Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press

Emotional mourners gathered by the hundreds in cities across Canada on Sunday to honour the victims of Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the still raging war in Gaza and roiled tensions in the Middle East and beyond.

In the nation's capital, a sea of Israeli flags could be seen draped over participants in front of Ottawa City Hall, with Canadian flags waving alongside them as they called for the release of hostages still being held in Gaza.

The smell of sage and sweetgrass floated in the air Monday over a mostly sombre ceremony to reflect on the legacy of residential schools and remember those who survived — and the thousands who didn't.

But amid the more difficult moments at the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation ceremony on Parliament Hill came a few moments of levity and celebration.

"We've got tomorrow, we'll live for a brighter day," sang Diyet & the Love Soldiers, performing their song We're Still Here while dignitaries and children alike got up on their feet and started dancing.

An NDP MP has introduced a bill that would criminalize residential school denialism, saying it would help stop harm caused toward survivors, their families and communities.

If the bill is passed, people could be charged under the Criminal Code for promoting hatred against Indigenous Peoples by condoning, justifying or downplaying the historical and lasting impact of residential schools.

Members of Parliament will hold an emergency debate in the House of Commons Monday evening on a string of recent deaths of First Nations people during interactions with Canadian police forces.

Six First Nations people have died in the last two weeks at the hands of police officers, which NDP MP Lori Idlout characterizes as a "disturbing pattern."

She wrote a letter to House Speaker Greg Fergus calling for the emergency debate, lambasting what she called a lack of media coverage of the deaths and inaction by the government to pass legislation on First Nations policing.

The Assembly of First Nations has postponed a special assembly for chiefs to vote on a landmark child welfare reform deal with Canada due to concerns about the process and a late translation of the document to French.

The Assembly was scheduled to be held in September in Winnipeg, but it will not happen now until October or November, the AFN said Tuesday.

Defence lawyers making final arguments on behalf of one of the prominent "Freedom Convoy" organizers are maintaining their client's innocence, with proceedings scheduled to continue next week.

Diane Magas argued before a judge Thursday that her client, Chris Barber, never meant to gridlock Ottawa and that he is not responsible for the actions of convoy participants.

She also said there's an "enormous" amount of material to deal with in the trial and the process has taken more time than expected. The trial began in September 2023 and has faced a number of delays.

"Freedom Convoy" organizer Pat King was released on bail Friday after spending more than a week in jail on Crown allegations that he breached his bail conditions.

The Crown alleged King broke his previous release conditions, which only allowed him to use social media to fundraise for his legal defence. The Crown says his online activity extended beyond what was allowed between July 10 and 29.

King, whose criminal trial ended last month, flew from his home in Alberta to Ottawa last week to turn himself in to police after learning of the allegations. 

Applications opened Wednesday for two streams in the federal government's new $30-billion public transit fund even though the money won't start flowing for another two years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

The 10-year Canada Public Transit Fund has been in the works for months and was in the recent federal budget but more details were provided as Trudeau made a visit to a subway yard in Toronto.

The Assembly of First Nations finalized a deal with Ottawa late Wednesday night that will see the federal government spend $47.8 billion to reform child welfare programs over the next 10 years.

AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak made the announcement on the final day of the AFN's annual general assembly in Montreal, just two days after she told chiefs there was an offer on the table but that she could not yet discuss it publicly.

The head of the Assembly of First Nations has informed chiefs that a draft deal with Ottawa on child-welfare reforms is worth $47.8 billion, a source who was in the room says — more than double what was initially promised.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak revealed that number to chiefs and their proxies on Tuesday afternoon, says the source, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to share the details publicly.