Alberta's nurses could soon find themselves on the picket line as recent talks with the provincial government failed to secure a new agreement. David Harrigan, with the United Nurses of Alberta, says last month's informal mediation meetings were productive, but says the gap between the two sides seems too big to bridge. The union is seeking 30 per cent pay raises spread over two years while the Alberta government's offer is 7.5 per cent over four years. Harrigan says the two sides also find themselves far apart on operational issues. He says while both sides accept that there ar

A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg. His lawyers say a confession Woodhouse supposedly made was in fluent English, although he primarily spoke Saulteaux. The federal justice minister ordered a new trial earlier this year and today the Crown acknowledged the case was a miscarriage of justice. Chief Justice Glenn Joyal of the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench says systemic discrimination affected the police investigation and the prosecution of the c

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme is slated to appear today at a federal inquiry into foreign interference. It marks the second round of testimony at the inquiry for Duheme, who will be accompanied by other senior members of the national police force. The commission of inquiry's latest hearings are focusing on detecting, deterring and countering foreign meddling. The hearings, scheduled to continue through Oct. 16, are relatively broad in scope, examining key agencies as well as the experiences of diaspora communities. Beginning Oct. 21, the commission will then hold a week of policy consultations

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to France today to attend the Francophonie summit, where the shadow of a wider war in the Middle East will likely loom large over the meeting of French-speaking countries. The summit, which happens every two years, will be held Thursday and Friday in Villers-Cotterêts and Paris. France is taking over the presidency of the Francophonie from Tunisia and says the summit's theme will be to "create, innovate and do business in French". Leaders are expected to discuss ways to promote the French language, address geopolitical challenges, ensure the digital sp

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is condemning Iran's missile attack on Israel, but says the international community must do everything it can to help avoid a bigger regional war. Exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon over the last year erupted into broader violence in the last week as Israel ramped up its campaign against Hezbollah by air and Tuesday began sending in ground troops. Also on Tuesday, Iran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, and warned of a "harsher" attack if Israel responds in kind. Trudeau called Iran's attack a further destabilizing action by a "

For the third time in seven days the House of Commons will vote on a confidence measure today, but this one comes from the government itself.The Liberals have called for a vote on the proposed changes to the capital gains tax that they announced in the spring budget. The capital gains inclusion rate was adjusted in June and the motion before the House today will allow the government to introduce the legislation to formalize the changes.Most Canadians who make more than $250,000 in profits in a single year from capital income like the sale of secondary properties or stock options will now pay

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says owners of small and medium-sized businesses will finally receive their long-awaited carbon pricing refunds before the end of this year. The Finance Department says the federal government will send more than $2.5 billion to about 600,000 Canadian businesses in December. The payments will return a portion of the carbon price revenue from 2019-20 through 2023-24 to small businesses in jurisdictions where the federal fuel charge applies. The amount received by a business will depend on the province it operates in and the number of workers it employs. The fed

The Bloc Québécois will try to put the squeeze on the Liberals today by calling for a debate in the House of Commons about increasing old age pension payments for all seniors. Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has given the government until Oct. 29 to green-light the estimated $16-billion cost of his party's pension bill, or else he will begin talks with other opposition parties to bring down the government. Acquiescing to the Bloc's demands, however, will only buy the government a few months of support. The Bloc plans to use its opposition day motion to call on the government to support t

A union representing McGill law professors has suspended a five-week-long strike and will allow classes to begin this week. McGill's administration and the Association of McGill Professors of Law say they have decided to find a way to negotiate collective agreements jointly with other faculty unions, and classes will resume by Oct. 3. The news comes a day after McGill threatened to cancel the fall semester if the union didn't agree to a deal. A message sent to law students this morning did not say whether McGill will drop its legal challenge of the faculty's right to unionize, which was one of