Canada has removed most of its diplomatic presence from India after New Delhi threatened to strip diplomatic immunities from them and their families, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Thursday. Officials said the move would slow down the processing of immigration applications, and Canada has issued a travel advisory for regions of India where it says it's been forced to reduce consular staffing. Relations with New Delhi have hit a deep freeze since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a month ago that Canadian intelligence services were investigating ``a potential link'' between In

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says an Israeli with ties to Canada who had been missing is now confirmed dead, amid the continued fallout from Hamas's recent surprise attacks on Israel.Joly is offering condolences to the family of Tiferet Lapidot, who she said was one of three Canadians reported missing after Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people and setting off a war that has left more than 4,000 dead on both sides.The minister says that during her recent trip to Israel, she met with Lapidot's Canadian father in Tel Aviv, as well as Lapidot's uncle,

Global Affairs Canada has confirmed the death of a fifth Canadian in Israel after a series of attacks by Hamas militants, while Canadians in the besieged Gaza Strip still have no way to get out.Three other Canadians who were in Israel when the attacks happened Oct. 7 are still missing, officials said Sunday.Global Affairs did not provide details of the fifth person who died or those who are missing, citing privacy reasons.More than 6,800 Canadians are registered in Israel, and more than 450 in the West Bank and Gaza.Canada is currently assisting about 3,300 permanent residents, Canadians and t

The City of Surrey says it is filing a petition in the B.C. Supreme Court challenging the province's order to convert the RCMP into a municipal police force.The move, announced in a statement on Friday, has been a long-running dispute."My team and I were elected to stop the proposed police change," Mayor Brenda Locke said in a statement.It is worth mentioning that on July 19, B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth directed the City of Surrey to replace its existing RCMP force with the Surrey Police Service.Farnworth said everyone has a right to be safe in their community and all British Co

Defence Minister Bill Blair says a Royal Canadian Air Force plane has left Tel Aviv with 130 people on board.The departures board at the airport shows that flight CFC 4169 left for Athens this afternoon local time.The federal government said Wednesday that flights could begin leaving as early as today, with up to 150 passengers on board.Officials say around 700 Canadians in Israel have asked for help to leave the country since violence broke out on Saturday.Canada does not usually provide military air transportation when commercial flights are still operating, but the government says people ha

Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly confirmed the death of two Canadians in Israel on Wednesday and said that there is a fear that a third may be killed.Along with this, the case of the disappearance of three other Canadians is being investigated.Joly said the government will airlift Canadians in the coming days using Canadian military aircraft.Other arrangements will be made for those who cannot reach the airport in Tel Aviv.The latest federal statistics show that 4249 Canadians are registered in Israel.476 Canadians are registered in Gaza and the West Bank.Joly said they know how difficul

Health Minister Mark Holland announced today that British Columbia is the first province to sign the $196-billion Individual Health Agreement introduced by the Prime Minister.In February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced that the federal government is ready to spend $196-billion dollars to revitalize Canada's health system, as a result of which all provinces except Quebec have agreed to this deal.BC will receive $1.2 billion over the next three years from the federal government.Federal Health Minister Mark Holland made the announcement Tuesday morning at Vancouver General Hospital.H

A Montreal man says his son is among the victims of an attack by Hamas militants on Israel over the weekend.Alain Haim Look says in a social media post that his son Alexandre Look was killed in Israel on Saturday while trying to save those around them.Look describes his son as a force of nature with unique charisma, and says he died a hero.A spokeswoman for the Chabad of Westmount Education Centre says she knows Look's parents, who are part of the centre's community, and she confirms the authenticity of the post.Devorah Shanowitz, the centre's director of education, says the centre's rabbis ha

A senior State Department official says Canada's dispute with India could make for fertile ground for foreign efforts to sow disinformation.James Rubin, the co-ordinator of the Global Engagement Center, says the diplomatic standoff makes Canada "ripe" for manipulation, and not just from inside India.A new report from the centre describes in detail the lengths China is going to dominate the information space around the world, including in Canada.The report notes how Chinese operatives used the WeChat messaging platform in an effort earlier this year to discredit Ontario MP Michael Chong.Chong w