National News

Ontario Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis said Tuesday she is confident Pierre Poilievre will ensure all of the party's caucus voices are heard, amid calls for him to name her to a critic role.

Lewis ran against Poilievre in the Tories' recent leadership contest and placed a distant third behind his resounding first-ballot victory. 

She hails from the party's social conservative wing and during the race repeatedly attacked Poilievre for not talking about issues like abortion, which she and some others in caucus oppose. 

Tatyanna Harrison’s 21st birthday would have been on Sept. 29.

Her mother described Tatyanna, whose body was found in Vancouver earlier this year, as a courageous woman with the gift of gab and a deep love for learning.

“It affected (Tatyanna) deeply to witness anything that was unfair or cruel. She wasn't afraid to use her voice to speak on it and this has always been the core of who she was,” Natasha Harrison said.

“I know in my heart she wouldn't be OK with the injustice surrounding her passing.”

Legislation to temporarily double GST rebates to help low- and modest-income Canadians cope with high inflation is expected to pass the House of Commons later this week.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the measure is "a balance between compassion and fiscal responsibility."

Freeland appeared at the House of Common Finance Committee Monday where she commended MPs from all parties for supporting the measure.

The bill is expected to come to a final vote in the House of Commons Thursday, after which it will be sent to the Senate. 

Chuck Larsen has lived on Sanibel Island for 12 years and until last week had never experienced a major hurricane. The 76-year-old who moved from California decided to ride out Hurricane Ian in his condominium with little idea of the horror he was about to go through.

He filled his bathtub with water, stocked up on food and water, and made sure batteries were charged and his windows were rated to withstand 150 mph (240 kph) winds. He followed the forecast thinking the island would get strong wind and rain, and trees would fall, but areas to the north would take the hardest hit.

A former senator who resigned from the upper chamber amid a sexual misconduct scandal is now facing criminal charges.

Don Meredith, 58, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault and one count of criminal harassment, Ottawa police said Saturday. 

A source confirmed to The Canadian Press that the man in question was the former Conservative senator.

The charges relate to incidents that allegedly took place in 2013 and 2014 and were reported by an adult woman, police said, offering no other details.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sylvia Wu, whose famed Southern California restaurant drew Hollywood's biggest stars for four decades, has died at age 106, according to a news report. 

              Madame Wu’s Garden on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica became a dining destination shortly after it opened in 1959, popular for its cuisine and pagoda-style decor featuring jade statues, a stone waterfall and a koi-filled fountain. 

The Alberta government is providing $20.8 million over the next four years to implement recommendations from a star-led task force on human trafficking.

Country singer Paul Brandt, chair of the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force, personally thanked Premier Jason Kenney during the funding announcement Sunday at Edmonton International Airport for his willingness to prioritize the issue, and for putting faith in Brandt to lead the group.

Don’t cry for me, Alberta, I was leaving anyway.  

It's Premier Jason Kenney’s swan song message as he prepares to depart the province's top job, forced out by the very United Conservative Party he willed into existence.

"I was never intending to be in this gig for a long time,” Kenney told an audience earlier this month. He had planned for one more provincial election, he said.

As of this morning, travellers to Canada do not need to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 — and wearing a mask on planes and trains is now optional, though it is still recommended. 

People entering the country are no longer subject to random mandatory tests for the virus, and those who are unvaccinated will not need to isolate upon arrival.

Anyone who entered Canada in the last two weeks and was subject to quarantine or testing is off the hook as of today.

With drumming and singing, at powwows and public ceremonies, communities across the country marked the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Friday.

The federal statutory holiday, also known as Orange Shirt Day, was established last year to remember children who died while being forced to attend residential schools, as well as those who survived, and the families and communities still affected by lasting trauma.