A Florida man has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges after the frozen bodies of a family of four migrants were found near the Canada-U.S. border last year.Steve Shand, 48, entered the plea today via videoconference as part of his long-delayed arraignment in Duluth, Minn.Shand faces one count each of bringing people into the U.S. illegally and of transporting them inside the country.He was arrested in January 2022 in a remote area of northern Minnesota, where border agents encountered him with two Indian nationals in a rented passenger van.Just over the border, near Emerson, Man., RC

Quebec Premier François Legault says the province will require that the vast majority of economic immigrants to Quebec speak French before they arrive.Sixty-five per cent of immigrants to Quebec come through the economic immigration stream, which is controlled by the province.Legault says his government is also considering increasing the number of immigrants it accepts every year to 60,000 people from 50,000 people, by 2027.He says the rise in immigration would come from people arriving through the economic stream, adding that his government is not considering increasing the number of people

More than a dozen MPs in the Canada-Pakistan friendship group are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call out Pakistan's arrest of its former prime minister.Imran Khan, who is now the opposition leader in Pakistan, was arrested earlier this month on corruption and terrorism charges triggering violent protests.The country's supreme court ordered Khan released saying the arrest was illegal.Khan was ousted as prime minister last year in a non-confidence vote he claims without proof was part of an illegal plot orchestrated by Washington and his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.Sixteen

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is leaving the door open should Independent MP Han Dong decide he wants to rejoin the Liberals.The Toronto MP resigned from the government caucus earlier this year, saying he wanted to clear his name following allegations published in media reports.Global News reported, citing unnamed national security sources, that Dong told a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor would benefit the Conservatives.David Johnston, whom Trudeau appointed to investigate the government's response to foreign interference, said that allegation

Former governor general David Johnston says there's no need for a formal inquiry into allegations of foreign meddling in the past two federal elections.While he says that could not be done transparently because of the sensitivity of the intelligence involved, he does believe public hearings should be held.Johnston says there are serious shortcomings in the way intelligence is communicated and processed from security agencies through to government.Based on access to classified documents and security agencies, he has concluded that specific accusations of interference were less concerning than m

Special rapporteur David Johnston is expected to release his decision next Tuesday on whether the federal Liberals should hold a public inquiry on foreign interference.The recommendation is anticipated to be included in an initial report about how the government should proceed with allegations that Canada's last two federal elections were subject to meddling by other countries.Opposition parties' calls for a public inquiry into Chinese meddling have grown louder throughout the year amid a series of media reports shedding light on Beijing's alleged attempts to influence the 2019 and 2021 electi

A tentative agreement was reached this morning between WestJet and the union representing WestJet pilots.The airline is preparing to resume its operations but the airline says that since many flights have already been cancelled, it will take some time to fully restore operations.Passengers are advised to check the timing and status of their flight in advance.It may be mentioned that yesterday when the talks between the two parties did not reach any result, at that time flights within Canada, between Canada and the US and some oversees flights were also cancelled.

Justice Minister David Lametti introduced a bill in the House of Commons today to change Canada's bail system.The bill has been named C-48, and will change the bail system of the Criminal Code.The bill tightens bail for repeat violent offenders with firearms, knives, beer spray and weapons.5 specific changes have been proposed in the Criminal Code through the Bill.The bill states that bail conditions will be tightened for people charged with serious violent crimes involving firearms who were convicted of a similar crime within the past five years.The court will need to take into account the ac

The union representing WestJet pilots has given a 72-hour strike notice to the company and the government on Monday night.Pilots may go on strike before the May long-weekend.A lockout notice has also been issued by the WestJet Group.WestJet said that the disruption in operations may start from 3 am on Friday.WestJet said that the affected passengers will be refunded or given other facilities as per the availability.About 1,850 unionized WestJet pilots are preparing to strike.Better wages, job security and scheduling are key issues, according to the union.The company's CEO Alexis von Hoensbroec