Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada will bring back visa requirements for people from Mexico because of a spike in asylum claims in recent years. Miller says Mexicans accounted for 17 per cent of all asylum claimants in 2023, and most of their claims are either rejected or withdrawn by the applicants. Quebec Premier François Legault has been urging Ottawa to make the change, telling the federal government his province is reaching a breaking point because of the number of claims. Mexican citizens flying to Canada will be able to apply for an electronic travel authorization if they h

The Canadian government is going to present the pharmacare bill in a day or two. Health Minister Mark Holland has listed it on the notice paper of the House of Commons. The government's House Leader Steve MacKinnon said on his way to the Liberal meeting this morning that he expects it to be tabled on Thursday because the deadline under the agreement with the NDP is Friday. Initially, diabetes and birth control drugs are being covered. In return for supporting the minority government of the Liberals, the NDP had placed several conditions, including the pharmacare condition. The NDP had previ

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Ottawa is ready to step in and shut down shady schools that are abusing the international student program if provinces don't crack down on them. Miller says there are problems across the college sector, but some of the "really bad" actors are private institutions and those schools need to be shut down. The minister says provinces are responsible for addressing problems in the post-secondary sector with regards to international students. But he says if they won't do it, Ottawa will, though there are "jurisdictional questions" around what the federal governm

A new report says the crisis in Canada's bail system has worsened over the last decade, with more people in pre-trial custody and some spending weeks in detention before being released. A report released today by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says that by 2021-2022, the proportion of people in provincial and territorial jails who were awaiting bail or trial was more than 70 per cent and nearly 79 per cent in Ontario. That's compared with just over 54 per cent in 2014, when the association released its initial report on the issue. The report says that while there are "clear timeframe

The relief given by the Government of Canada to international students to work more than 20 hours is ending on April 30. Meanwhile, reports say that the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is considering a permanent change to increase the working hours for international students from 20 to 30 hours. Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced the reduction in the number of international students in January, saying that students who are already in Canada or who have applied for a study permit by December 7, 2023 will be able to work without the 20-hour limit until April 30. Ear

BC is launching a public housing program that aims to fast-track rental property developments on under-utilized lands throughout the province. The province says the 2.95 billion dollar BC Builds program will provide low-cost financing to build affordable rental units for middle-income earners on government, community and non-profit owned lands. It says it has already identified 20 sites with the potential to build up to four thousand rental units. Premier David Eby says they are aiming for a concept-to-construction timeline of 12 to 18 months to build the housing, compared with the current thr

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has been embroiled in controversy over ArriveCAN, which was released during the Covid-19 pandemic.The Auditor General of Canada says there was mismanagement in the contract, development and implementation of the ArriveCAN app, making it impossible to determine the final cost of the app.However, the Auditor General put the cost at an estimated $59.5 million, while the Canada Border Services Agency said the estimated cost to build and operate the app was $54 million.

In an exclusive interview conducted by Connect FM host Vijay Saini at the Surrey studio, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sharply criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying living conditions in Canada have worsened during his eight years in office. Poilievre targeted federal housing and immigration policies, arguing they are fuelling a crisis of affordability and access. “Canadians are working harder, paying more, and getting less. That is the direct result of this government’s approach,” he said. The Conservative leader also pointed to rising public safety concerns, noting rep

Officials from various levels of government are set to gather with police and industry leaders in Ottawa today to brainstorm on fighting the scourge of automobile theft. The federal government says an estimated 90,000 cars are stolen annually in Canada, resulting in about $1 billion in costs to Canadian insurance policy-holders and taxpayers. It says auto theft increasingly involves organized crime groups, and the proceeds of these crimes are used to fund other illegal activities. Ottawa says most stolen autos shipped abroad are destined for Africa and the Middle East. On Wednesday, the govern