Category Archives: National
First Afghan human rights activists arrive six months after Ottawa’s promise of help
OTTAWA — Six months after the federal government promised to help thousands of Afghan women leaders, human rights activists and journalists flee to Canada, the first planeload has landed. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced the arrival of 252 Af...
P.E.I. potato farmers seek end to trade suspension, but U.S. officials want more data
FREDERICTON — Farmers on Prince Edward Island say there's no justification for a suspension of exports of Island potatoes to the United States and it needs to be lifted now, but Canadian officials say the U.S. is demanding more information. "It's
Quebec’s tax on the unvaccinated could worsen inequity, advocates say
OTTAWA — Advocates working with Black and Indigenous communities say a proposal to make unvaccinated adults pay a financial penalty risks further entrenching inequities in Canada's pandemic response, and adding another burden to those who are marginali...
RCMP commissioner breached duty with slow response to watchdog report, judge rules
OTTAWA — RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki flouted the law by failing to respond promptly to a watchdog report about alleged spying on anti-oil protesters, a federal judge has ruled. In a newly released decision, Federal Court Associate Chief Justice Joce...
Mark Indigenous languages decade by making Inuktitut official in Canada: Inuit UN rep
OTTAWA — When Lorraine Whitman's father, Chief Joseph Peters, asked for a cup of tea in his native Mi'kmaq, the care-home staff could not understand him. Whitman, president of the Native Women's Association of Canada, recalls how her elderly father, a...
Nunavut schools to reopen later this month as COVID-19 case counts decline
IQALUIT, Nunavut — Nunavut's education minister says students are to return to school remotely next week and start going back to classes on Jan. 24. Pamela Gross said Tuesday that chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson, will make a final
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy raises sanctions on Russia in conversation with Trudeau
OTTAWA — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the West must be ready to impose further sanctions against Russia for its military buildup on his country's eastern border. Zelenskyy delivered that message to Trude...
With start of meetings on EI review, businesses look for rethink of parental leave
OTTAWA — One of the largest business groups in the country says a sweeping review of the employment insurance system should consider whether to turn parental benefits into a separate program. It's an idea that has been floated previously, to hive
Slim majority support government lockdowns, restrictions in response to Omicron
OTTAWA — A new poll suggests a slim majority of Canadians support the latest round of lockdowns and other government-imposed restrictions as the Omicron variant continue to fuel an explosion in new COVID-19 infections. Fifty-six per cent of respondents...
Biden, ‘tired of being quiet,’ urges Senate to change rules, pass voting rights laws
WASHINGTON — "Tired of being quiet," President Joe Biden put Democrats on notice Tuesday that he supports changing how the U.S. Senate conducts the country’s business if it means passing legislation aimed at protecting the right of Americans to vote
