Brexit a 'step backwards' and Canada's coronavirus plans; In The News for Jan. 31

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Jan. 31 ... What we are watching in Canada ...

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Jan. 31 ...

What we are watching in Canada ...

Canada is already taking the right steps to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, so there is no need to change things now that the World Health Organization has declared a global emergency over the outbreak, federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said Thursday.

"The World Health Organization's global emergency status is really ... about helping countries that do not have the same level of sophistication as Canada, or perhaps the United States, to protect their citizens if in fact they have a citizen who returns from China who is ill, or has been close to someone who has returned from China who is ill," Hajdu said in Ottawa.

"You know this has been working very well in Canada, because we have actually been able to detect cases very quickly, support those people to get better and prevent the spread of disease."

The UN health agency defines an international emergency as an "extraordinary event" that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a co-ordinated response.

Though many people experience only mild symptoms from the virus, China has reported more than 9,600 cases, including 213 deaths.

Hajdu stressed the need and the responsibility to remain calm.

"I think that anything that we are doing as politicians or leaders or members of the media that will create a sense of anxiety or panic is actually a dangerous road to travel down," she said.

Dr. Theresa Tam, chief public health officer, reiterated Thursday that the chances of an outbreak in Canada remain low.

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Also this ...

Canadian bats are unlikely to be the source of virus strains that can infect humans such as the one currently raising global alarms, a bat expert says.

"We've lived with our bats for a long time and it's never happened," said virologist Vikram Misra of the University of Saskatchewan.

"I really think it's not an issue."

Researchers are closing in on bats as the origin of the new coronavirus scare that has quarantined a Chinese city of 11 million people and infected humans in at least 18 countries.

More than 7,700 people in China have been diagnosed with the new virus and 170 of them have died. The World Health Organization on Thursday declared the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern."

In research released Thursday, scientists said the new virus is closely related to three coronaviruses found in bats. A separate report published in the medical journal The Lancet said data collected so far is consistent with the virus having initially been hosted by bats.

Misra, who has published a series of papers on bat viruses, said even healthy bats are normally full of them, but they are kept in check by the animal's unique immune system.

"There are very, very few viruses that make bats sick."

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What we are watching in the U.S. ...

Republican seatmates Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski passed a piece of paper back and forth, nodded — and then sent the note on an unusual journey across the Senate aisle, into the hands of Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Two hours later, Sinema posed the trial's first bipartisan question. On behalf of the power pocket of moderates, she asked: Will President Donald Trump assure the American public that private citizens won't conduct foreign policy unless the State Department requests it?

The query referred to the president's private lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, pressuring Ukraine to give Trump political help. But by asking it together — with Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia — the impeachment trial wildcards showed off their combined, potential influence over the deeply polarized Senate.

The trial's outcome is all but known: With a 53-seat Republican majority, the Senate is expected to acquit the impeached president of the abuse and obstruction charges against him. And the question of calling witnesses and Trump's acquittal could be answered quickly. GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who is retiring, was expected to announce his decision on witnesses after the end of Thursday's questions.

Meanwhile, both sides were keeping close tabs on where the moderates stand.

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What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

Former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, who has spent much of his 93 years working to forge a united Europe, is remarkably blasé about Brexit.

Barely 24 hours before Britain becomes the first country to quit the European Union, Giscard d'Estaing called it a “step backward” geopolitically, but took the long view.

“We functioned without Britain during the first years of the European Union ... So we will rediscover a situation that we have already known," he told The Associated Press in an interview.

Born in Germany in the wake of World War I, Giscard d'Estaing helped liberate Paris from the Nazis in the next world war, and later laid the groundwork for the shared euro currency and helped integrate Britain into what became the EU in the 1970s.

Seeing the Britons leave, “I feel great regret,” he acknowledged, both for himself and the world order his generation built.

“We live in troubled times, with the United States taking a rather surprising direction, with this continuing situation of violence in the Middle East and disorder within the global system," he said.

“Europe was a means to develop a stable and efficient system, respectful of political and economic rules. It was an important project,” he said, "and Brexit is the first step backwards.”

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ICYMI (In case you missed it) ...

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says a national ban on many single-use plastics is on track for next year after a government report concluded there is more than enough evidence proving plastic pollution is harmful.

The federal Liberals promised last June they'd seek to ban plastic versions of number of products such as straws, take-out containers and grocery bags.

The report says that in 2016, 29,000 tonnes of plastic garbage, the equivalent of about 2.3 billion single-use plastic water bottles, ended up as litter in Canada — on beaches, in parks, in lakes, and even, says the report, in the air.

Some of the litter is easily visible: pieces bigger than 5 mm are called "macroplastics." But much of it is plastic most of us can't easily see, known as "microplastics" and "microfibres." These are tiny remnants of plastic smaller than 5 mm, that come when larger pieces of plastic are broken apart. They are also shed off things like clothes made of synthetic fabric, fleece blankets, and tires.

The science looks at the impact of all types of plastics and concluded that evidence is clear macroplastics are hurting wildlife: Dead birds found with plastic in their intestines, whales that wash up on shore with stomachs filled with tonnes of plastic they ingested as they swam, including flip flops and nylon ropes.

The evidence is less clear about the harmful impacts of people or wildlife ingesting microplastics, and the scientists recommended further study be undertaken. A new fund of $2.2 million over the next two years will fund research on microplastics.

Wilkinson says the specific items that will be banned are still being worked out with scientists. A list will be released in the next few months, he said.

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Weird and wild ...

LA VISTA, Neb. — Two customers at a movie theatre bar in Nebraska were treated at a hospital after they were served cleaning solution in their drinks apparently by accident.

Authorities say the women took sips and soon began to feel burning sensations in their throats and stomachs Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in the Omaha suburb of La Vista.

They've been released from the hospital.

The La Vista police chief says a bottle that had contained a liqueur was being used to store the cleaning solution and had been placed near the bar.

A partner in the franchise location says employee responsible has been fired.

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Know your news ...

Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair set the overall international goals record during an Olympic soccer qualifying match this week. Sinclair scored her 185th goal against Saint Kitts and Nevis in Texas to surpass retired U.S. star Abby Wambach. Who holds the men's record?

(Keep scrolling for the answer)

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On this day in 1996 ...

Canada's foremost prima ballerina, Karen Kain, announced she would retire as principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada after the 1996-97 season. Her career spanned more than 25 years.

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Entertainment news ...

OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is hinting that changes to Canada's broadcasting and telecom rules could include making online streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon pay sales taxes and requiring them to invest in Canadian programming. 

This week, an expert panel delivered a report recommending sweeping new powers be given to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, including oversight of foreign streaming services.

Guilbeault promises legislation to reform Canada's broadcasting and telecom rules within a matter of months, but offered few details on what the proposed changes will be.

He suggests there were a few of the panel's particular recommendations that he agreed with, including one saying Ottawa should immediately require streaming companies to start collecting and remitting GST/HST.

"I think that's about fairness. Everybody is paying the GST in Canada, I don't see why some of the richest companies in the world shouldn't pay GST in Canada," Guilbeault said.

He also noted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a recent interview that a measure to tax online streaming services could be coming in the federal budget.

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Know your news answer ...

Ali Daei. Daei had 109 goals in 149 international appearances.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 31, 2020.

The Canadian Press