Green Party Leader Elizabeth May wants Canada to consider expanding access to psychedelics as medical treatments.May was among the MPs who joined a delegation of patients and health-care practitioners trying to lobby the federal government to make psilocybin, the psychedelic compound produced by magic mushrooms more readily available.The group is calling on lawmakers to advance clinical trials to better understand how it could be used for medical treatment of some mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety.Psilocybin is listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its medical

Canadian Heritage has changed the way it vets funding requests for community and anti-racism projects after it cut ties with an organization that was accused of antisemitism.The federal government suspended a contract with the Community Media Advocacy Centre back in August after it gave the group $133,000 for projects to help combat anti-racism.Ottawa's relationship with the group ended after media reported that a senior consultant had posted what federal ministers described as antisemitic content on Twitter.The associate deputy minister of Canadian Heritage, Mala Khanna, says those applying f

All major parties in the House of Commons are signalling they will support a Liberal bill that would further delay the expansion of medically assisted dying to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder.Members of Parliament began debating the bill this week and it is expected to pass quickly, before a mid-March deadline.An update to assisted dying law passed in March 2021 included a two-year sunset clause on provisions to expand eligibility to patients who only have mental disorders.But Justice Minister David Lametti is now seeking a longer delay, to do more consultations and better pre

An "anomaly" that military officials were tracking through the weekend before fighter jets downed an unknown object over the Great Lakes was first detected in Canadian airspace.Norad commander Gen. Glen VanHerck says radar first picked up the object on Saturday at about 4:45 p.m. EST, about 110 kilometres north of the Canada-U.S. border.VanHerck says it crossed into U.S. airspace over Montana about an hour later, but fighter jets were unable to locate it, which is why it was deemed an anomaly.Radar newly detected an object approaching Wisconsin that night, and President Joe Biden ordered it sh

Russia's ambassador in Ottawa says Canada is a "very dangerous country" for Russians to visit.Oleg Stepanov says Canada keeps sanctioning people and claimed that Russians are regularly experiencing racism.In a Russian-language interview last Friday, Stepanov said, "I would not recommend (visiting Canada) for tourism, education or business."However, he added that most Canadians treat Russians well, and Moscow's travel advisory for Canada only warns of street gangs and a "rather harsh climate."Stepanov says relations between Ottawa and Moscow are in a deep freeze and claimed that Russia has been

Former Quebec cabinet minister Nadine Girault has died at the age of 63.Premier François Legault confirmed her death on social media, paying tribute to a "passionate, determined and endearing woman."Girault announced in July that she was stepping away from her role as minister of immigration for health reasons and that she would not run in the October election.In 2019, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and took time off to undergo treatment.Girault was a businesswoman before entering politics in 2018 and winning election for the Coalition Avenir Québec in the riding of Bertrand, northeast o

Two people have been taken to hospital in serious but stable condition after a blast destroyed multiple homes in an east Ottawa suburb.Reid Purdy of the Ottawa Paramedic Service says the two had to be extricated after the explosion in Orleans, while three other people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.Another five people were assessed at the scene and released.Ottawa deputy fire chief David Matschke says the explosion occurred around 6:18 a.m. local time and affected four homes that were under construction.The Ottawa fire service previously said the explosion was caused by a gas leak.

Canada's defence minister says the United States is still trying to determine whether a Chinese surveillance balloon collected any intelligence from either country when it flew over North America last week.Anita Anand says Canada opted against shooting it down over Canadian airspace because it was deemed not to pose a threat to public safety.And she says Norad, the Canada-U.S. continental defence system, tracked the balloon throughout its flight, but she won't say precisely where it was when it was first detected.Anand met today with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon as she w

Every community in British Columbia will be eligible for infrastructure grants coming from a one-time $1-billion government fund.Premier David Eby says the money has been set aside in the provincial budget surplus, which was estimated at $5.7 billion last fall.He says he expects the government's Growing Communities Fund grants to help local municipalities improve roads, build arenas and water facilities and improve recreation options for families.The premier says the grants are available to B.C.'s 188 municipalities and regional districts, and can be used to prepare for future growth and build