Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal (left) shakes hands with United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer as Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland looks on at a news conference on the NAFTA negotiations in Ottawa on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Highlights from the news file for Wednesday, Sept. 27

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TRADE MINISTERS TOUT NAFTA TALKS PROGRESS: The third round of negotiations to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement has wrapped up with the lead ministers for Canada, Mexico and the United States congratulating themselves for the progress made so far. But the spectre of a U.S. withdrawal by President Donald Trump is looming ever larger, thanks to stalled progress on major issues. The progress cited by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland includes signing off on one chapter of the rewritten continental trade pact focused on small and medium-sized businesses. Freeland said the three countries expect to sign off on the competition chapter prior to the next round of negotiations in about two weeks in Washington.

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LIBERALS BLAME TORIES FOR INFO LAW FAILURE: The Liberals are blaming the previous Harper government for the failing grade they received in an independent audit of the Access to Information system, saying the Conservatives left behind a badly damaged system. The national freedom of information audit found the federal access system is bogged down to the point where, in many cases, it simply doesn't work. The annual audit focused on the federal access regime this year and concluded it is faring worse than in the latter years of the Conservative government.

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LIBERALS FACE CALLS TO FIRE BACK AT BOEING: Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard says he wants Ottawa to take a hard line against Boeing after the U.S. Department of Commerce proposed a hefty 219 per cent countervailing duty on jets manufactured by Montreal rival Bombardier. The department's preliminary findings released Tuesday concluded Bombardier benefited from improper government subsidies, giving it an unfair advantage when selling its CSeries jets south of the border. Couillard says the US$1 billion invested by the province in the CSeries program was not a subsidy and that no other investment in Bombardier was currently planned.

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METRO, JEAN COUTU IN MERGER TALKS: Another Canadian grocery store and pharmacy chain conglomerate could be on the horizon as Metro Inc. and Jean Coutu Group are "engaged in exclusive discussions" about a merger, sending shares for both companies up. Metro announced Wednesday morning that the pair are discussing a deal that would see the Montreal-based grocer acquire the Quebec-based pharmaceutical chain. The proposed acquisition would cost Metro $24.50 per share, which would be paid 75 per cent in cash and the remainder in shares.

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COURT SIDES WITH BAND OVER TRANS MOUNTAIN: The Federal Court of Appeal has set aside a decision by the minister of Indian affairs that allowed the expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline through the Coldwater Indian Reserve near Merritt, B.C. The band expressed its concerns for plans to increase the pipeline's capacity by twinning it, and asked that the government modernize a 1952 agreement to allow for better compensation and environmental practices. In a split decision, the three-judge panel ruled the federal minister failed to assess the impacts of the easement on the Coldwater band and that it has a continuing duty to protect the band's interests on its reserve from an exploitive bargain.

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CROSBY'S WHITE HOUSE VISIT CAUSES CONTROVERSY: Just over a year after Halifax started talking about naming a street after Sidney Crosby, the hometown hockey superstar suddenly finds himself embroiled in an ugly political mess that has some residents openly musing about rescinding the offer. It's no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has faced widespread criticism on social media for his decision to support the team's upcoming visit to the White House. Those harsh feelings have also percolated to the surface in Nova Scotia's largest city, where Crosby is typically accorded god-like status.

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FORMER OLYMPIAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FRAUD: An investment dealer and former Olympic rower who went missing for nearly 18 months has pleaded not guilty to two fraud charges. Harold Backer was not in B.C. provincial court during a hearing Wednesday in Victoria, but his lawyer entered the not guilty plea on his client's behalf. Backer has elected to be tried by judge alone in a trial that is expected to last up to two weeks. The 54-year-old man disappeared after he told his family he was going for bike ride on Nov. 3, 2015, and Crown prosecutor John Neal said outside court he doesn't know where Backer was during those months.

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APOLOGY IN THE WORKS FOR MS ST. LOUIS: The Liberal government is working on an apology for a decision in 1939 to turn away a boat of German Jews hoping to seek asylum in Canada. While some had hoped the apology for the MS St. Louis would be given in concert with Wednesday's inauguration of the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to only make reference to the long-standing controversy in his remarks. The ship returned to Europe. While some passengers were taken in by Belgium, France, Holland and the U.K., about 500 ended up back in Germany, half of whom did not survive the Holocaust.

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HARDER CALLS TRUDEAU INTOLERANT: The Conservative MP at the centre of a firestorm over her anti-abortion views says her opposition counterparts were grandstanding and showing intolerance when they walked out on a vote to install her as chair of the House of Commons status of women committee. Alberta MP Rachael Harder spoke to her hometown newspaper in Lethbridge, her only interview since Liberal and NDP MPs left a hearing Tuesday to prevent the vote from taking place. She also says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is being intolerant of a young Conservative female MP, since he's been silent about Liberal MPs who share her anti-abortion views.

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DOWNIE TO RELEASE 23-SONG ALBUM: Gord Downie is releasing a new solo album of 23 original songs produced with long-time collaborator Kevin Drew. "Introduce Yerself" is slated for release Oct. 27 with each song written about a specific person. Downie's website says the tracks were recorded during two four-day studio sessions in January 2016 and February 2017. The list of titles include "Coco Chanel No. 5, "Snowflake" and "You Are the Bird."

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News from © The Canadian Press, 2017