Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a special one-time payment for seniors will go out the week of July 6. The COVID-19-related aid will come in the form of $300 payments to the more than six million people who receive old-age security benefits, and an additional $200 for the 2.2 million who also receive the guaranteed income supplement. Seniors who already receive benefits won't have to apply for the special payment. Those who reside in the country can expect to receive payment by direct deposits or cheques that week. Anyone living outside the country should expect delays if they receive cheq

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is coming under fire for refusing to outright condemn US President Donald Trump's handling of the escalating anti-racism protests across the U-S. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says Trudeau's more than 20 second pause when asked about Trump's actions, followed by a response on the need to battle racism in Canada, was irresponsible and hypocritical. But former Green Party leader Elizabeth May says she understands Trudeau is in a difficult position because of the need to maintain trade relations with the US.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland wants anyone planning to attend upcoming anti-racism rallies to make sure they are taking care not to catch COVID-19. Events are planned in Ottawa and Toronto and several other cities across the country. Her comments come as George Floyd's family demanded the arrest of all four police officers involved in his death. The Floyd family visited a makeshift shrine this morning at the Minneapolis street corner where Floyd died on May 25th. A white police officer pressed a knee on the black man's neck as he pleaded for air.

The Canadian Armed Forces has ended its mission to recover the wreckage of the Cyclone helicopter that crashed off the coast of Greece in April. Maritime Component commander Rear-Admiral Craig Baines says the remains of some of the service members who were on board when the helicopter went down were recovered. They will be returned to Canada this weekend for identification. Baines says wreckage from the helicopter was also recovered, with the focus on debris that flight-safety investigators believed could help determine the cause of the crash. Baines says the military decided not to raise som

House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota says he is comfortable the technology is in place to safely allow MPs to vote remotely during the hybrid Parliament sittings.Rota tells the procedure and House affairs committee today he is confident the process for public votes is secure and that it's up to MPs to decide which kind of system is appropriate to approve.Security concerns and other barriers to letting MPs vote while attending the House of Commons virtually kept the Liberals and NDP from supporting a return to normal last month.The House of Commons is continuing with hybrid sittings of the spe

The federal government continues to add to the supply of personal protective agreement and related medical equipment needed to fight COVID-19.The prime minister says the race to accumulate what Canada needs requires a balance between shopping all over the world and continuing to bolster manufacturing capabilities at home.Justin Trudeau pointed out that over half the face shields acquired so far have been made by a Canadian company that expanded its workforce to contribute to the effort.He says Canada has what's required to meet the provinces' demands at the moment but as the slow reopening of

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russia is not welcome in the G7 any time soon.Trudeau is flatly rejecting today a suggestion by U.S. President Donald Trump to readmit Russia, which was kicked out of the group of leading democratic countries after its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.Trump was to host the G7 summit later this month but has postponed it to the fall because of the mass protests rocking the United States, and he has mused that he would like to see Russia, India, South Korea and Australia added to what he calls a "very outdated" group of countries.Trudeau says Russia was kicked out o

A newly released survey report suggests nearly two-thirds of candidates in the last federal election felt there was a problem with the spread of false information online.The survey, conducted for Elections Canada by Ekos Research Associates, found that among those who saw false information as a headache during the campaign, 30 per cent said it had a major impact on the election outcome.Over two in five felt that foreign countries or groups were using social media and other means to influence the political opinions of Canadians.Support for online voting among candidates was low, with just over

The Royal Canadian Air Force says it's focusing on a bird strike as the reason a Snowbird plane crashed in British Columbia last month. A preliminary investigation report posted today says a close look at video footage of the plane just before the crash showed a bird very close to the plane's right engine intake ``during the critical phase of take-off.''The crash near Kamloops killed air force Capt. Jenn Casey, a public-affairs officer riding as a passenger, and seriously injured the pilot. Though the plane crashed in a populated area, nobody on the ground was badly injured.The Snowbirds were