The parliamentary budget officer says higher interest rates will lead the economy to stagnate in the second half of the year and the federal deficit will rise significantly this fiscal year.The PBO released its economic and fiscal outlook today, providing updated projections for the economy and federal finances as high interest rates weigh on growth.The budget officer also says it expects consumer spending to remain weak in the second half of 2023 and throughout the first half of 2024.Faced with slower growth in government revenues and higher expenses, the federal deficit is projected to rise

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

The Quebec government is doubling tuition for out-of-province students to give more money to francophone universities.Tuition for Canadians outside Quebec will jump to $17,000 from $8,992 beginning fall 2024, while the minimum tuition for international students will be $20,000.Quebec's English universities have far more international and out-of-province students compared to the French institutions.Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry says the new rates are justified because the majority of out-of-province students leave Quebec after their studies but benefit from preferential tuition rates.

The RCMP says it's aware of social media posts threatening the Jewish community in Canada, calling it a time for "increased vigilance."The statement comes as several Canadian polices forces, including in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, say they have upped patrols in response to the Israel-Hamas war but have not identified any specific local threats.A spokesperson for the Mounties declined to answer further questions about the social media threats, including whether the force was investigating.The statement says any threats are taken seriously and investigated as warranted.The Ontario Provincial

The Israeli army on Friday told the nearly one million Palestinians living in Gaza to evacuate the northern territory.The army has prepared to attack the Hamas terrorist group, due to which these orders have been given to almost half of the population of Gaza.The United Nations has warned that such mass exodus could be catastrophic.On the other hand, Hamas has described these orders as a trick of Israel and asked people to stay in their homes.It has been seven days since this terrible war, attacks are happening from both sides.More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the Hamas attack, incl

Canada's foreign affairs minister has arrived in Tel Aviv as she visits Israel and Jordan to hold talks on the impacts of Hamas' attack on Israel and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.Global Affairs Canada says in a statement that Minister Mélanie Joly travelled to the Middle East through Greece, the destination of the first two airlifts of Canadians out of Israel.The statement says Joly will "reaffirm Canada's support for Israel and its right to defend itself in accordance with international law," while pushing forward collective efforts to ensure the swift passage of humanita

An Indian government representative says Indian and Canadian officials have been in contact ``at various levels'' following a confrontation over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.The spokesperson for India's External Affairs Ministry, Arindam Bachi, declined, however, to confirm or deny media reports that the Indian and Canadian foreign ministers met in Washington two weeks ago.He reiterated that India remains determined to reduce Canada's diplomatic presence in the country.Bagchi didn't provide details of th

The war continued on Thursday for the sixth day since the attack by Hamas on Israel.Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that 230 Indians from Israel will return to the country tomorrow.External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that anyone who wants to come back to India can come.The first flight will depart under Operation Ajay.The first charter flight will arrive in Tel Aviv today.It will return to India tomorrow morning."We are in touch with India's representative office and embassy in Tel Aviv," Bagchi said.He said that there are about 18 thousand Indian

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is giving an initial $10 million in humanitarian assistance for urgent needs in Israel and the Gaza Strip.He also says the first airlift of 130 Canadians that left Tel Aviv earlier today has landed in Athens.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 operatin