Montreal police say they've arrested 17 people in connection with an alleged real estate fraud scheme worth more than $5 million.Police say members of the alleged fraud ring used fake IDs to borrow against the value of five properties they didn't own.They say the fake IDs were used to sign legal documents and open bank accounts in the names of the real owners.The financing obtained from private lenders was withdrawn soon after it was deposited in the bank accounts.Police say the real owners of the properties have found themselves tied to mortgages they never took out and the lenders have lost

No Canadian citizens have been included in a list of more than 400 foreign nationals who would be permitted to leave Gaza for the first time since Israel launched its retaliatory war on Hamas militants more than three weeks ago.An agreement appeared to have been reached Wednesday to allow hundreds of foreign passport holders, along with some wounded people, to leave for Egypt.The General Authority for Border Crossings in Gaza published a list of those who would be permitted to leave that included citizens of Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Indonesia, Japan and Jordan

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to be in Washington on Friday as part of US President Joe Biden's push for greater economic integration across the Western Hemisphere.U.S. Ambassador David Cohen says Trudeau will be part of meetings in to help shape the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, a Biden-backed trade framework.The project aims to create more jobs and restore faith in democracy by having roughly a dozen countries bolster the region's economic competitiveness.Biden announced the program at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June 2022.Cohen says Canada shares

The Punjab government has extended an open invitation to all the people of the state for an open debate between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and all other political parties to be held in Ludhiana on November 1.CM Mann has named this debate 'Main Punjab Bolda Haan'.For security reasons, the police have also tightened restrictions on programs held in the university hall.Dr. Manmohan Singh Auditorium of Punjab Agriculture University has been booked by Punjab Government for this debate.The seating capacity of this auditorium is around 1000 but due to CM Mann's open invitation to 3 crore people of

Immigration Minister Marc Miller is laying out the federal government's priorities for improving Canada's immigration system today with a newly released report.The federal government's report outlines key actions intended to strengthen the immigration system, based on consultations with stakeholders.It says Ottawa plans to take housing, health care, infrastructure and other services into account when planning immigration levels.The report proposes creating a chief international talent officer position to better align immigration programs and pathways with the labour market.It says the federal

The City of Surrey is looking for businesses that are willing to lease their industrial land and then use the land as a truck parking facility.At yesterday's Surrey City Council meeting, council voted on a request proposal for a potential parking operator.Mayor Brenda Locke said on this occasion that the problem of large truck parking in Surrey is almost a decade old.Due to lack of facilities for truck parking, they are parked on roads.Now the city staff has been urged to find such places which can be used for truck parking.The Mayor says that a large number of trucks are based in Surrey and t

British Columbia has plans to make Holocaust education mandatory for high school students with additions to Grade 10 curriculum coming in 2025.Eby made the announcement at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Monday.Premier David Eby says it's been a "frightening time" for the Jewish community after deadly terrorists attacks by Hamas militants in Israel earlier this month.He says there has been a rise in antisemitism in B.C., and combatting hate starts with learning from the past so the same horrors are never repeated.The changes will take effect in the 2025-2026 school year to

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says fiscal and monetary policy are rowing in opposite directions, making it harder to bring inflation down.Macklem is appearing before MPs on the House of Commons finance committee after the Bank of Canada's recent rate decision and quarterly economic projections.In response to questioning from Conservative MP Jasraj Singh Hallan, the governor says government spending is working at cross purposes with the central bank's efforts to bring inflation down.The governor says that according to federal and provincial budgets, government spending aggregate will gro

A group of more than 30 British Columbia retailers, trade associations and other organizations is calling for a co-ordinated government response for repeat offenders they say are behind a wave of theft, vandalism and violent crime.The Save Our Streets coalition says the need for immediate action is "critical" to meet threats to staff safety, rising security costs and the community impact.The group says federal and provincial governments can't succeed by addressing "singular aspects" of the problem, such as drug decriminalization, policing resources or mental-health reform.Members of the group