Canada's international trade minister is criticizing the U.S. Department of Commerce for nearly doubling duties on softwood lumber, saying the move is unfair and unwarranted. Minister Mary Ng says the U.S. has significantly increased duties on softwood lumber from Canada, from 8.05 per cent to 14.54 per cent. It's the latest salvo in a bilateral back-and-forth that Ottawa has described as a drag on efforts to improve the cost and supply of housing. Ng says the increase will harm consumers and producers on both sides of the border and called for a lasting resolution to this long-standing disput

Quebec says that starting this fall it will authorize early requests for medical assistance in dying from certain patients before their condition renders them incapable of giving consent. The province has been calling on the federal government to modify the Criminal Code to allow people to make such requests, but Quebec says it won't wait any longer. Quebec adopted a law in June 2023 permitting people with serious and incurable illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, to ask for MAID while they have the capacity to provide consent, with the procedure being carried out after their condition has

Farmers of Punjab will take out a tractor march on the occasion of Independence Day tomorrow. Meanwhile, farmers will put the farmers flag and tricolor on their tractors. Members of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha said that 183 days have passed since the farmers' struggle. All farmers' leaders have been assigned duties in different districts for tractor march. Sarwan Singh Pandher will stay in Amritsar. They will take out a tractor march from the Bagha border to Amritsar, while farmers will also burn copies of three new criminal laws. It is to be noted that farmers are demanding MSP guarantee and withdr

Thirteen people have been charged with mischief over accusations they blocked the Vancouver Canadian National Railway line for hours during what police said was an unlawful protest last May. The Vancouver Police Department says in a news release the BC Prosecution Service approved charges on Monday, following the police investigation into the pro-Palestinian protest on May 31. Police said then that they responded to the scene where 100 protesters were blocking rail line and traffic on Grandview Highway in East Vancouver. Police said protesters refused multiple requests to move and some of them

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he plans to look into whether the man accused of plotting a terror attack in Toronto should have his Canadian citizenship revoked. Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi, 62, and his son Mostafa Eldidi, 26, were arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont., and face nine terrorism charges including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. When the RCMP announced the charges on July 31 they said the two men were "in the advanced stages of planning a serious, violent attack in Toronto." The elder Eldidi, who is a Canadian citizen, is also ch

The town of Jasper says early numbers indicate last month’s wildfires destroyed $283 million worth of property. The town also reports that while 358 structures were destroyed, mostly businesses and homes, the total number of housing units lost is about 800. The figures were delivered to councillors by chief administrative officer Bill Given at a virtual meeting today. Given says the numbers get even more daunting as the town moves forward with rebuilding because the lost structures equate to a $2.2-million loss in annual property tax revenue. Councillors, meanwhile, approved motions to suspe

Dr. Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, the current MLA of Shiromani Akali Dal from Banga assembly constituency of Punjab, has joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at his residence Dr. Sukhi was included in the party. Sukhi is a doctor by profession. This is a big blow for the Shiromani Akali Dal, which is struggling with insurgency, as the party had only three MLAs in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, which is now reduced to two. They include Manpreet Singh Ayali from Mullanpur Dakha and Ganiv Kaur Majithia, wife of Bikram Majithia from Halka Majitha. Manpreet Singh Ayali has also shown rebel

A British Columbia man is facing almost two dozen charges over allegations of online sexual extortion that police say stem from reports by several victims in Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. A statement from RCMP in Burnaby, B.C., says they began an investigation in December 2022 after 19-year-old Anwer Jelassi was identified as the suspect. It says the victims had come forward to report they were being extorted after sharing explicit images with someone they met on social media platforms. The Mounties say the suspect then allegedly demanded money under threat of sending those images to the vi

The leader of British Columbia's Opposition says he would introduce the largest provincial income tax cut in provincial history if his party is elected to form government this fall. Kevin Falcon says BC United would eliminate the tax on the first $50,000 earned by every person in B.C., allowing taxpayers to keep an additional $2,050 on average. He says the cut would eliminate provincial income tax for 60 per cent of B.C. residents, or more than 2.4 million people. Falcon says the tax cut would benefit many elderly people on fixed incomes and families who struggle with the high costs of living.