CanadaMar 24, 2023
Highlights: Trudeau - Biden meet in Ottawa
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say in a joint statement they are bolstering Norad, updating a treaty on cross-border asylum seekers and launching a one-year energy transformation task force.They are also pointing to new spending on alternative fuel corridors, critical minerals, semiconductor projects, Great Lakes conservation and Arctic radar.The joint statement confirms that the Safe Third Country Agreement will be applied between official ports of entry along the entire Canada-United States border, and that Canada will take in 15,000 more migrants from the Western Hemi
BCMar 24, 2023
Complex-care housing services coming to New Westminster, Tri-Cities
People living with complex mental-health and addictions challenges in New Westminster and the Tri-Cities area will have access to more supports to help them stabilize their lives and break the cycle of homelessness as the Province adds complex-care housing services for the region.Complex-care housing provides voluntary services to people who face overlapping mental-health and addiction challenges and other complex health issues, such as brain injuries.Outreach teams will connect with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and support their transition into housing, where they will recei
BCMar 24, 2023
Pollution from B.C. Teck mining operations might be taken up during Trudeau-Biden meet today
Pollution from Teck's mining operations in southeastern B.C. is expected to be on the table as U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today in Ottawa.Biden is expected to add his clout to calls from Indigenous leaders, experts and activists on both sides of the border for a bilateral investigation into toxic run-off threatening the Kootenay River basin.A long-standing treaty governing the management of cross-border waterways requires both Canada and the U.S. to agree to send the problem to a commission capable of addressing it but so far Canada has avoided signing of
BCMar 24, 2023
Former BC Liberal John Rustad turned Independent now seeks Conservative leadership
A former BC Liberal cabinet minister turfed from the party caucus last year for his climate change views says he's running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.John Rustad, who has been sitting as an Independent in B.C.'s legislature, says he wants to build a grassroots coalition of supporters under the Conservative banner to offer an alternative to the current New Democrat government and Opposition Liberals.A Conservative leadership vote is set for May 28, with former leader Trevor Bolin serving as interim leader until the vote.Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon said he d
CanadaMar 23, 2023
Beijing denies meddling after MP Han Dong's resignation from Liberal caucus
Beijing says it has nothing to say about ongoing allegations that China has meddled in Canadian affairs, including those regarding a member of Parliament who has left the Liberal caucus.Han Dong is now sitting as an Independent as the Liberal government has a rapporteur investigate claims of Chinese interference, including allegations the Toronto MP willingly received electoral support through Chinese officials.Dong resigned from the Liberal caucus Wednesday night after Global News, citing unnamed security sources, published a report alleging that he spoke about Michael Spavor and Michael Kovr
CanadaMar 23, 2023
Trudeau, Biden could agree to end 'loophole' in Safe Third Country Agreement: Source
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could designate all 8,900 kilometres of their shared border as an official crossing under the Safe Third Country Agreement.A Canadian government official with knowledge of the talks says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden will discuss the issue when they meet in Ottawa on Friday.The Canadian Press is granting anonymity to the official to discuss matters not yet made public.The bilateral treaty that Canada and the U.S. signed in 2004 requires asylum seekers to make their claim in the first country they land in, but it o
CanadaMar 23, 2023
MPs vote in favour of including invisible disabilities in national housing strategy
Members of Parliament have voted unanimously in favour of urging the government to address the needs of people with invisible disabilities in its national housing strategy.Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga introduced the motion, which calls on the government to include an expert on disabilities in its National Housing Council.It also asks the government to formally recognize the barriers people with disabilities face when it comes to finding a home.Invisible disabilities include mental health disorders, visual or hearing impairments and cognitive disabilities.Kayabaga told the House of Commons in Oc
CanadaMar 23, 2023
RCMP arrest suspect in Montreal on terrorism allegations after tip from FBI
The RCMP say they arrested a man in Montreal today on terrorism allegations after receiving intelligence from the FBI.Police say officers arrested 18-year-old Mohamed Amine Assal, who is from Montreal's St-Laurent borough.They say their operation was to disrupt Assal's "suspicious activities" and get him to sign a peace bond that could include several conditions.The RCMP say their investigation gave them reasonable grounds to fear that Assal may commit a terrorism offence.They say he has not been charged but could be at a later date.An RCMP news release says the police force is committed to co
BCMar 22, 2023
Former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart wins $100,000 costs in NPA defamation case
A B.C. judge says former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart can recover more than $100,000 in legal costs related to a failed defamation case launched by political rivals in the once-dominant Non-Partisan Association.B.C. Supreme Court Justice Wendy Baker says in her March 20 ruling that the defamation case against Stewart by current and former members of the NPA's board of directors was a "strategic lawsuit against public participation."They sued Stewart after he issued a press release in January 2021 denouncing "hate and extremism" in the NPA in response to media reports on the party's internal