Ottawa has asked the International Criminal Court to speed up its investigation into Russia for possible war crimes and announced Canada is closing its ports to Russian ships.Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says petitioning the court is important for Canada to show that it is steadfast in its support of Ukraine.The ban on Russian-owned or registered ships and fishing vessels in Canadian ports and internal waters will take effect later this week and is in co-ordination with G-7 partners and other countries. More than 100 diplomats from some 40 countries and allies on Tuesday walked out of

The federal government has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to review the presence of the Russian state-run broadcaster, RT, on Canada's airwaves. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says action is needed to combat falsehoods and disinformation by Russia about the invasion of Ukraine, including on social media. The move follows the decision of Rogers, Bell and Shaw to pull the Kremlin- backed broadcaster from their lineup of channels. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez applauded Telus for joining Canadian broadcasters "in giving RT the boot" in a tweet earlier tod

Another round of Canadian sanctions will target Russian President Vladimir Putin along with his chief of staff and foreign minister. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also says Canada is confirming its support to remove Russia from SWIFT, a critical part of the global banking system. He says excluding Russian banks from the system would make it even harder for Putin to ``finance his brutalities.'' Canada will also levy additional sanctions on Belarus and its leaders for helping Putin's invasion, targeting 57 individuals, in addition to existing sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko's regime for

Canada's chief public health officer says governments should be prepared to bring back public health measures in case of another serious variant of COVID-19.Several provinces have begun to scale back on mandates for vaccines and masks, signalling a return to normalcy now that the Omicron wave is waning.Dr. Theresa Tam says she hopes Canada is past the pandemic crisis and is now in a transition phase, headed toward recovery.She says Canada must still be ready to bring some public health measures back if cases begin to shoot up again.The goal, she says, will be to limit stiff restrictions in fav

Yellow and blue flags are flying in cities across Canada as Ukrainian Canadians demonstrate to denounce Russia's attack on Ukraine and urge Ottawa to act swiftly to help defend their homeland. Vancouver protester Sofiya Pylypenko moved to Canada 12 years ago but still has family in Ukraine that live just 40 kilometres from the Russian border. She says she has received calls from family telling her tanks were coming and explosions had started. Another rally is to take place tomorrow at 1pm outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Justin Trudeau says Canada is arranging for the safe passage of any Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families still in Ukraine following the Russian invasion. The prime minister says more severe sanctions will target dozens of people and entities with connections to Russia. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says the world cannot allow the attack to end the rules-based order that Canada helped build in the aftermath of the Second World War. Trudeau is calling Russia’s military action against Ukraine an attack on democracy, international law, human rights and freedom. He

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is imposing more severe sanctions on Russia in response to its military strike against Ukraine. The new sanctions will target 58 people and entities connected to Russia, including members of that country's elite and their families, the paramilitary organization known as the Wagner Group and major Russian banks. The sanctions, announced today after Trudeau attended a virtual G7 meeting, will also affect members of the Russian Security Council, including key cabinet ministers. Canada is also cancelling existing export permits for Russia and will not iss

Health Canada has authorized a made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine from Medicago, known as Covifenz.The two-dose, plant-based vaccine is authorized for use in people aged 18 to 64.Health Canada says its effectiveness and safety in those under 18 and over 64 have ``not yet been established.''Clinical trials suggested the vaccine was 71 per cent effective in protecting against COVID-19 one week after the second dose. The dosing schedule is 21 days apart.Medicago, a biotechnology company based in Quebec City, along with GlaxoSmithKline, submitted Phase 3 data to Health Canada in December.The company

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has revoked the Emergencies Act. Trudeau had said right up until yesterday that the government would not keep the Act in effect a moment longer than needed. Today he says that at the time, it was the right thing to do but there is no longer a state of emergency. He adds existing laws are sufficient to keep Canadians safe. The Act was invoked to end the weeks of truck protests against government COVID-19 health measures and vaccine mandates. Trudeau says there will be an inquiry into the whole process.