National News

The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to set limits around how provincial governments can override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ottawa brought forward the request in a factum filed at the court on Wednesday, as part of a landmark case on Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.

Quebec has invoked the notwithstanding clause of the Charter in its legislation.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum during his visit to Mexico, which starts today.

The agreement will cover infrastructure, trade, health, agriculture, emergency preparedness and security, senior government officials say.

Carney's two-day visit to Mexico City is happening as Ottawa seeks more trade with Mexico in response to the United States' trade war, and as both countries brace for the renegotiation of the continental trade deal linking all three economies.

Canada needs to maintain its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday.

Ford said the measure is critical to securing a trade deal with the U.S. and protecting Canada's auto sector.

"If the federal government removes its tariffs against Chinese-made EVs, you will contradict and undermine months of engagement with U.S. officials and lawmakers about the need to protect and enhance our highly integrated cross-border automotive supply chains," Ford writes.

The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point on Wednesday as the central bank worries less about inflation risks and more about a slowing economy.

The Bank of Canada’s policy rate now stands at 2.5 per cent, breaking a streak of three consecutive holds since March.

Governor Tiff Macklem said the risks have shifted since the Bank of Canada’s last interest rate decision in July.

Cracks in the labour market and a sharp drop in exports are threatening growth, he said, while earlier signs of underlying inflation pressure are fading.

A group representing Canada's obstetricians and gynecologists says it has reviewed evidence on Tylenol use during pregnancy and maintains that the painkiller is safe. 

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada said on Monday that it has revisited its position in light of reports questioning whether there is a link between mothers taking acetaminophen while pregnant and autism in children. 

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says the government will table the federal budget on Nov. 4.

The long-awaited spending plan will be the federal Liberals' first under Prime Minister Mark Carney and comes as Ottawa's budget watchdog says he's worried about a lack of fiscal prudence.

It also will be Champagne's first budget as finance minister. He announced the date during question period Tuesday.

He said the plan will offer a "generational investment" in Canada's future.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has appointed Chrystia Freeland as Canada's new special envoy for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

While Freeland announced her resignation as transport minister on social media today, she will remain in the House of Commons as an MP until the next election.

She left today's regular cabinet meeting smiling and talking with Carney, but neither answered questions from reporters stationed outside the room.

Some stubbornness at the gas pumps pushed the headline inflation rate a couple ticks higher to 1.9 per cent in August, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Gasoline prices rose 1.4 per cent month-over-month in August as higher refining margins offset lower crude costs, StatCan said.

The price of gas was still down 12.7 per cent annually in August – the end of the consumer carbon price has deflated costs for motorists since the spring – but the decline fell short of July’s 16.1 per cent drop, pushing the headline inflation rate higher.

After talking up the prospect of cross-party collaboration in the House of Commons, Liberal and Conservative MPs wasted little time after Parliament resumed Monday before reverting to partisan attacks over housing and the cost of living.

The tone was set early Monday afternoon, when the first-ever question period exchange between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre began cordially before turning belligerent.

Elections Canada is launching a probe into problems with special ballots in the last federal election.

"We really have to look at the controls in place to make sure that they are sufficient," and make improvements where possible, Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault told reporters at a press conference on Parliament Hill on Monday.

Plans for the review were outlined on Monday in the agency's report on the 45th general election held on April 28. The report promises a "comprehensive review" that will examine training, control mechanisms and processes."