National News

A Saskatoon high school student remembers the pungent smell of burned hair going up her nose, and something like the strong scent from a Sharpie marker, moments after she watched a schoolmate being set on fire.

She had just stepped out of her Grade 9 social studies class for lunch on Thursday, she says, when she saw two other girls in a hallway. A girl in a crop top poured liquid from a black canister onto the head of the girl standing next to her.

When a father and son were arrested this summer in Ontario over an alleged terrorist plot, U.S. authorities say the news spooked a 20-year-old Pakistani national and Canadian resident named Muhammad Shahzeb Khan.

They say Khan used encrypted messaging to warn that because of the arrests "here in Toronto," there was a need to "lay low" on his own alleged plans: killing as many Jewish people as possible in New York around the Oct. 7 anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel.

Tributes poured in Friday for Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, who died after collapsing outside the Winnipeg Law Courts building. 

Merrick, the first woman elected to the role, was talking to reporters about two court cases when she said she felt dizzy and fell to the ground. 

Fire and paramedic crews arrived, performed chest compressions and carried Merrick away on a stretcher to an ambulance, which sped off with its siren on.

Public health agencies are encouraging people who received a first dose of mpox vaccine over the last two years to make sure they get a second dose. 

Many people at risk for mpox exposure got vaccinated in Canada beginning in spring 2022, when a global outbreak of the virus was declared, Canada's chief public health officer said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

But a lot of them never got a second dose, which is recommended at least 28 days after the first shot.

A 15-year-old girl is in hospital with serious injuries after she was lit on fire at a Saskatoon high school, police said Thursday. 

Sgt. Ken Kane told reporters that a school resource officer, who was at Evan Hardy Collegiate for a different matter, apprehended a 14-year-old girl as a suspect.

He did not say how the victim was lit on fire or the extent of her burn injuries. 

"Our officer that was on scene was at the immediate area of the event within 30 seconds and had someone in custody within 60 seconds," he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has ripped up the supply and confidence deal with the Liberals that helped keep the minority government in power. 

In a social media video posted Wednesday afternoon, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he notified Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of the decision. 

"Canadians are fighting a battle.  A battle for the future of the middle class.  Justin Trudeau has proven again and again he will always cave to corporate greed," Singh said in the video directly addressing Canadians. 

The NDP's supply and confidence deal with the Liberals in Ottawa will get heavy scrutiny when leader Jagmeet Singh meets with his caucus in Montreal next week, with the Liberals' decision last month to force binding arbitration to end a work stoppage at the country's major railroads potentially triggering the end of the pact.

China has announced an anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola imports in response to Canada planning to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.

In a news release Tuesday, China's Ministry of Commerce said it is launching an anti-discrimination investigation into the tariffs and an anti-dumping probe into Canadian canola imports as well as certain chemical products.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Aug. 26 that Canada will impose a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs and a 25 per cent tariff on steel and aluminum.

A tourist visiting Canada is questioning the safety of Via Rail after he says his phone was snatched from him by an employee when he was documenting a train delay that left passengers stranded as they ran out of food, water and working toilets.

Chip Malt was in Quebec over the long weekend to celebrate his father's 70th birthday in the province's capital, and said he boarded a Via Rail train from Montreal to Quebec City on Saturday.

When August rolled around, April Hicke realized the $100 she typically gives her 13-year-old son to update his wardrobe in time for school to start was no longer enough.

"Even on the sale racks, a pair of sweatpants at SportChek, they're still $25 a pair. You used to be able to go and buy a pair of sweatpants for $10," said the Calgary-based mother of two. "I am shocked at the (price) increase of kids' clothes."