Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

Calls from the daughters of a slain Indigenous woman to bring her remains home from a landfill that police in Winnipeg won't search turned into a rallying cry Wednesday to end the violence against their women and girls.

Cambria Harris, speaking before an Assembly of First Nations gathering in Ottawa, says her mother, Morgan, was a "bright and loving soul" who had her life stolen by a "monster."

The 39-year-old mother and grandmother is one of four victims police believe were killed by 35-year-old Jeremy Skibicki, now facing first-degree murder charges. 

In an effort to send a message of unity, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has welcomed two former leadership rivals to serve as critics in Parliament — but he has also left out two of the party's more prominent names.

Ontario members of Parliament Scott Aitchison and Leslyn Lewis are among the group of 51 Tory MPs chosen to go head-to-head with Liberal government ministers on certain files, according to a list Poilievre's office released Wednesday. 

But well-known caucus members Ed Fast and Michelle Rempel Garner are off the list.

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. 

Pierre Poilievre's crushing win to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada raises questions about the status and power of the party's social conservatives. 

That well-mobilized part of the party's base has played an important role in helping previous leaders achieve power, with some calling them "kingmakers." 

Pierre Poilievre woke up Sunday with a list of things to do as he embarks on his first week as the Conservative party's new leader, while his former rivals offered assurances he could count on their support.

The 43-year-old walked out of the convention centre in Ottawa where the party's leadership election results were revealed Saturday night with a massive victory. Poilievre won nearly 70 per cent of members' support on a first-ballot victory against four other candidates. On top of that, a riding-by-riding breakdown shows he won almost all of the country's 338 ridings. 

Pierre Poilievre, one of the first members of Parliament elected under the Conservative party's banner, won the leadership race Saturday night.

The party veteran and former cabinet minister, known for his combative style, won a resounding first-ballot victory — with 68 per cent of support — that prompted applause to erupt in the room of Conservative faithful at a downtown Ottawa convention centre.

More than half of Conservative party members have voted for its next leader, leaving one week for the remaining members to do the same. 

As of Tuesday, the party says over 350,000 mail-in ballots have been returned out of the 678,000 they sent to people who can vote in the contest. 

That means voter turnout is currently sitting at around 52 per cent so far. In the party's 2020 leadership contest, which was won by Ontario MP Erin O'Toole, around 65 per cent of members voted. 

Canada agreed to "forever discharge" Catholic entities from their promise to raise $25 million for residential school survivors and also picked up their legal bill, a final release document shows. 

The Canadian Press obtained a signed copy of the 2015 agreement through federal Access-to-Information laws, marking what appears to be the first time the document has been widely publicized. 

Canada's bishops are working with the Vatican in the hope of issuing a new statement from the Catholic Church on the Doctrine of Discovery, the organizers of the papal visit said Wednesday.

Many Indigenous leaders and residential school survivors had hoped Pope Francis would renounce the policy, which stems from a series of edicts, known as papal bulls, dating back to the 15th century. Countries, including Canada, have used the doctrine to justify colonizing lands considered to be uninhabited, but were in fact home to Indigenous Peoples.

When 48 Catholic church entities signed on to fundraise $25 million for survivors under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, it was spelled out they would do so through their "best efforts."

Ken Young puts it another way. 

"It was a weasel clause," the former Manitoba regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations said in a recent interview. 

"And they used it."