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Good evening, readers.

The Lead

A newly elected MP got caught in a crossfire Monday after opponents of the government’s intention to ban military grade rifles circulated a letter he wrote to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair expressing constituent concerns over the Liberal gun plan.

Thunder Bay MP Marcus Powlowski wrote Blair in a letter dated Jan. 16 with six main objections or worries in his region about the so-called buyback plan, which won’t be put fully into place for at least two years under a Liberal timetable released during the federal election campaign.

“Over the course of the past three months, I have heard a wide variety of views on this proposed ban,” Powlowski, a former emergency physician at Thunder Bay’s Health Science Centre, wrote. “I believe it is my role to ensure that these views are brought to your attention for consideration.”

Tim Naumetz has more.

In Canada

Jean Charest is not seeking the Conservative Party leadership. The former Quebec premier made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon after weeks of speculation that his candidacy was imminent.

The scuttlebutt had been that Jean Charest would launch his bid for the Conservative Party of Canada leadership this week, but he is now expected to explain his decision in a Radio-Canada interview later today. The former Liberal Quebec premier’s plan to return to federal politics ran up against an ongoing police investigation into financing practices of the Quebec Liberal Party under his watch.

Kevin Dougherty has the details.

The Canadian government will table legislation to ratify the new NAFTA on Wednesday next week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed, following the introduction of a ways and means motion in the House on Monday.

The news comes within mere days of the U.S. Senate passing the new trade deal — which is known as the United-States-Canada-Mexico-Agreement, or USMCA — and in anticipation of the House returning to work in Ottawa. Mexico has already completed the ratification process, leaving Canada as the only signatory left to finalize the continental deal.

Victoria Gibson reports from Winnipeg.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu says it’s “hard to say” at this point whether the Trudeau Liberals will be able to implement the national, universal pharmacare plan they promised on the campaign trail within their second mandate.

“Some of that will be predicted by, predicated by, the responses of the provinces and territories,” Hajdu told reporters on Tuesday afternoon, as federal ministers wrapped up a three-day cabinet retreat in Winnipeg, Man.

Gibson has this one too.

The Trudeau minority government’s new lead on environmental policy says the first actions that will be taken in the new Parliament to fight the climate crisis could include introducing its promised “Just Transition Act,” tweaking the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and developing new carbon emission-reducing measures to ensure the government exceeds targets it set for itself for 2030.

Jonathan Wilkinson, who at the time was the fisheries minister, was one of 186 MPs who voted to pass a Liberal motion declaring that Canada was facing a “national climate emergency” less than three months before the federal election was called.

Charlie Pinkerton spoke to Wilkinson in a wide-ranging interview on Friday.

Lastly, the industry association for Canada’s beef farmers and feedlots was the most active lobbying group on the federal scene last month, largely thanks to a mid-December meeting blitz in Ottawa with its directors. Marco Vigliotti reports on December’s lobbying circuit.

Process Nerd: What the first meeting of the Canada-China committee reveals about the minority dynamics

The Sprout: Green Party calls for carbon tax break for farmers after brutal harvest

The Drilldown: Labour dispute against Co-op Refinery reaches new heights

In Other Headlines

Trudeau rejects ‘prisoner exchange’ of two Canadians in China for Meng Wanzhou (Globe and Mail)

First remains repatriated to Canada following Iran plane crash (CTV News)

Feds look to award $120K sole-source contract to company chaired by former Liberal MP (Global News)

Beijing think tank cancels global conference amid Canadian boycott (Toronto Star)

Huawei executive back in Vancouver court for second day of extradition hearing (Canadian Press)

Trudeau says he hasn’t spoken to Queen about security costs after Harry arrives in Canada (CBC News)

Internationally

The toll from a new virus in China rose to six deaths and more than 300 cases on Tuesday as millions of Chinese prepared to travel for the Lunar New Year, heightening contagion risks. Many in China scrambled to buy face masks to protect themselves from the previously unknown, flu-like coronavirus infection and airports around the world tightened screening. (Reuters)

Countries in Asia and elsewhere are checking the body temperatures of arriving airline passengers and adopting precautionary quarantine procedures in response to a new coronavirus. (Associated Press)

The United States also confirmed its first case of a new virus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced. (CNN)

U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate has begun, starting with a fight over the rules governing the trial. Lawyers for the president and House members known as impeachment managers presented their arguments, while trial rules proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell were changed, prompting Democrats to accuse him of doing Trump’s bidding. (New York Times)

Trump said Tuesday that he’s led a “spectacular” turnaround of the U.S. economy and urged the world to invest in America, but had less to say about climate change issues that are a focus of this year’s gathering of top business and political leaders in Davos. (AP)

In Featured Opinion

Alan Freeman: Bring the Sussexes to 24 Sussex

Errol Mendes: No constitutional barriers to Prince Harry and Meghan staying in Canada

The Kicker

La Presse had reported this afternoon that Charest would be entering the Conservative leadership race.

But moments later, after Charest told Radio-Canada he would not offer, La Presse deleted its article.

Twitter users were quick to post screen-grabs of the flip-flop.

Have a great evening!