Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling on countries with the largest land mass to do more to protect the biodiversity of their land and water. Trudeau made that call today at a special session of the United Nations via video conference on the sidelines of the virtual General Assembly meeting. Trudeau was taking part in the Leaders Event for Nature and People that also featured the leaders of Costa Rica and Norway. The prime minister was pledging Canada's support for a UN initiative that aims to protect 30 per cent of land and oceans by 2030. But Trudeau says that Canada is the only country

International Trade Minister Mary Ng says it is extremely disappointing that the United States has decided to appeal a World Trade Organization ruling against its softwood-lumber duties, particularly because the U.S. is making it impossible for that appeal to be heard. The WTO ruled in August that the U.S.'s import duties on Canadian softwood violate international trading rules because the U.S. cannot prove that Canada is unfairly subsidizing its softwood producers by undercharging for wood coming off government land. Ng says the U.S. decision to appeal is confusing since earlier this year th

The RCMP says there is no safe and proven face covering for officers with beards, but it is working to find one for Sikh members temporarily sidelined from front-line policing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly expressed disappointment that Sikh RCMP officers find themselves on desk duty during the COVID-19 pandemic because their religiously mandated facial hair makes it difficult to properly wear a mask. In a statement today, the RCMP says while a respirator, such as an N95 mask, is not mandatory in all front-line situations, it is sometimes required to reduce risk. The national poli

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and Bloc Quebecois chief Yves-Francois Blanchet are expected to take their seats in the House of Commons this week after being benched due to COVID-19.The two opposition leaders were absent from the Commons last week as both were in isolation after contracting COVID-19.Their formal replies to the Liberals' speech from the throne will come as Parliament is set to debate new COVID-19 relief measures over the coming days and potentially pass them into law.The government plans to set up a new pandemic-benefits regime under the umbrella of the existing employment i

The head of the federal New Democrats is hailing it as a historic moment for Canadian workers. Jagmeet Singh says there's a deal with the Liberals, in exchange for NDP support for the throne speech, the minority government will maintain a 2,000 dollar a month support payment for those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and it will provide paid sick leave. The agreement is on the legislation known as Bill C-2, which is scheduled for two days of debate early next week. It also likely means the NDP will end up voting with the Liberals on the throne speech.

The annual Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1999 CP has sent the decorated train across the country, from Montreal to Metro Vancouver, stopping in more than 100 cities and towns to collect cash and food donations for food banks in each community. The program has raised nearly 18-million dollars and collected more than two-million kilograms of food since it began but this year CP says the company will instead donate food directly to stops along its usual route, including 24 in BC. CP also plans to host a virtual concert to raise funds for fo

The federal government ran a deficit of $148.6 billion during the first four months of its 2020-2021 fiscal year, the result of unprecedented spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The result compared with a deficit of $1.6 billion for the same period in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. In its monthly fiscal monitor, the Finance Department says program expenses for the four-month period of April to July hit $215.7 billion, up $111.1 billion, or 106.2 per cent, from the same period a year earlier. Major transfers to persons which consists this fiscal year of seniors benefits, employment insur

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is very disappointed that Sikh RCMP officers have been reassigned during the pandemic because their religiously mandated facial hair makes it difficult to properly wear a face covering. The World Sikh Organization of Canada says officers have been placed on desk duty for almost six months, as the RCMP found the N100 mask does not seal with facial hair. The organization says no attempt has been made to accommodate Sikh officers with other protective coverings that would work with facial hair. Trudeau says health and safety regulations are extremely importan

The federal Conservatives say they want the House of Commons to sit this weekend to debate new COVID-19 aid legislation. Opposition House leader Gerard Deltell says the provisions in the bill demand detailed and urgent scrutiny. Past COVID-19 legislation has passed fairly swiftly with all-party consent but at the time, Parliament was not sitting as normal. Now it is, and Deltell is suggesting that putting the new bill through the ordinary legislative paces will take too long. Among other things, Bill C-2 would create a new benefits regime to support those who have lost jobs due to the COVID