Feb 16 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
** Weston family's Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust CHP_u.TO has struck a $3.9-billion deal with Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust REF_u.TO in a bid to expand beyond its core retail holdings amid a rapid shift in consumer habits. https://tgam.ca/2Bz7kxd
** Canada's leading business groups sent letters to Finance Minister Bill Morneau this week urging Ottawa to abandon plans for further changes to small-business taxes and to reduce Canadian taxes in response to major cuts in the United States. https://tgam.ca/2BzI9dU
** The Bank of Canada is exploring the idea of working more closely with Ottawa to coordinate interest-rate relief and government spending during economic slumps - a path some economists say could endanger the bank's independence. https://tgam.ca/2BwwE6J
NATIONAL POST
** Shaw Communications Inc SJRb.TO will eliminate 25 percent of its workforce after about 3,300 employees accepted buyouts, five times more departures than originally anticipated as the company charts its path into a digital future.
Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO said it will sell off more of its recently purchased natural gas assets, but it was reluctant to provide a divestiture target amid a depressing asset price environment. Doug Black, the independent senator from Calgary, introduced a bill Thursday in the Senate to declare the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion a work for the general advantage of Canada. ($1 = 1.2459 Canadian dollars)