The Conservatives continue to insist that professional protesters are disrupting rail traffic across the country. During Question Period this morning, Conservative MP John Brassard told Parliament that quote ``The prime minister is taking his cues from the granola-crunching, Castro-loving, V-W bus driving, anti-resource, anti-government, anti-everything professional protesters with absolutely no connections to First Nations groups.'' The transport minister's Parliamentary Secretary replied that the Conservatives' exaggerated tone is only making the situation worse.

A 27-year-old teacher at a Winnipeg high school has been charged with sexual exploitation and sexual assault of a student. Police say the offences involving the 16-year-old student at Grant Park High School happened between Dec. 1 and Feb. 8. The Winnipeg School Division is co-operating with police but a spokesperson would not say whether the woman is still employed as a teacher. Const. Rob Carver says in at least one alleged incident the teacher gave alcohol to a group of students. She is also charged with supplying alcohol to a minor. Carver says it's a possibility the teacher may face more

Ontario health officials say the province now has a seventh confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.The chief medical officer of health says the newest patient is a man in his 50s who had travelled to Iran.Dr. David Williams says the man arrived in Toronto on Tuesday and went to the emergency department of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre the next day.He says proper protocols went into place at the hospital and the man was isolated as he was tested for the virus known as COVID-19.The man was sent home the same day to recover and has been in self-isolation since then.This marks the country's

Hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en are scheduled to meet for a second day with senior federal and provincial ministers today as they try to break an impasse in a pipeline dispute that's sparked national protests and led to disruptions in the economy. Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and British Columbia Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser began the long-sought talks Thursday afternoon. They wrapped up after about three hours with Fraser saying the talks were productive and the mood in the room was respectful. Bennett said it was a "very good start." Heredi

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is to visit eastern Europe next week, with stops in Ukraine, Latvia and Poland. Champagne says he will meet with top airline officials in Ukraine as part of his push to secure compensation for families of the 57 Canadians who died in last month's Ukraine International Airlines crash in Tehran. Iran has admitted it fired two missiles at the plane, killing all 176 people on board.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and her B.C. counterpart Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister Scott Fraser have arrived in Smithers for afternoon meetings with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. In a Twitter message posted before she left Vancouver this morning, Bennett called the meeting "truly important", and after she reached Smithers she said the talks will "reaffirm" the interest of senior levels of government in speaking with the Wet'suwet'en about title and rights. Fraser says he's pleased further talks have been arranged with chiefs opposed to th

RCMP officers have been helping the United Kingdom's Metropolitan Police provide security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since they arrived in British Columbia late last year, but that help will end soon. Public Safety Canada says it is obligated to provide security for Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and their infant son, Archie, because the couple are Internationally Protected Persons. But a statement from the RCMP say its assistance will end in the coming weeks ``in keeping with the change in status'' of the Duke and Duchess. Harry and Meghan have been living on Vancouver Island and say

Ontario health officials say the latest case of the novel coronavirus marks the first time the illness was transmitted in the province.The province's chief medical officer of health says the man in his 60s is the sixth case of the virus which is known as COVID-19 in Ontario.They say he contracted the disease from his wife, who had recently returned from a trip to Iran.The Middle Eastern nation is one of the worst affected countries outside China, with hundreds of people infected and at least 26 deaths.

A meeting between Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and the federal and British Columbia government is expected to take place today.Nationwide rail and road blockades have been popping up for weeks as a show of support for the hereditary chiefs of the First Nation in northwestern B.C., who oppose a natural gas pipeline project cutting across their traditional territory.Chief Na'Moks, who is also known as John Ridsdale, says the meeting scheduled to start this afternoon and continue Friday.It was abruptly cancelled Wednesday afternoon, but Na'Moks says he and the other hereditary chiefs were notif