National News

The Canadian Armed Forces is under fire for its plan to cut thousands of troops off a cost-of-living allowance without much notice.

The military announced last week that about 7,700 Armed Forces members will no longer receive the top-up starting in July, when it will be replaced by a new housing benefit that commanders say will better assist those who need the most help.

The pomp and circumstance of a presidential visit will give way today to a series of talks about green energy, migration and Haiti, as U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Parliament Hill.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to greet Biden late Friday morning for a welcoming ceremony at West Block.

Dignitaries from the House of Commons and Senate, including the Speakers from each chamber and the leaders of each elected party and most Senate groups, are set to join them.

Biden and Trudeau plan to then have a bilateral meeting in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Han Dong, the member of Parliament at the centre of allegations of Chinese meddling in Canadian affairs, has resigned from the Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent.

"I'm taking this extraordinary step because sitting in the government caucus is a privilege," Dong told the House of Commons Wednesday night.

"And my presence there may be seen by some as a conflict of duty and the wrong place to be as an independent investigation pursues the facts in this matter."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says his chief of staff, Katie Telford, will testify at a House of Commons committee on the issue of foreign interference in the last two Canadian elections.

The move came Tuesday as Trudeau's office issued the mandate for special rapporteur David Johnston, giving him until May 23 to recommend whether any additional mechanisms — like a formal public inquiry — are necessary.

Razak Iyal was given a warm embrace as he officially became a Canadian citizen, more than six years after nearly freezing to death  walking across the Canada-United States border in Manitoba.

It was a low-key citizenship ceremony but one steeped in hope, gratitude and assurance. 

Iyal, 40, was joined by a group of close friends as he logged on last week for the virtual event, which included dozens of others sitting in front of a judge to swear their allegiance to Canada. 

Canada's inflation rate likely took another dip last month, but with many Canadians still struggling with the cost of living, the federal government is facing pressure to deliver more help in the upcoming budget.

Statistics Canada is set to release its February consumer price index report on Tuesday, giving its most up-to-date reading on inflation ahead of the federal government's budget on March 28. 

Desjardins and RBC are both forecasting the inflation rate fell to 5.4 per cent last month, down from 5.9 per cent in January.

Edmonton police say two patrol officers have been killed while responding to a call.

The force did not immediately release details about what happened.

Police Chief Dale McFee and other dignitaries were scheduled to make statements later Thursday.

About a dozen police cars were parked around a northwest Edmonton apartment complex, a large series of brick three-storey walkups. A forensics truck was parked outside one of the buildings.

The scene was taped off and a road leading into the complex was blocked. Police also set up two command posts in the area. 

The Winnipeg Police have released a statement after two Edmonton Police Officers were killed in the line of duty. 

Early Thursday morning the pair responded to an apartment complex where they were fatally injured. 

Several officers, along with forensic units and command post trucks were outside an apartment complex in northwest Edmonton on Thursday morning as people were quietly leaving for work and school. One of the complexes was taped off. 

Edmonton police say two patrol officers have been killed while responding to a call.

The force did not immediately release any details about what happened.

Police chief Dale McFee and other dignitaries are to make brief formal statements later Thursday.

Police say further details will be released once they're confirmed. 

Several officers, along with forensic units and command post trucks were outside an apartment complex in northwest Edmonton on Thursday morning as people were quietly leaving for work and school. One of the complexes was taped off. 

The cows on Lyuba Pastushok's farm are like her "cheeky children," she explained in Ukrainian as she walked among her growing herd, gently cooing to them and softly petting their heads.

A few years ago there were only five cows on her small family operation in Holoskovychi, a rural community an hour and a half east of the nearest city of Lviv, in western Ukraine.

Now she tends to 25 cows, six of which she bought after Russian forces invaded the country.