Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole insists his caucus is united in supporting him and that those who allow their frustrations or personal agendas to get in the way won't be part of his team. O'Toole kicked Saskatchewan Senator Denise Batters out of caucus late yesterday after she called for an early review of his leadership. Sen. Denise Batters is taking off the gloves in her fight with Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole. O'Toole announced late Tuesday that the Saskatchewan senator was being expelled from the Conservative caucus after she launched a petition calling for a referendum on his leader

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is supporting recovery efforts in B-C and will help maintain supply chain routes after devastating rainfall and flooding. Trudeau says he spoke with Premier John Horgan and several mayors last night about what he called a ``terrifically bad situation.'' In addition to sending in the Armed Forces, Trudeau says they'll also be lending a hand with cleanup and rebuilding in the aftermath of these extreme weather events. The prime minister made the statements from Washington, where he's attending a meeting with the presidents of the United States a

Health Canada has approved the use of Moderna's m-R-N-A vaccine for booster shots for adults 18 and older, to be used at least six months after the second shot.The Spikevax COVID-19 booster is a half-dose of the regular vaccine.Chief public health officer Doctor Theresa Tam released new monitoring this morning showing an average of close to 25-hundred new cases of COVID-19 are being reported daily nationwide, up 11 per cent from last week.

Edmonton's first racialized mayor and a diverse city council sworn in Tuesday afternoon. Amarjeet Sohi, an immigrant from India and a former federal Liberal cabinet minister, won the municipal election last week. He will lead the capital's most diverse council yet.Eight of the 13 council members are women and four are people of colour.Sohi says in a statement that he is excited for the ceremony, which will abide with all public health orders related to COVID-19. Edmonton's council will have its first meeting following the swearing-in ceremony.

Alberta's top court has agreed to hear a sentence appeal of a man convicted of killing three people but a hearing date has been delayed indefinitely.Derek Saretzky was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2015 deaths of Terry Blachette, the man's two-year-old daughter, Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette, and Hanne Meketech. He was sentenced to life with no chance at parole for 75 years.His lawyer, Balfour Der, asked the Alberta Court of Appeal for permission to challenge the constitutionality of consecutive parole ineligibility periods.The Appeal Court says it will hear the appeal, but only after

The final results from Alberta's equalization referendum show a split between the province's two major cities on whether it shouldbe removed from the Constitution. Overall, 62 per cent of those who voted were in favour of getting rid of equalization, including 58 per cent in Calgary.But 52 per cent of voters in Edmonton were in favour of leaving the system alone. A second referendum on whether to stick with daylight timeyear-round failed by the narrow margin of 50.1 per cent to 49.9 per cent.

Even though the U-S border opened to fully vaccinated Canadian vacationers, visitors and day-trippers overnight, few major line-ups were reported this morning.That's partly because Canada is still requiring anyone coming back into the country to get a pricey COVID-19 test. Canadian Chamber of Commerce C-E-O Perrin Beatty says the expense is discouraging people from travelling and he doesn't think the tests do much to improve public safety.New York Congressman Brian Higgins and border city mayors and community leaders have scheduled a news conference this morning to urge Ottawa to abandon the r

The Public Health Agency of Canada says the country is bending the curve on the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, but progress has recently slowed.Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer, says Canada could still see some "bumps in the trajectory" over the next few months.Some provinces, including Alberta and Saskatchewan, are still lagging behind the rest of the country.That has prolonged the heavy strain on the health system and critical-care capacity.Nationally, reported cases are now most commonly children under the age of 12.That age group does not yet qualify to be vaccinated

Canada's new defence minister says she's accepted a call to move the investigation and prosecution of sexual misconduct and assault cases that happen in the military over from the force's control to civilian police. Anita Anand says the federal government has accepted ``in full'' the recommendation from retired Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour. Arbour was the second retired Supreme Court justice to call for the military to transfer criminal cases involving sexual misconduct to civilian authorities. Morris Fish made a similar recommendation in June, following a comprehensive review of the m