Sep 24 2020 — The Canadian Press — The value of weekly benefits for unemployed workers would rise to $500 a week under legislation the Liberals introduced today. The proposal still needs parliamentary approval, but would bring the value of payments to the same level as under the soon-to-disappear Canada Emergency Response Benefit. The same floor will be placed on employment insurance benefits […]
Sep 24 2020 — Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press — The Canadian Press — TORONTO — A meeting of the Super League board Friday could decide the future of the Toronto Wolfpack. Then again it could just trigger more questions about the transatlantic rugby league team's new business plan and how deep the pockets of its potential new owner are. The Wolfpack's fate will eventually be decided by the 11 other […]
Sep 24 2020 — The Canadian Press — Justin Trudeau says former Liberal prime minister John Turner was someone who knew that Canadians had to work hard for democracy and that it should never be taken for granted. The prime minister and representatives of the other political parties are paying tribute in the House of Commons today to Turner, who died Saturday at […]
Sep 24 2020 — The Canadian Press — It was in a recent meeting with child-care experts that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland made some heads turn. For years, advocates of broader federal involvement in a provincially regulated sector have been used to hearing questions about funding, spaces and the need to help parents have daycare in order for them to work. Freeland asked […]
Sep 24 2020 — The Canadian Press — The fate of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s minority Liberal government hangs in the balance as Parliament resumes all normal operations today for the first time in six months. Opposition parties will give their official responses to Wednesday’s speech from the throne but they’ve already signalled that Trudeau can’t count on support from any of them […]
Sep 23 2020 — The Canadian Press — The minority Liberal government unveiled sweeping goals Wednesday to expand or extend supports for Canadians from nearly every sector of society in a throne speech billed as their “ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality.” But the plan hit political reality very quickly with two of the three main opposition parties in the House of Commons […]
Sep 23 2020 — The Canadian Press — The Liberals are reversing course on a decision to wind down a federal wage subsidy, vowing in their throne speech to extend the program for businesses harmed by COVID-19 into next year. Over the summer the government decided to start scaling back the program through the rest of the year by providing a smaller subsidy […]
Sep 23 2020 — The Canadian Press — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to do more to help provinces respond to soaring demands for COVID-19 testing but there is still no indication of when the government will approve the tests that can deliver results in mere minutes. The promise of aid for testing comes in the speech from the throne read in […]
Sep 23 2020 — The Canadian Press — The Supreme Court of Canada reserved judgment on the national carbon tax Wednesday. After two days of hearings and presentations from more than two dozen interested parties, the court adjourned without yet deciding whether the carbon price is constitutional. A decision could take several more months. The hearings brought together three separate appeals related to […]
Sep 23 2020 — The Canadian Press — The House of Commons will sit this fall with most MPs participating by video link so they can stay physically apart during the COVID-19 pandemic. Government House leader Pablo Rodriguez introduced a motion to set the rules for “hybrid” sittings as the Commons sat for the first time in months Wednesday afternoon. Those include having […]
Sep 23 2020 — The Canadian Press — The federal ethics watchdog has dismissed Conservative allegations of conflict of interest involving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff and her husband. Ethics commissioner Mario Dion says the allegations are “speculative” and do not provide “a factual basis to support the belief that a contravention” of the Conflict of Interest Act may have occurred. […]
Sep 22 2020 — The Canadian Press — British Columbia’s top doctor said she’s received death threats in her role as a public figure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told a panel discussion at the annual convention of the Union of B.C. Municipalities that she’s had to have security in her home and has been targeted by people […]
Sep 22 2020 — The Canadian Press — Supreme Court justices pushed lawyers from Saskatchewan and Ontario hard Tuesday, demanding to know how Canada can help stop climate change if any single province chooses not to help. Two days of hearings have begun in Ottawa to decide three separate appeals related to the federal government’s national carbon tax. Since 2019, Ottawa has imposed […]
Sep 22 2020 — The Canadian Press — The federal Conservatives are panning a proposed electronic voting system after what they described as a disastrous test run, and say there is still no agreement on how MPs will return to work. Parties have been arguing for months over the best way for the House of Commons to function during the COVID-19 pandemic, disagreeing […]
Sep 22 2020 — The Canadian Press — The Canadian government will sign on to a global vaccine procurement program and by week’s end hopes to announce how much money it will pledge to the cause. Procurement Minister Anita Anand is set to announce further deals with vaccine developers today as the federal government seeks to make sure Canadians have access to a […]