Category Archives: National
MPs ponder whether virtual proceedings have any place in post-pandemic Parliament
OTTAWA — Like millions of Canadians, members of Parliament are contemplating with mixed emotions the prospect of returning to business as usual after 15 months of working from home. For most MPs, a return to normal means gruelling travel, long stretche...
Solar lights placed next to each unmarked grave at former residential school site
COWESSESS FIRST NATION — Members of the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan spent Saturday morning placing solar-powered lights next to each of the 751 unmarked graves near the site of a former residential school. A vigil was planned for later in
Documents detail outreach, take-up of little-used federal victims benefit
OTTAWA — Newly released documents on a little-used federal benefit for parents of crime victims show an increase in aid being paid out after an overhaul of the program, but the rate of denied applications staying steady. The program set up
UBC faculty of medicine apologizes for harms to Indigenous Peoples
VANCOUVER — The University of British Columbia's faculty of medicine formally apologized Friday for its role in past and present harms to Indigenous Peoples and committed to expand its response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to acti...
Officer suspended for inappropriate relationship dropped as Sajjan’s assistant
OTTAWA — A reserve military officer who was ordered suspended from the Vancouver police three years ago for an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate is no longer working for Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan. Department spokesman Dan Le Bouthillie...
Iqaluit mayor wants land tax exemption on churches removed over residential schools
IQALUIT, Nunavut — Iqaluit's mayor says he plans to make a motion to remove a land tax exemption for churches in Nunavut's capital city. Kenny Bell says he decided to do so after the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan announced Thursday
Trudeau faces mounting calls for independent probe of residential school deaths
OTTAWA — As calls mount for the federal Liberals to do more to support Indigenous communities calling for independent investigations into deaths of children at residential schools, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged Friday Ottawa would do "do what i...
U.S. senator wants Canada on religious freedom watch list over pastor COVID arrests
EDMONTON — A U.S. senator has asked that Canada be investigated for violating religious freedom over the arrests of Alberta pastors accused of flouting COVID-19 restrictions. In a letter released Thursday, Missouri Republican Josh Hawley asked his coun...
Trudeau resists calls to fire Bennett over ‘hurtful’ text, says he knows her ‘heart’
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is resisting calls to fire Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett over a text message he acknowledges was "wrong" and "hurtful" and harmed his government's progress on reconciliation. Bennett apologiz...
Jury selection change preserved fairness of process, Supreme Court says
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says Parliament was entitled to abolish a long-standing jury selection procedure that some critics had denounced as discriminatory. The newly released reasons shed light on the high court's decision from the bench l...
