Five stories in the news today, April 17

Five stories in the news for Monday, April 17

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DEFENCE MINISTER HARJIT SAJJAN VISITS INDIA

 Military matters, trade, culture and innovation are among the issues Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will be discussing during a trip to India. Sajjan arrives in India today and this week will meet with India’s finance, defence and corporate affairs ministers. The trip is aimed at strengthening defence and security relations between the two countries, but trade and innovation will also be on the agenda.

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NORTHERN ONT COMMUNITY HOLDS VIGIL WHILE SEEKING ANSWERS

Family and supporters of a 14-year-old girl who died in Kenora, Ont., are holding a vigil today to renew demands for a inquest into her death. Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace, from Grassy Narrows First Nation, was brought to a hospital by provincial police last April. She reportedly decided to leave the facility on April 15, and two days later she was found dead. The cause of her death still hasn’t been released, and her family says the long delay must be ended.

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WARM SUMMER MEANS INCREASED FOREST FIRE THREAT

Nearly a year after Fort McMurray, Alberta, was devastated by a monster of a wildfire, a climate scientist is warning that the coming fire season in Canada could be another bad one. Mike Flannigan is a meteorologist and professor in the University of Alberta’s renewable resources department. He says if the forecast is right — that we’re in for a warmer than normal summer — then we can expect more destructive fires.

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LEICH AND O’TOOLE: A TALE OF TWO TORIES

Conservative MPs Kellie Leitch and Erin O’Toole may be seat mates in the back row of the House of Commons these days, but their campaigns for the party leadership are miles apart. Leitch is on a populist path — one often compared to the trail Donald Trump blazed to the White House. She talks about “Canadian” values and rails against “out-of-touch elites.” O’Toole, however, doesn’t see the American example as transferable to Canada and is pushing a policy-based platform.

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BUNNY RESCUERES PREPARE FOR BUSY POST-EASTER SEASON

Rabbit rescuers are preparing for an influx of surrendered and stray bunnies during the post Easter period. Kaylie Ngo, president of London, Ont.,-based Hoppy Hearts, says the peak season for her rescue business is June and July — and much of the volume stems from baby bunnies that were hastily purchased as Easter gifts for kids. Ngo says that after a few months the young bunnies go through hormonal changes that can make them a handful to care for.

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The Canadian Press