A federal inquiry into interference in Canada's affairs is slated to hear today from Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino is also scheduled to testify at the commission of inquiry. Officials from Joly's department, Global Affairs Canada, appeared late last week. The inquiry's latest hearings are focusing on the ability of agencies to detect and counter foreign meddling. Once the hearings conclude, there will be a week of policy sessions to help identify recommendations. A final report is due by the end of the year.

William Osler Hospital in Ontario apologized after its staff shaved a Sikh man's beard without permission from him or his family and in violation of his religious principles. The World Sikh Organization (WSO) brought attention to the August incident last month. Dr. Frank Martino, president and CEO of the William Osler Health System in Brampton, and Pardeep Singh Gill, board chair, issued a public apology Wednesday. "Recently, we failed to uphold religious and cultural care practices when a Sikh patient's beard was shaved without consent and without medical necessity. We take full responsibil

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has been tasked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the federal government's share of the work to rebuild Jasper, Alta. In July, a wildfire destroyed one-third of the Rocky Mountain tourist town and displaced some 2,000 residents. Boissonnault, an Edmonton member of Parliament, will be responsible for co-ordinating federal resources with the Alberta government, the municipality and Indigenous groups. "This role that the prime minister has asked me to play in terms of ministerial lead is important, but it’s a whole-of-government approach," Boissonna

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canadians in Florida should leave and people planning to travel there should postpone as the state braces for the impact of Hurricane Milton. The storm was downgraded this morning to a Category 4 but is expected to bring deadly storm surge, rain and winds. It's expected to make landfall later today in the Tampa Bay area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people, and then move east affecting other populated areas including Sarasota, Orlando and Daytona Beach. Millions of people have been ordered to evacuate. Florida is a popular destination for C

One of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's key advisers and the driving force behind the province's recovery-focused addiction treatment push is leaving the job. Premier Smith says her chief-of-staff, Marshall Smith, will retire from public service by the end of October. Marshall Smith has been held up as the architect of the government's approach to the drug-overdose crisis, prioritizing recovery over harm-reduction. Rob Anderson, executive director of the premier's office, is set to take over the chief-of-staff role. Marshall Smith has also been at the centre of a controversial poli

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is travelling to Laos today to take part in the ASEAN Summit. Canada is not a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but has a strategic partnership with ASEAN and is hoping to conclude a trade deal with the 10-nation bloc by the end of next year. Canada and Indonesia are also working toward a trade deal that's set to be signed by the end of this year. The trip marks the first official visit to Laos by a Canadian prime minister and Trudeau is set to meet with leaders from several member nations during the summit. Together, the ASEAN countries repres

A former Winnipeg high school football coach has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting nine students. Kelsey McKay was sentenced today after pleading guilty last year to nine counts of sexual assault and two counts of luring. The victims ranged in age from 12 to 18 when the assaults happened between 2003 and 2016. Court was told McKay was considered a father figure to the boys and in some cases supplied them with alcohol and pornography. McKay apologized in court in March and said he betrayed the trust that had been placed in him. The Crown asked for a 25-year sentence

Justin Trudeau will travel to Laos later this week for the ASEAN summit, marking what his office says will be the first official visit of a Canadian prime minister to the Southeast Asian country. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings will take place in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on Thursday and Friday, after which the PMO says Trudeau will attend the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany. The ASEAN bloc and Canada have pledged to ink a trade agreement by the end of 2025, and Canada entered a strategic partnership with the

Ceremonies, events and protests are being held across Canada today to mark the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The Oct. 7, 2023 attack killed more than 1,200 Israelis, while another 250 were abducted and held as hostages, triggering an Israeli counter-offensive in Gaza that the health ministry there says has left more than 41,000 dead. The war has had far-reaching effects around the world and in Canada, including families grieving loved ones who were killed, hundreds of protests resulting in arrests, pro-Palestinian encampments at universities an