The Conservative leader in the Senate took a personal trip to Mexico shortly after Christmas. A spokesperson for Sen. Don Plett says the senator travelled to Mexico on Dec. 28. Upon his arrival, the spokesperson says, Plett "reflected on his decision to travel" and immediately made arrangements to return home to Manitoba. He returned on Dec. 31 and is quarantining for 14 days as required by Manitoba public health protocols. The spokesperson says this was Plett's only trip outside the country since last March, when the COVID-19 pandemic first swept across Canada. Plett is the latest in a numbe

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has brought the hammer down on members of his staff and caucus who recently travelled abroad. In a Facebook post, Kenney says he has accepted the resignation of Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard and fired Jamie Huckabay as his chief of staff. Other backbench members of his United Conservative caucus who travelled to sunnier climes over Christmas have been stripped of responsibilities. Kenney says the individuals demonstrated "extremely poor judgment," and he has listened to anger from the public in recent days. Saskatchewan Highways Minister Joe Hargrave res

The federal government is weighing whether to bar people who have travelled overseas from a new benefit for those who have to quarantine due to COVID-19.The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, launched in the fall to help Canadians who are unable to work because they must quarantine during the pandemic, is worth $500 per week to a maximum of two weeks.But Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says the government is actively looking at all options as questions surface around whether Canadians who have travelled abroad should be allowed to collect the money during their mandatory two-week isolatio

If you've been holding on to old one- and two-dollar bills, today is your last chance to spend them in a store. Starting in the new year, some bank notes made between 1935 and 1986 will no longer have legal tender status. They can still be redeemed or deposited for their face value at a bank. The policy change only covers notes that are no longer being produced, including 25, 500 and 1,000 dollar bills. The Bank of Canada says the affected notes are so rare that they are hardly seen or recognized by store clerks anyway, and some areworth more to collectors than in circulation.

Ontario is reporting 3,328 new cases of COVID-19, setting another single-day case record. More than a quarter of the new cases, 888 are in Toronto, with 431 in Peel, 418 in York Region, 257 in Windsor-Essex County and 194 in Ottawa. The province is also confirming another 56 virus related deaths, matching the highest daily death toll from the first wave of the pandemic. Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott shared the numbers in a tweet. She is advising residents to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home to curb the spread of infection.

Ontario's finance minister has resigned from his cabinet position after going on a Caribbean vacation during the pandemic. Premier Doug Ford says he has accepted Rod Phillips's resignation as minister. Phillips returned to Ontario this morning after spending more than two weeks in St. Barts despite provincial guidelines urging people to avoid non-essential travel. Ford says he has asked Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy to assume the role of minister of finance and deliver the government's 2021 budget.Earlier today Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips had returned from his Caribbea

Following a cabinet meeting this morning, the Trudeau government plans to bring in stricter pandemic regulations for airline passengers. Travellers will be required to test negative for COVID-19 three days before landing in Canada. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc didn't say when the requirement will be in place. The announcement comes as Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips and Quebec Liberal MNA Pierre Arcand find themselves in hot water over international travel. Both travelled out of the country on Caribbean vacations despite Canadians being asked to avoid such trips.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he found out his finance minister was travelling abroad roughly two weeks ago, and should have pushed then for his immediate return. Ford says Rod Phillips "never told anyone" he was going to St. Barts on December 13th, but the premier learned of the trip shortly after it began. Opposition leader calls for Phillips removal from the cabinet Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath is calling for Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips to be removed from cabinet. Phillips revealed yesterday that he flew to St. Barts on the 13th of the month, not knowing a provincewide lockd

Health Canada says it can't provide a definite timeline for when it will wrap up its review of the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by AstraZeneca. This morning, Britain approved the use of the drug created by the UK based drugmaker and Oxford University. Health Canada says it needs more information before it can complete its analysis. Britain became the first country to authorize AstraZeneca’s inexpensive, easy-to-handle COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, gaining another weapon against the virus amid a resurgence so severe that the government extended lockdowns to three-quarters of England’s popul