Ottawa says Canada will contribute $10 million to earthquake relief efforts in Turkey and Syria as part of an initial aid package.International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says the federal government is conducting a needs assessment for further aid and is also considering deploying the country's disaster assistance response team to help with rescue operations.The death toll of Monday's earthquake has surpassed 5,300 and is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue.The powerful 7.8 magnitude quake, which was followed by strong aftershocks, has levelled thousands of buildi

A Boeing 737 air tanker owned by a British Columbia company has crashed in western Australia while on deployment to a fire. Coulson Aviation, based in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, says in a statement that both pilots walked away from the accident and have been medically assessed. The statement says the company is offering all the support it can to its local and international crews and is grateful to its firefighting and aviation industry colleagues in Australia. Coulson announced last month that it had been awarded a contract to provide its Boeing 737 Flatliner, designated tanker 139,

Opposition parties say the public deserves answers about a Chinese balloon’s incursion over Canadian territory. The federal government is offering few details about the balloon’s flight over Canada before the U.S. military revealed its presence over the western state of Montana last week. While Beijing says it was a weather research balloon that got blown off course, Ottawa and Washington are alleging that it was being used to spy on sensitive military sites. The Liberal government has confirmed it flew into Canadian airspace from Alaska before crossing back into the Western U.S., but it w

The federal government is investing more than $46 million over the next five years to explore and protect Canada's oceans. Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray says understanding of the marine environment is "relatively meagre" because oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Speaking at a news conference at the International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Vancouver, Murray said the investment will give Canada a clearer picture of how ecosystems are changing and how resources can be managed sustainably. The funding will come from the government's $3.5-billion Ocean Protection Plan. Kate

The Crown wants the Quebec sexual assault case involving Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygaard to proceed more quickly. Nygaard's case has been adjourned for months as he faces charges in Toronto and the United States, and prosecutor Jerome Laflamme told a Quebec court judge today that the complainant wants to pursue legal action. Nygaard, 81, was first arrested in Winnipeg in 2020 under the Extradition Act following nine sexual assault-related charges in New York. He will stand trial in Toronto in September 2023 on charges of sexual assault and confinement. Nygaard will face trial in Quebec fo

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is "ready" to provide help after powerful earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria, killing thousands of people. In a statement, Trudeau called the reports and images from Turkey and Syria "devastating" and expressed his thoughts for those affected. More than 2,600 people have been killed so far and the death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers and residents search for survivors of Monday's earthquake. It was Turkey's worst earthquake this century and came before sunrise in bitterly cold weather, followed by another magnitude 7.7 earthquake in the after

As a massive arctic air mass sweeps across the eastern half of Canada today, Environment Canada issued a long list of extreme cold warnings covering six provinces across the two territories.Government and private agencies are scrambling to provide shelter to those in need as temperatures are expected to range from -40 degrees Celsius to -50 degrees Celsius in many areas.In Nova Scotia, Environment Canada meteorologist Ian Hubbard said residents in Halifax could face icy gusts that could feel like -43 degrees Celsius.P.E.I. Residents are also being warned of bitterly cold conditions that could

The Senate has passed the Online Streaming Act, known as Bill C-11, with a dozen amendments after a lengthy study.The bill would update Canada's broadcasting rules to reflect online streaming giants like YouTube, Netflix and Spotify, and require them to contribute Canadian content and make it accessible to consumers in Canada, or face stiff fines. canCanadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says he expects the House of Commons to pass the bill next week after reviewing the Senate's changes.The senators introduced amendments aimed at protecting user-generated content and highlighting the prom

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to decide whether military judges are truly independent.The Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling this morning in response to an appeal by several service members whose criminal cases are pending.As per the rules, the court provided an explanation for its decision to hear the case, which is a 2018 case when a top army judge was accused of fraud.Although the case against Colonel Mario Dutil was eventually dismissed, it set off a series of events that led to tensions between the remaining military judges and then-Defense Chief General Jonathan Vance.The