Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he will take all federal dollars out of programs and facilities that use prescribed drug alternatives in perhaps his strongest commitment yet to roll back a Liberal drug program he claims is fuelling “chaos” on the country’s streets. The Tory leader said his government would focus squarely on recovery, adding that there’s … Read more
Groups representing minority communities are warning that a recently introduced law giving Canada’s intelligence agency and the federal government new powers to counter foreign interference is open to abuse. Bill C-70 received royal assent on June 20. The law introduces new criminal provisions against “deceptive or surreptitious acts” done “for the benefit of or in association … Read more
Canada’s premiers have sent a letter to the prime minister demanding a thorough review of the bail system after the homicide of a Surrey, B.C., woman. Tori Dunn, 30, was killed in her home on June 16. Her death prompted an outpouring of grief in the Metro Vancouver suburb. The man who has been arrested … Read more
The Canadian government has launched a new interactive online map pinpointing the location of residential schools, and experts say it will help in the search for unmarked or forgotten graves of children forced to go to the institutions. Many residential school buildings have been torn down, paved or built over since the first one opened in Canada … Read more
The federal government has announced a return to the commercial northern cod fishery this year. DFO has managed a limited fishery under strict conditions in recent years. (Brett Favaro, Marine Institute) Thirty-two years after the federal government announced a moratorium that shut down Newfoundland and Labrador’s cod industry, Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier said Wednesday that it is reopening. But … Read more
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is recommending the adoption of an emergency decree to protect the boreal caribou in Quebec as some herds cross the “threshold of near-disappearance.” The Pipmuacan, Val-d’Or and Charlevoix woodland herds could soon be subject to federally imposed protection measures. In a letter addressed to Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette, Guilbeault writes that he intends … Read more
The federal government has announced salmon fishery closures and mandatory speed limits in areas where southern resident killer whales forage and travel in the ongoing effort to protect the endangered species. A statement from Transport Canada says the measures off Vancouver Island are aimed at protecting the whales from noise, contaminants and improving their access to prey. … Read more
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events across the country has caused the sums paid out annually for catastrophic insurance claims to explode — and annual payouts for the last four years now rank among the ten largest on record, says a new Statistics Canada study. “Homeowners have been particularly affected by extreme weather claims, with recent hurricanes, floods … Read more
A small city nestled in southern Ontario’s Niagara Region will be home to a new $1.6-billion electric vehicle (EV) battery plant that was officially announced Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford were among politicians in Port Colborne to speak about the investment by Japanese company Asahi Kasei Corp. Mayor Bill Steele said Asahi … Read more
It’s hard to get 260 Alberta municipal governments to agree on much, which is why their blanket organization seldom has anything provocative to say. What advocacy points can members as disparate as Calgary, Lethbridge, the town of Two Hills and the villages of Czar, Barons and Bawlf agree on? Safer fare, typically — suggestions that … Read more
