New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh is accusing his Liberal and Conservative counterparts of doing the bidding of big business during the pandemic. Singh takes the swipe at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole in a speech today that lays out the NDP’s priorities ahead of next week’s throne speech. Singh is calling on the Liberals to do more to help working people cope with the economic hardship of the COVID-19 crisis. That includes extending benefits for unemployed Canadians that he says the Liberals are planning to curtail. He’s also calling on the governme

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says the federal government is causing a COVID-19 disaster by not moving more quickly to approve rapid testing methods that are already in use in other countries. O'Toole and his family were tested this morning for COVID-19 through a program for MPs, after waiting for several hours to be tested in Ottawa Wednesday and having to give up. O'Toole, his wife Rebecca and their children Mollie and Jack are all in isolation after an O'Toole staff member he was travelling with tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Demand for COVID-19 testing has skyrocketed this wee

A coalition of organizations representing the tourism sector says the federal government must keep its wage-subsidy program in place well into next year for businesses with dire prospects for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A coalition of organizations representing the tourism sector says the phasing out of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program could result in the loss of millions of jobs. The Coalition of Hardest Hit businesses says without the federal program covering as much as 75 per cent of wages, many tourism-related businesses simply won't survive. The president of the Hotel As

The Canadian Federation of Students is crying foul over fees post-secondary institutions are charging for services and facilities students can't use. With classes having moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students aren't on campuses to visit libraries and athletic centres, if they're even open.The federation's deputy chairperson Nicole Brayiannis says the fees are an added burden on young people who have been left behind throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.The federation is calling on the federal government to provide immediate financial support for post-secondary students.Universit

Federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says he, his family and some party workers are in self-isolation after an aide tested positive for COVID-19. A statement from the party says the O'Tooles don't have any symptoms themselves but are getting tested and informing the Opposition leader's recent contacts. O'Toole was to appear at a party event in Alberta later today, part of a mini-tour of the Conservative heartland in the West. And he was just in Quebec, where he met Premier Francois Legault. The Conservatives say the staffer who has the respiratory illness was travelling with him. Bloc Que

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making clear he doesn't want to be on the campaign trail this fall. At the same time, Trudeau says holding an election campaign, if one was forced on Canadians, would not be an irresponsible act. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning Canadians that we aren't immune as countries in Europe and elsewhere see a steady rise in new COVID-19 infections. Trudeau says we've come too far to give up now. He is urging Canadians to follow public health guidelines and stay vigilant. Trudeau is wrapping up a two-day cabinet retreat today. Cabinet meetings included talk of

Statistics Canada says the consumer price index in August was up 0.1 per cent compared with a year ago.The annual inflation rate was unchanged from the year-over-year increase of 0.1 per cent in July. The average economist estimate had been for a year-over-year increase of 0.4 per cent for August, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv. Gasoline prices remained down 11.1 per cent compared to August 2019, following a 14.9 per cent decline recorded in July.Excluding gasoline from the inflation calculations, the consumer price index rose by 0.6 per cent in August. Prices, though, wer

International Trade Minister reserves the right to take action if necessaryis praising the Team Canada approach to fighting the tariff. Ng says Canada will no longer be announcing its own suite of retaliatory counter-measures but it reserves the right to take action if necessary. International Trade Minister Mary Ng says it's a good day for Canada's aluminum industry. And Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says things are back to where they should be. The comments come after the United States stepped back from a tariff dispute with Canada and is lifting a 10 per cent levy on aluminum. The

The United States is standing down in its tariff dispute with Canada and lifting a 10 per cent levy on aluminum imported from north of the border. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative says it will lift the tariffs retroactive to Sept. 1 because it expects Canadian exports to "normalize" over the remainder of the year. In a statement, the USTR says it will continue to monitor trade in aluminum and reimpose the tariff if levels spike unexpectedly. The sudden about-face comes just hours before the federal Liberal government was expected to announce a suite of countermeasures in retaliation