Organizers of an unofficial worldwide referendum on Punjabi independence have added a question to the ballot in British Columbia asking if India's high commissioner was responsible for the killing of a prominent provincial Sikh leader in June.The group Sikhs for Justice, which has been staging a series of non-binding votes in several countries on the independence issue, says the first stage of balloting in B.C. on Sunday attracted more than 135,000 voters.It says the second stage will be held on Oct. 29 and will add a second question about whether High Commissioner Sanjay Verma was responsible

Quebec Premier François Legault will be attending a United Nations climate summit in New York next week.Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres invited Legault to attend the UN General Assembly and to participate in the first Climate Ambition Summit.The premier's office says Legault was the only Canadian premier invited to the summit, describing it as recognition of the province's efforts to address climate change.Legault often boasts that Quebec emits the least amount of greenhouse gases per capita in North America and that 99 per cent of its electricity comes from renewabl

Montreal police have announced the death of a 42-year-old woman who was one of eight people who overdosed on Sunday in the city's downtown.Const. Jeanne Drouin says the woman died in hospital Tuesday and that the coroner's office will investigate the cause and circumstances of her death.Six people were sent to hospital Sunday, and police have said the lives of the five others are not in danger.Paramedics treated eight people for overdoses in the same area of downtown Montreal after they responded to two separate calls placed just over an hour apart.Luc Fortin, a spokesman for Montreal public h

Residents of western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick are being warned to prepare for power outages and localized flooding as hurricane Lee is expected to become a powerful post-tropical storm on Saturday when it makes landfall in the region.The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax issued a tropical cyclone statement this morning saying Lee's track could take the storm through an area anywhere between New Brunswick's Grand Manan Island and Nova Scotia's Shelburne County on Saturday night.The centre has repeatedly stressed that even though Lee is expected to transition from a Category 1 h

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to New York next week to take part in the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.The Prime Minister's Office confirmed today that Trudeau will be at the UN Sept. 19-21, with the climate crisis and sustainable development at the top of his agenda.The delegation will include Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.Trudeau will take part in a summit of leaders on sustainable development, a group he co-chairs, and an event promoting the virtues of puttin

A new report has found that visible homelessness in Quebec has increased by about 44 per cent between 2018 and 2022.The analysis by province's public health institute says homelessness increased in all the regions included in the survey but rose sharpest in certain areas outside Montreal.The survey was carried out on Oct. 11, 2022, and counted 10,000 homeless people across the province, including 4,690 in Montreal.But while the city had the highest number of people living in shelters or on the streets, its percentage of total homeless people in Quebec declined from 80 per cent in April 2018 to

The federal Liberal government is planning to remove GST on materials and labor costs used to build new rental housing.This information was given by a senior government official on condition of anonymity.The announcement could be made today by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland at the federal Liberals' ongoing caucus retreat.Recent polls have seen a decline in support for the federal Liberal Party, with Liberal MPs strategizing for the fall session of parliament that begins next week.Many of the party's 158 MPs have arrived to take part in the Liberal Party's

The union representing WestJet cabin crew is demanding an apology from the airline after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke on the public address system of a recent flight.A video circulating online shows Poilievre making short remarks on a Sunday night flight that was leaving Quebec City for Calgary after the Conservative Party of Canada's convention.Poilievre's campaign-style speech lasts for about 45 seconds and is met with laughter and cheers from passengers.CUPE Alberta's local president Alia Hussain says it's very disappointing that the airline allowed a politician to use the PA

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the projected housing supply gap has shrunk slightly from last year, but that Canada still needs to build about 3.5 million more houses by 2030 than what's on track to restore affordability.The federal housing agency says in its updated outlook that the supply picture has improved somewhat in Ontario, but has worsened in other provinces like Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia.Overall, CMHC estimates 3.45 million houses are needed beyond current construction trends, compared with 3.52 million in its outlook from June of last year.Ontario still makes up