Block, Mike Duffy has been let back into the Senate with access once again to the full resources of the upper chamber. Senate officials announced his full standing within hours of a verdict yesterday that cleared Duffy of 31 charges. Duffy lost access to his office and Senate expense account three years ago when he was suspended without pay.

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PAYMENT DEADLINE LOOMS FOR FORMER SENATORS

The Senate is staring down the possibility of heading to court over more expense claims just one day after Sen. Mike Duffy’s was cleared on 31 charges. Friday is a Senate-imposed deadline for seven of its former members to hand over almost $528,000 in claims the federal auditor general ruled should never have been charged to taxpayers. The Senate has vowed to go to court to recoup the wrongfully-claimed cash from anyone who doesn’t pay up on time.

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CAMECO SUSPENDS RABBIT LAKE OPERATIONS IN SASKATCHEWAN

An oversupply of uranium around the world, caused in part by the shutdown of nuclear facilities in Japan, has resulted in Cameco suspending its Rabbit Lake uranium operation in northern Saskatchewan. The company says 500 jobs will be lost at the non-union mine and about 85 at its U.S. operations, including employees and long-term contractors.

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CANADIAN SKIING: A TALE OF TWO SEASONS

Ski conditions flipped this year in Canada with Western operators popping champagne and those in Central Canada bidding good riddance to one of the poorest seasons in memory. While the amount of snowfall at Western Canadian resorts nearly doubled from last year, warm weather melted away revenues and profits from Ontario and Quebec’s most frequented ski regions.

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TENTATIVE DEAL REACHED ON VOLKSWAGEN POLLUTING SCANDAL

Canadian owners of about 100,000 Volkswagen vehicles caught in the scandal over VW cars designed to cheat on U.S. emissions tests will have to wait at least until late June to learn details of how the issue will be resolved. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer has announced that an agreement-in-principle had been reached that addresses the majority of vehicles affected by the ongoing TDI emissions issue.

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PRINCE HAD SPECIAL CONNECTION TO TORONTO

Pop superstar Prince, who died yesterday at the age of 57, had a special relationship with Toronto, the city where he once lived. The notoriously private ’80s icon married Toronto native Manuela Testolini in the early-to-mid 2000s and settled in the tony Bridle Path neighbourhood. The pair divorced in July 2006, but the “Purple Rain” singer apparently never lost his affection for the city. “I love Toronto,” the singer told The Canadian Press in 2004 during an interview in Jacksonville, Fla.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Statistics Canada will release the retail trade figures for February and the consumer price index for March.

— Closing arguments will be heard in Toronto in the Ontario Securities Commission hearing against Sino-Forest.

— Finance Minister Bill Morneau will help unveil a silver collector coin celebrating the 40th season of the Toronto Blue Jays.

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