Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian government began preparing for a possible pandemic when it first got word of a mysterious cluster of cases of pneumonia in China on New Year's Eve. The federal government is facing accusations it didn't act quickly enough to warn Canadians about how dangerous COVID-19 was to their health and the economy. Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there was a lot of work done in January and February, including getting labs ready to test for the novel coronavirus. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu told Canadians as late as March 1

The RCMP say they've charged former Liberal MP Raj Grewal with fraud and breach of trust.They allege the former MP for Brampton East took millions of dollars in personal loans without telling the federal ethics commissioner, and that he used his political position to solicit those loans.They also say he used his government-funded constituency office budget for his own benefit.Grewal was a rookie MP when he left the Liberal caucus in 2018, amid the beginning of the police investigation, for what he said were personal and health reasons.The Prime Minister's Office said at the time that he was se

Two COVID-19 outbreaks have been declared at high schools in southern Alberta. A letter sent to parents of students at Henry Wise Wood High School from Alberta Health Services says two or more cases have been confirmed at the southwest Calgary school. It says the local medical officer of health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the school and public health is investigating to determine who may have been exposed to the virus. A similar letter was sent to parents with children at Chinook High School in Lethbridge. The letter from the medical officers of health from Lethbridge and Medicine Hat

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering himself up for questions from Liberal party supporters in a first-of-its-kind virtual fundraiser tonight. Donors ponying up any amount but $25 is what the party suggests get to participate in a mass video link and pose written questions to the Liberal leader.The party says it has received more than 500 questions so far. Montreal MP Rachel Bendayan is moderating the event and will choose which questions to put to Trudeau. Trudeau normally attends multiple fundraisers across the country but the COVID-19 pandemic has put an end to large in-person gatheri

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the quarantine system is "broken" because federal health officers are not charging people ignoring self-isolation orders for COVID-19. Since the end of March, an emergency order under the federal Quarantine Act has required most people arriving from outside Canada to isolate themselves for 14 days, even if they don't have symptoms.Federal quarantine officers can lay charges with penalties of up to six months in jail and fines of $750,000, while police can issue tickets of up to $1,000. Federal health officials say nobody has been arrested for ignoring a quaranti

Canada's election watchdog says former finance minister Bill Morneau broke the law when he promoted Liberal candidates at events he attended while in charge of the finance portfolio.The commissioner of Canada elections says before the last federal election, Morneau pumped up two prospective candidates who were attending separate events he headlined as finance minister.One candidate, Anita Anand, has since gone on to become a cabinet minister herself.Ministers aren't allowed to use taxpayer funds for partisan gain, but there are also provisions in election law that bar anyone but individuals fr

WE Charity says it is closing its Canadian operations, as the organization is in dire financial straits. Co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger will also step down once the transition to a new board of governors is complete. WE has lost many of its corporate sponsors since the controversy over the Liberal government's plans to have the youth organization run a multi million dollar student-volunteer program. WE plans to lay off its Canadian staff in the coming months and sell all of its property in Canada. It will create an endowment fund that will pay for the completion of several projects in

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ducked a question this morning about how he can call Julie Payette an ``excellent'' governor general as she faces allegations of workplace harassment. Trudeau told reporters that Payette, ``has a long and successful role as a scientist and an astronaut.'' He repeated that the federal government has hired a third-party reviewer to follow up on the harassment claims. There are reports that some of the whistleblowers who came forward with the allegations are now reconsidering the external review into Rideau Hall after Trudeau's defense of Payette.

The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate target on hold at 0.25 per cent and says it will stay there until inflation is back on target. The central bank's key rate has remained at its lower effective bound since March when COVID-19 lockdowns plunged the economy into crisis.In a statement today, the central bank's governing council says that bounce-back activity in the third quarter looks to be faster than it anticipated in July. But it warns of indicators like an uneven rebound in employment and subdued business confidence that points to a slow and choppy recovery process. The bank