National News

First Nations chiefs have voted to reject a landmark $47.8-billion child welfare reform deal, reached in July with the Canadian government. 

At a special chiefs assembly in Calgary hosted by the Assembly of First Nations, 267 out of 414 chiefs voted against a resolution in support of the deal after a lengthy debate that at points was emotionally charged as they argued either for or against it.

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is urging chiefs to vote in favour of a landmark child welfare deal with Ottawa, saying she doesn't think a better agreement would be possible under a different federal government.

Some chiefs are campaigning to vote down the $47.8-billion child welfare reform agreement at an assembly in Calgary this week.

Representatives of a British Columbia Sikh temple whose president was shot dead last year, as well as the Sikh independence group he was involved in, say their communities won't feel safe until India's consulates in Vancouver and Toronto are shut down.

That's after the Canadian government expelled six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, and the RCMP announced on Monday it had evidence of their alleged involvement in crimes including homicide and extortion targeting the so-called Khalistan independence movement.

Canada's emergency preparedness minister says the passengers of an Air India flight that landed in Iqaluit due to a bomb threat remain stuck there, and he has approved a request for the military to help them.

Harjit Sajjan posted on X late Tuesday that the airline "hasn't found a solution" after the plane landed in Nunavut's capital with 211 passengers on board earlier in the day and that they are "stranded."

The chances of a half-percentage point interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada became more likely Tuesday after Statistics Canada reported annual inflation fell to 1.6 per cent in September.

Economist Tu Nguyen of accounting and consultancy firm RSM Canada said she had expected the inflation rate to remain close to the central bank's two per cent target, where it was in August, for a few more months.

"This is one of the instances where I'm happy to be wrong," she said.

Canada's decision to expel New Delhi's top envoy and five other diplomats is front-page news in India, as an analyst wonders how other countries will respond.

On Monday, the RCMP warned the public about a rash of crimes including murder, extortion and coercion that the force links to Indian government agents.

The RCMP and other Canadian officials presented evidence to India earlier this past weekend, but they say New Delhi refused to co-operate in police investigations.

Canadians are set to receive carbon pricing rebates Tuesday, as the Liberals defend one of their most embattled policies.

The government says this is the first time all banks will label the payment as the Canada Carbon Rebate, after years of inconsistent and vague phrasing on bank statements.

The quarterly rebate will go to Canadians who filed their income tax while living in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and all four Atlantic provinces.

The payments vary by household size and province, while those in rural areas get a top-up.

Ottawa's decision Monday to expel India's top envoy and five other diplomats is just the latest development in tensions that have simmered for months between the two countries.

Here's a look at what's driving the chill between Canada and India.

Why is India mad at Canada?

India is a staunch opponent to the Khalistan separatist movement, in which some Sikhs advocate for an independent state called Khalistan to be carved out of Indian territory.

Monday's announced expulsion of six Indian diplomats from Canada comes after months of tensions between the two countries, which came to a head after the assassination of B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, allegedly at the behest of the Indian government.

Here is a timeline related to the killing, which triggered the ongoing diplomatic rift between Canada and India.

2023

June 18 — Hardeep Singh Nijjar is shot dead outside the Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey, B.C.

Accusations of widespread murder, extortion and coercion across Canada linked to agents of the government of India sparked an escalation of already strained diplomatic tensions Monday, as each country expelled six diplomats.

Canada declared six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, persona non grata after RCMP and other government officials told India its diplomats were persons of interest in several investigations into violent crimes in Canada. 

India swiftly retaliated by ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country by Saturday.