The Canada Revenue Agency is cutting up to 280 permanent employees in response to fiscal constraints. The workforce changes will impact branches across the CRA but the reductions will mainly impact employees in the National Capital Region. Commissioner Bob Hamilton and deputy commissioner Jean-François Fortin say in a message to staff today that executive positions are also being impacted by the reductions. The message says the CRA is taking steps to meet required government savings after examining its operating budget over the last two years. Earlier this month, the Union of Taxation Employe

Canada's new energy minister walked into the lion's den in Calgary and spoke to oil and gas executives about Ottawa's plans to turn the country into an energy superpower. Tim Hodgson told a Calgary Chamber of Commerce event that it's time for a reset and major projects need to get done in a more timely matter. He says the federal government will have a single body in charge of approving all major projects in two years. He says it's time for Canada and the energy sector to get some quick wins. The minister was planning to meet with his Alberta counterpart, Brian Jean, later in the day and sat

An Alberta man is facing charges after investigators allege he was involved in the livestreamed sexual assault of a toddler in Vietnam. The 55-year-old Edmonton man was arrested last week following an investigation by Canadian, American and Vietnamese law enforcement. The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams, or ALERT, says it relates to a video of a livestream depicting the sexual assault of a child between the ages of two and three. International authorities found the child and the offender in Vietnam and allege the Edmonton man remotely directed the abuse. He has been charged with se

Canada Post union calls for halt to overtime as deadline passes with no agreement The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees has called for a countrywide halt to overtime work, saying its negotiators will continue to review the latest contract offers from the mail carrier. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said late Thursday that members were being told to refuse any work beyond eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week. Canada Post issued its own statement in response to the overtime ban, saying there are no rotating strikes or national work stoppages as of now, and post

A late night stabbing incident occurred in Surrey’s Ocean Park area. Police said that at approximately 12:30 a.m., the victim approached a White Rock RCMP member in the area of 140 Street and 16 Avenue and reported that he had been attacked by unknown suspects near 128 Street and 16 Avenue. Police said the victim had a serious but non-life-threatening wound to his hand. However, he was taken to hospital for treatment. The attack is being investigated by the RCMP’s Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit. The victim’s identity has not been released at this time. Anyone with informati

Edmonton Police and the City of Edmonton registered 695 traffic violations on May 15 under Operation 24 Hours. Police say 195 of those were speeding violations. There were also 83 red light violations, 152 document violations, 111 dangerous violations, five reckless driving violations and six criminal code violations. According to Sergeant Carrie Bett, the number is down from last year, given the changes in the way automated traffic enforcement is implemented. ATEs are still present at playgrounds, construction sites and some red lights. Police say they are identifying areas with violatio

President Donald Trump will attend the G7 summit to be held in Canada next month. White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed this in a media briefing today. This will be Trump's first visit amid threats to make Canada the 51st state. The meeting of G7 leaders will be held in Kananaskis, Alberta from June 15 to 17. On May 6, Prime Minister Mark Carney had invited Trump to Canada for the G7 during his meeting with Trump at the White House. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders and the Prime Minister had said that he would meet Trump again in person durin

Police in Vancouver have released new data they say depicts the success of a task force launched three months ago to curb crime in the city's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. The department says it has deployed additional teams of officers to Gastown, Chinatown and Hastings Street under Task Force Barrage, allowing officers to deter crime and respond faster when incidents happen. Police say that in the three months since the operation was launched on Feb. 13, the task force seized 745 weapons, 79 guns, completed 414 warrant arrests and made 258 reports to Crown counsel.Police say violence and

Prime Minister Mark Carney says he is "devastated and appalled" by the killing of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington yesterday. The two staff members were leaving an event at a Jewish museum when they were shot and killed. Police said the suspect yelled, "Free, free Palestine" after his arrest. In a post on social media, Carney says this was a targeted attack against the Jewish community and he condemns it "in the strongest terms." Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says her thoughts are with the families of the victims, their colleagues and the Jewish community. She says antisemitism a