Marie-Danielle Smith, The Canadian Press

David Saint-Jacques says he has always been "obsessed" with the notion of perspective — from the physical, like understanding where we are in space and what's beyond the clouds, to the philosophical.

The Canadian astronaut and physician has had more opportunities than most to explore all the meanings of that word. He orbited Earth for 240 days and saw "just how exposed we are in the cosmos."

The final sprint is on at the Public Order Emergency Commission, which has already heard from more than 60 witnesses over five weeks on the government's response to last winter's "Freedom Convoy" protests.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and seven cabinet ministers will appear this week before the inquiry tasked with scrutinizing their decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to weeks-long demonstrations that overran downtown Ottawa and choked several border crossings.

The "Freedom Convoy" protests that took over downtown Ottawa last winter and inspired several border blockades caused serious concerns about Canada's international reputation and its economic security, senior Canadian officials say. 

Their testimony Monday evening at the Public Order Emergency Commission, along with new documentary evidence, suggests diplomats were getting anxious questions and forceful pleas from United States officials worried about the halt of trade by protesters blocking key border crossings.

Despite the test launch of NASA's new moon rocket being postponed on Monday morning, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it was "still a good day for Canada."

Champagne, who was in Florida for a two-day trip that included meetings with Canadian astronauts and NASA officials, got up at 1:30 a.m. to head to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral only to see the mission delayed.

"Obviously we all wanted to be there to witness history," he told Canadian reporters in a teleconference from Orlando.

Incoming Supreme Court of Canada judge Michelle O'Bonsawin, poised to become the first Indigenous member of that bench, says she's a "tell it like it is person" and a lifelong student.

In O'Bonsawin's first public appearance since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated her for the position last week, she said she believes her life experience as an Indigenous person, a Franco-Ontarian and someone who grew up in rural northern Ontario will serve her well on the court.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to defend abortion rights in Canada and around the world after what he calls a "devastating setback" in the United States.

He and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly reacted Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn its 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling that had guaranteed countrywide access to abortion.