The Chinese ambassador to Canada is warning the Trudeau government not to grant asylum to Hong Kong residents fleeing a widely criticized national security law imposed by Beijing. Ambassador Cong Peiwu brands pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong as violent criminals and says if Canada grants them asylum that amounts to interference in China's internal affairs. Cong says if Canada cares about 300,000 Canadian citizens in Hong Kong and the Canadian companies doing business there it should support Chinese efforts to fight what he calls fight violent crime. Cong also flatly rejects Prime Ministe

At least a dozen new projects to go after online hate are being funded through Ottawa's anti-racism strategy today. Diversity Minister Bardish Chagger says 85 projects are getting money through the anti-racism action program. That program is part of the $45 million the federal government set aside in 2019 for the anti-racism strategy. The Liberals promised to double the funding for the strategy in the 2019 election campaign but that has not yet happened. Projects to target online hate were given priority in the action program and a dozen were approved, including one by the Canadian Anti-Hate

Opposition MPs are bracing for another marathon meeting of the House of Commons ethics committee today as they ramp up efforts to revive their investigation into the WE Charity affair. Indeed, Conservative MP Michael Barrett says he and his colleagues are prepared for the meeting to drag on for days, if that's what it takes to finally force an end to a filibuster by Liberal committee members who've been blocking opposition demands for more documents. At issue is a motion put forward by Barrett last week calling on Speakers' Spotlight, the agency that arranged speaking engagements for Prime Mi

The COVID-19 pandemic has Canadians spending more time and money online. Statistics Canada says a survey conducted last month found that 44 per cent of Canadians had dropped more money on technology, including computers, laptops and tablets, and 42 per cent had sprung for more video streaming services. The survey also found about a third of Canadians say they've received attempted identity-theft attacks and 14 per cent reported at least one attack related to COVID-19 test results, a potential cure for the virus or about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit. Analyst Christopher Collins says t

WestJet's CEO says the lack of travel demand combined with domestic quarantines means the airline can no longer maintain its full Canadian network. In a video post, Ed Sims says WestJet is, ``out of runway,'' and is suspending operations to four cities in Atlantic Canada and slashing service to others in the region.WestJet says it will indefinitely halt routes to Fredericton and Moncton, New Brunswick, Sydney, Nova Scotia, and Charlottetown, while dramatically paring down service to Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland. PEI Premier Dennis King is expressing ``deep disappointment'' that WestJe

Statistics Canada says vehicular traffic coming into Canada from the U.S. remains low as travel restrictions remain in place. The agency says the number of U.S. travellers who crossed into Canada by car in September is down 94 per cent, to a total of 64,700 trips, compared to the same time last year. Last month, it said U.S. residents made 72, 800 trips across the border.Statistics Canada also says the number of Canadians returning to the country in September was down 93 per cent, to 151,900, compared to the 2.2 million recorded in September 2019. Restrictions on non-essential travel due to CO

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says there is no magic legislative bullet to control objectionable content on social media.LeBlanc told a virtual conference on democracy today if there were a simple answer, many other western democracies would have already passed such laws. He says the internet and social-media platforms must be a home for free speech, a critical element of any democracy. However, LeBlanc adds, they should not be forums for hate speech, racism and disinformation. But he says citizens do not want governments to regulate content on the internet. LeBlanc prefe

The country's chief public health officer says a delay in Johnson & Johnson's clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine may signal a delay in getting a vaccine to the general public. She says everyone wants to see a vaccine ready as quickly as possible, but health and safety should never be compromised. Johnson & Johnson paused a clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine after finding an unexplained illness, which is normal in large-scale studies. These Phase 3 clinical trials involving human volunteers are supposed to wrap by November and December.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is denouncing Islamophobia and right-wing extremism. Trudeau says the government will do more to address the problem, but did not provide specifics. The National Council of Canadian Muslims says a downtown Toronto mosque received several emails on the weekend that contained threats of violence against Muslims. Following the fatal stabbing of a caretaker at a Toronto mosque last month, the council has called on the federal government to develop an action plan to dismantle white supremacy groups.