In the news today, Oct. 16

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OXFAM SAYS MORE HELP NEEDED FOR WOMEN REFUGEES

Justin Trudeau’s self-proclaimed feminist government could and should be doing more to address gender-specific challenges faced by female refugees affected by wars and displacement, according to a new report from Oxfam Canada. The report takes a close look at how Canada provides international humanitarian aid and the gaps that exist when it comes to outcomes for women and girls in refugee situations. It says Canada has made great strides when it comes to making gender equality and feminism a key priority of its domestic and foreign policy agenda, but more can be done to help women being disproportionately affected by global crisis.

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POT SHOP RAIDS NOT LIKELY ON WEDNESDAY: POLICE

Police departments across Canada are fully prepared for marijuana legalization on Wednesday, but there won’t be swift crackdowns on illegal pot shops or craft cannabis growers, says the head of the country’s police chiefs. Vancouver Chief Const. Adam Palmer, president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said he hasn’t heard of any police departments planning raids of unlicensed dispensaries the day pot becomes legal. Police have faced questions about their readiness for this week’s historic change in law. Palmer acknowledged Canadians are entering “uncharted waters,” but noted officers have been policing drug-impaired drivers and illicit grow-ops for years.

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B.C. MAN WANTED IN SHARK-TANK DIP, ASSAULT

Police say a man who stunned patrons and staff at a popular Toronto aquarium when he stripped naked, hopped a security barrier and jumped into a large shark tank is wanted in connection with an earlier assault. The man spent several minutes swimming in the tank with sand tiger sharks, sawfish and moray eels at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, located beside Toronto’s CN Tower, around 10:30 p.m. Friday as a crowd looked on. Police say they are looking for David Weaver, 37, of Nelson, B.C., who is also wanted in connection with an alleged assault at another location earlier Friday evening that seriously injured a man.

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SASK. COUPLE MARRIES 15 TIMES AROUND THE WORLD

Karl Fix and Sandra Beug have had some interesting experiences marrying each other again and again in different countries around the world: they found themselves covered in spit in Ethiopia; they both caught malaria on the way to Timbuktu in Mali and Fix almost died; and in Papua, Indonesia, this year to celebrate their upcoming 15th wedding anniversary, Fix wore a koteka — a traditional type of codpiece that leaves almost nothing to the imagination. Fix, 68, owns a construction company in Regina and Beug, 58, is a dentist originally from Raymore, Sask. They met in 2001 and married in January 2004. Since meeting, the travel buffs have visited 116 countries together and celebrated their marriage in places such as Nepal, Suriname, Mozambique and Greenland.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS:

— Government of Canada officials will hold a media technical briefing on the legalization of cannabis.

— U.S. Customs and Border Protection will hold a teleconference with media to reiterate that marijuana remains a controlled substance under U.S. federal law and that policies and procedures will not change following Canada’s legalization.

— Peter Weltman, Ontario’s financial accountability officer, will release a financial review of the decision to cancel the province’s cap-and-trade program.

— Kamloops city council votes on whether to approve B.C.’s first government-run cannabis store.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today, Oct. 16

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