Quebec Premier Francois Legault says he is abandoning his threat to tax the unvaccinated. Legault told a news conference today he is worried about dividing Quebecers and is backtracking in order to maintain social peace in the province. The premier announced on Jan. 11 he planned to make the unvaccinated pay a significant financial penalty because they were overrepresented in the health-care system. About 10 per cent of the province's eligible population are unvaccinated. Legault is also announcing that gyms and spas will be allowed to reopen on Feb. 14.

A blockade in southern Alberta at the United States border is entering its fourth day. A convoy of commercial trucks, vehicles and camper vans has been blocking the highway at the Coutts border crossing since Saturday to protest COVID-19 restrictions. Mounties said in a statement last night that they thought there was a path to resolve the matter, but protesters chose not to comply. They say the protest is no longer lawful, and resources are in place to make arrests and tow away vehicles. Some demonstrators say they have no plans to leave. Coutts Mayor Jim Willett says he wants them gone,

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says it's time for truckers in a convoy in Ottawa to go home. He says they have made their point and are losing any support they had from Ottawa residents after some anti-vaccine protesters vandalized a Terry Fox monument and desecrated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial. Singh says it's wrong that businesses have been forced to shut down, some kids can't go to school and some people living in the downtown core are afraid to leave their homes. The protesters are showing no signs of leaving.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t planning to meet with the protesters involved in the truck convoy against vaccine mandates. He says while he has attended rallies in the past, he has chosen not to go anywhere near protests that have expressed hateful rhetoric and endorsed violence toward fellow citizens. He had this message for politicians who he says are exploiting people’s fears.Trudeau has tested positive for COVID-19 and says two of his children have now contracted COVID. He says he's feeling fine and will be working from home this week as he follows public health guidelines. Trudea

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he tested positive for COVID-19 today. He says on Twitter that he is ``feeling fine'' and that he will keep working remotely this week as he follows public health guidelines. His tweet also encourages everyone to ``please get vaccinated and get boosted.'' Trudeau revealed last Thursday that he was going into isolation for five days after finding out the previous evening he had been in contact with someone who tested positive. He told The Canadian Press on Friday that it was because one of his three children had tested positive for COVID-19. Trudeau is se

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's isolating because one of his kids tested positive for COVID-19.In an interview with The Canadian Press, he says he feels fine and has no symptoms.He says he took another test this morning and it was negative, as was a previous rapid test.He's not saying which of his three children has tested positive or how they're doing.Trudeau revealed in a tweet Thursday that he was going into isolation for five days after finding out Wednesday evening he'd been in contact with someone, whom he didn't identify, who had tested positive.Trudeau says he's working from ho

An anti-vaccine mandate protest in Ottawa has surged in size and energy, with at least one-thousand people in attendance and some promising to stay put until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is forced out. Ottawa police are calling in reinforcements as hundreds of vehicles and long-haul trucks continue their trek toward the nation's capital. People in the convoy are demanding an end to COVID-19 restrictions, including vaccine passports. The atmosphere outside the Parliament buildings has been generally festive, with some setting up barbecues on the sidewalk, and many honking horns, playing instr

The Government of Canada is taking a responsible, precautionary approach at the border to help protect Canadians from the global COVID-19 pandemic. As the pandemic continues to evolve, across the country and internationally, the Government of Canada will closely monitor and adjust measures at the border, as appropriate, to help keep Canadians safe.Today, the Government of Canada is providing an update on its border measures. It is:Removing, effective January 28, 2022, the modified pre-departure test requirements for travellers coming to Canada on direct or indirect flights from India or Morocc

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says peaceful demonstration needs to be the focus of a truck convoy rolling into Ottawa to protest a vaccine mandate for truckers. Even as reports surface of people trying to push extreme ideas as part of the convoy, Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre says it has his support and the extremist views held by some shouldn't be seen as a reflection on the whole event. His remarks follow concerns raised about individuals belonging to extremist groups latching on to the demonstration headed to Parliament Hill. Ottawa's Parliamentary Protective Service is e