The federal government is appealing a judge's declaration that four Canadian men being held in Syrian camps are entitled to Ottawa's help to return home.In a filing today in the Federal Court of Appeal, the government asks that a ruling last month by Federal Court Justice Henry Brown be set aside and be placed on hold while the appeal plays out.In his ruling, Brown directed Ottawa to request repatriation of the men as soon as reasonably possible and provide them with passports or emergency travel documents.Brown said the men are also entitled to have a representative of the federal government

A First Nation on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island has declared a state of emergency over what its leadership describes as the "unrelating impact of drugs and alcohol" on its members, particularly children and youth.A statement from the Ehattesaht First Nation says six young people have died from drug overdoses in the small village over the past few months.It says the nation's chief and council are calling on officials from the British Columbia and federal governments to sit down with them to help find the resources necessary to create a "survival plan."The nation's council has been try

Former British Columbia premier John Horgan says he is leaving politics, and gave an emotional farewell speech in the legislature.While he didn't give a specific time for his departure, he suggested St. Patrick's Day on March 17 might be a good day to go.Horgan, who's 63, has twice battled cancer, and announced last June that health reasons were forcing him to retire from the premier's job after five years.He did tell members of the house that he was healthy, and thanked all those who supported him during his battle with throat cancer.In his 35-minute speech, he also thanked several members of

Justice Minister David Lametti says he is giving "serious consideration" to reforming Canada's bail laws in response to a request from premiers to make changes.Provincial premiers unanimously called on the Liberal government in a letter to take "immediate action" on the bail system earlier this year.The letter from premiers says there are a growing number of calls for changes to prevent accused people who are out on bail from committing further criminal acts.Premiers called on the federal government to establish a "reverse onus" system for specific firearm offences that would require the perso

The British Columbia government has fined Teck Coal Limited more than $16 million for exceeding pollution thresholds as well as failing to build an active water treatment facility on time at one of its operations in southeastern B.C.The province's natural resources compliance and enforcement database shows three fines were issued at the end of January, including one penalty of nearly $15.5 million as a result of the company's failure to get its Fording River south water treatment facility operational by the December 2018 deadline in its permit.The decision document from the B.C. Environment Mi

Quebec is reporting a tripling of the number of organ donors in the last five years, including a major jump last year in donations through medical aid in dying.Transplant Québec says it received 854 organ donation referrals in 2022, which it said was a "record number."The organization says that about 15 per cent of all donors in the past year had received MAID, adding that the vast majority of them, about 85 per cent had been diagnosed with neurodegenerative or neurological disease.Quebec's end-of-life care bill came into effect in December 2015, and the first two organ donations through MAID

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says Canada may fast-track applications to come to Canada from people in the earthquake zones of Turkey and Syria.Two major earthquakes rocked southwestern Turkey and northwestern Syria in a matter of hours on Monday, destroying thousands of buildings.The confirmed death toll keeps rising, with more than 19,000 people killed and at least another 64,000 injured.Tens of thousands more are homeless in the middle of winter and struggling to access food, water and shelter.Fraser says his department is trying to understand the effect on applicants already in Canada's

Humanitarian groups that have been supporting Ukrainian refugees are calling on Ottawa to extend a special immigration program that allows people fleeing Ukraine to temporarily live, work and study in Canada.The program provides Ukrainians and their families with a visa to stay in Canada for up to three years while they figure out their next steps, but applications are due to close on March 31.As of Jan. 29, more than 150,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Canada since the Russian invasion of their country last year.Four organizations that represent Canadian volunteers, hosts and sponsors have wri

Ottawa's city council has approved a motion to reopen the street in front of Parliament Hill to traffic a year after it was closed off following the "Freedom Convoy" protests.Wellington Street, which was blocked by demonstrators during the weeks-long convoy protests last winter, will reopen no earlier than March 1.The city's transportation committee voted in favour of the same motion last month, and it was brought to the city council this morning for final approval.Councillors also voted to put in new infrastructure, including a temporary bike lane, and to explore closures of the street for su