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and he has mused that he would like to see Russia, India, South Korea and Australia added to what he calls a "very outdated" group of countries.Trudeau says Russia was kicked out o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

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is rushing $2.2 billion in expected infrastructure funding to Canada's cities.He says sending gas-tax funds months sooner than planned should ease municipalities' cashflow concerns, which is why the government is sending the money in one shot.Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau says the money can be used for construction projects to meet local infrastructure needs and put people to work.Municipalities have seen steep losses in revenues through the COVID-19 pandemic as fewer people pay for transit or parking, and recreation ce

There are 89,418 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 50,232 confirmed (including 4,363 deaths, 15,908 resolved) Ontario: 27,210 confirmed (including 2,230 deaths, 20,983 resolved) Alberta: 6,979 confirmed (including 143 deaths, 6,218 resolved) British Columbia: 2,562 confirmed (including 164 deaths, 2,170 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,055 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 978 resolved) Saskatchewan: 641 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 570 resolved) Manitoba: 283 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 273 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 2

Statistics Canada says the economy in the first quarter had its worst showing since 2009 as steps taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 forced businesses across the country to close their doors and lay off workers.Statistics Canada says gross domestic product fell at an annualized rate of 8.2 per cent in the first three months of 2020.The collapse came as gross domestic product for March fell 7.2 per cent as restrictions by public health officials and school closures began rolling out during the month.The average economist estimate is for a nine per cent drop in gross domestic product for March

The cruise-ship season in Canada is all but dead as Ottawa extends a ban on ships in Canadian waters until the end of October.Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says passenger ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 passengers can't operate in Canadian waters until at least Oct. 31.In March the government barred ships with more than 500 passengers until July 1 but Garneau is expanding that ban today.He says he understands that this will have a big economic impact on the tourism industry and that the government is looking at what to do about that.Last year 140 cruise ships brou