The Coalition Avenir Québec government will table the first budget of the party's second mandate on March 21.Finance Minister Eric Girard made the announcement today at the province's legislature.He says the budget will keep all the commitments his party made during the fall election.Those promises included an income tax cut starting this year of one percentage point on the first two tax brackets.Girard says that despite the rise in interest rates, Quebec's economy so far in 2023 has performed better than expected.The minister's December update forecasted that the province would end the 2022-

The federal government is announcing it has reached agreements in principle for health-care funding with Ontario and Prince Edward Island.It comes a little more than two weeks after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered the premiers $46 billion in new money for health care over the next decade.As part of the deal, the federal government promised to negotiate bilateral agreements with each premier to target specific priority areas such as primary care, mental-health care and data sharing.In a news release today, the federal government says it has reached a 10-year deal with Ontario Premier Doug

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there are no simple solutions to shutting down a rural road in southern Quebec used by thousands of asylum seekers to cross irregularly into Canada.His comments come a day after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the prime minister should shut down the rural crossing known as Roxham Road within 30 days.Trudeau says closing that road would only encourage asylum seekers to use another forested path along the thousands of kilometres of border between Canada and the United States.The prime minister says the federal government also wants to close down that

The public inquiry that investigated the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia announced today it will release its final report on March 30.The Mass Casualty Commission issued a statement saying the report will provide a detailed account of what happened as well as recommendations to improve community safety across Canada.Among other things, the report will examine the police response, access to firearms, gender-based violence, the killer's prior interactions with police and the steps taken to inform and support those affected by the murders.The inquiry heard that on the night of April 18, 2020, a

Bitterly cold weather is gripping much of British Columbia and forecasters don't expect conditions in some areas to ease until at least Thursday, while the threat of snow lies ahead for other regions.Extreme cold or Arctic outflow warnings are posted for the central and north coasts, Chilcotin and Peace River areas and the southeastern corner of B.C.With the wind chill, Environment Canada warns conditions will feel close to -40 C in the Elk Valley and Peace regions, and -20 C in Terrace, Kitimat and Stewart.A special weather statement also warns of snow before Thursday over most of central, ea

The Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police says it believes, based on research it commissioned, that it would be "incredibly premature" to think about decriminalizing drugs.Instead, it says there must be a systemic and ordered approach in place that prioritizes community safety before such a strategy can be considered.A paper, commissioned by the association and released at a recovery conference in Calgary, says problematic use of substances is a complex social issue that needs more than one solution.The research, led by the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, says the idea of decriminalizin

The Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces confirm that they are aware of recent efforts by China to conduct surveillance operations in Canadian airspace and waters.Spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said in a statement that the armed forces have tracked and stopped attempts to surveil Canadian territory since 2022 under Operation LIMPID.He said that to ensure the integrity of military operations, further information cannot be provided.Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in an interview on CNN Wednesday morning that China is an increasingly disruptive power.She said Cana

The federal government is reviving an independent commission to offer advice to cabinet on reforming Canadian laws, and has announced its picks for key roles.McGill University law professor Shauna Van Praagh will begin a five-year term as president of the Law Commission of Canada in June, and two other commissioners have been appointed to four-year terms.The Liberals' 2021 federal budget said the government would spend $18 million over five years and $4 million in ongoing annual funding on a renewed Law Commission of Canada.The government says the commission will support efforts to create an i

Local governments and First Nations in British Columbia are getting more support to prepare for the risk of natural disasters related to climate change.The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness says it will add $180 million to support projects that help communitiesprepare for and mitigate the effects of natural disasters.The ministry says the government's Community Emergency Preparedness Fund has previously supported projects that include a dike in Merritt, public cooling infrastructure in Victoria and tsunami evacuation planning in Tofino.It says it will also now provide a on