In the news today, March 19

Five stories in the news for Monday, March 19

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MALI MISSION DETAILS TO BE UNVEILED

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan are expected to unveil details today of Canada’s peacekeeping mission to Mali, which will include the deployment of up to six military helicopters. The mission is expected to include a marked female presence as part of a Trudeau government push to have more women on peacekeeping missions.

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SEARCH FOR MISSING MONTREAL BOY CONTINUES

It’s now been a week since 10-year-old Montreal boy Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou disappeared. Police spent the weekend searching backyards and going door-to-door in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district and are now considering using divers to search the Riviere des Prairies. Police have been checking the current and ice thickness, and if it is deemed safe, divers could enter the river today or tomorrow.

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ONTARIO LT.-GOV. TO DELIVER THRONE SPEECH TODAY.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says today’s throne speech is the only way her Liberal government can spell out its priorities ahead of the upcoming provincial election. Wynne prorogued the legislature last week to set the table for today’s speech and has denied it’s an attempt to wipe the slate clean before the vote on June 7. The speech comes a week before the government is set to table a budget.

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TODDLER DEAD, MOTHER CRITICAL, AFTER SUSPECTED CO LEAK

A 10-month-old boy is dead due to what police believe was a carbon monoxide leak in a home in Barrie, Ont. Police say the boy’s 30-year-old mother is in critical condition in a Toronto hospital and her two-year-old daughter is in stable condition. Police and firefighters were called to the home Sunday morning after the father arrived home and called 911.

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CIRQUE DE SOLEIL PERFORMER DIES AFTER FALL

A Cirque du Soleil performer has died after falling during a Saturday performance in Tampa, Fla. The Montreal-based entertainment company says French aerialist Yann Arnaud, 38, fell to the stage while performing an aerial straps number. He died from his injuries in hospital. The company’s president described Arnaud as an experienced aerialist who was well-loved by his peers.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— Mental Health Research Canada will announce the introduction of a national charity to fund mental health research.

— Transport Minister Marc Garneau will make an announcement regarding Via Rail in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor.