Some travellers returning to Canada today say they received a chillier welcome than the weather. They say they waited a long time to access the hotel-booking system for the mandatory three-day quarantine. A group arriving at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport from Belgium said there were disconnected calls and hours or even days on the line to make a reservation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the tighter border controls are meant to keep everyone safe, not punish travellers. He said Friday there had been issues with the phone lines, but said the problems would be cleared up by

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is declining to talk about when he first became aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against the former chief of the defence staff, but the minister assured MPs today he has always promptly informed the appropriate authorities of such accusations. Appearing before the House of Commons defence committee, Sajjan indicated that any discussions he might have had with the military ombudsman about Gen. Jonathan Vance are confidential. The committee hearing follows a Global News report that Vance allegedly had an ongoing relationship with a woman he significantly o

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is adding 12 weeks of eligibility to two key benefits for unemployed workers and parents at home with children. The extra life for the Canada Recovery Benefit and the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit will raise the maximum number of weeks available to 38 from 26. Trudeau also says the federal sickness benefit will be expanded to four weeks from two so workers can stay home if they're feeling ill, or have to isolate because of COVID-19. And employment insurance eligibility is also getting stretched, allowing people who qualify to clai

The Trudeau government has tabled legislation to repeal mandatory minimum penalties for certain drug offences, saying they do not deter crime and unfairly affect Indigenous and Black offenders. The bill introduced today would also allow for greater use of conditional sentences, such as house arrest, counselling or treatment, for people who do not pose a threat to public safety. In addition, it would require police and prosecutors to consider alternative measures for cases of simple possession of drugs, such as diversion to addiction-treatment programs. The office of Justice Minister David Lam

Newly arriving refugees will have the cost of their mandatory hotel quarantines covered by the federal government. The federal government is also covering the cost of mandatory COVID-19 testing on arrival.As of Monday, most incoming travellers to Canada are required to stay for up to three nights in government-approved hotels while they await the results of COVID-19 tests.The new rules are meant to guard against further spread of COVID-19 and discourage travel. But the fact travellers must pay out of pocket had refugee groups in particular concerned about how they'd find the money. Despite wid

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada will receive 1.3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine in March, despite uncertainty over timing details. The shipments would bring the total of Moderna doses to two million as planned, following smaller-than-expected deliveries this month. Canada's vaccine rollout is ramping back up with more than 878,000 more Pfizer-BioNTech doses expected in the next two weeks after faltering shipments attributed to production delays abroad. EarlierPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said, the head of Moderna has assured him the company will meet its contract to ship

Newly tabled gun legislation would allow municipalities to ban handguns through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says today the measures will be backed up with serious penalties to enforce these bylaws, including jail time for people who violate municipal rules. Many gun-control advocates have pressed for a national handgun ban, warning that leaving it up to municipalities would create an ineffective patchwork of regulations. As expected, the long-promised bill also proposes a buyback of a wide array of recently banned firearms the

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is appealing to the official Opposition Conservatives to hasten passage of a COVID-19 relief bill through the House of Commons.The appeal is in a letter from Freeland to Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole in which the deputy prime minister says the Tories are dragging their feet on the proposed legislation for no good reason.Freeland goes on to say the bill should not be "a political football," and asks O'Toole to support its passage to help Canadians struggling during the pandemic.The Liberal government introduced the proposed legislation at the beginnin

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined Canada's top doctors in warning that more infectious COVID-19 variants threaten to spark a third wave, even as he announced Canada would receive millions more vaccine doses than previously expected. Trudeau urged the public to refrain from unnecessary travel and gatherings as the long weekend approached, noting a fast-tracked shipment of millions of COVID-19 vaccines in coming months will not be enough to combat worrisome variants that have overtaken other countries. "Nobody wants a third wave to start, particularly not one comprised of new, more communica