National News

The Liberal government plans to temporarily lift the federal sales tax off a slew of items just in time for Christmas and send cheques to millions of Canadians this spring, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Thursday.

"Our government can't set prices at the checkout, but we can put more money in people's pockets," Trudeau said at a press conference in Toronto alongside Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. 

Yash Patel had only been away from his native India for a few weeks when he was dropped off on the bald Canadian prairie in the middle of a nighttime blizzard and given vague instructions to walk in a straight line into the United States, he testified Wednesday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce on Thursday a temporary GST break for certain essential items to help ease affordability pressures.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says in a statement that the announcement is in response to his party's demands to permanently lift the goods and services tax on a range of expenses.

The Parole Board of Canada says it is now working to allow victims’ families to attend Paul Bernardo's parole hearing and deliver their victim impact statements in person.

A lawyer representing the families of two teenage girls murdered by notorious killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo said they had been denied the right to deliver their statements in person at Bernardo's upcoming parole hearing. The issue was raised by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during question period in the House of Commons Wednesday.

Randy Boissonnault is leaving his post as employment minister in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet after weeks of questions about the Edmonton MP's shifting claims of Indigenous identity and his business dealings.

Treasury Board President Anita Anand is warning that if the House of Commons doesn't get back to regular business, some government departments might be in financial trouble.

On Monday, Anand tabled a supplementary estimates request for $21.6 billion to fund programs including housing, dental care and the national school food program.

One of the biggest-ticket items is $970.8 million for compensation adjustments for civil servants as a result of collective bargaining agreements.

A U.S. border patrol intelligence agent recalled Tuesday feeling horrified when he realized a group of migrants from India, including a young child, were out in a freezing blizzard on a stretch of open prairie at the border between Manitoba and Minnesota.

"My heart sank ... because there's more people out there," Daniel Huguley testified at the trial of two accused human smugglers. 

Some adult migrants had already been picked up after trying to walk undetected across the border on Jan. 19, 2022. One of them had a backpack, and Huguley said he looked inside.

Canada Post and the postal workers union found slivers of consensus Tuesday amid talks with a special mediator, but "a lot of ground" remains between them on the key concerns as a countrywide strike entered its fifth day.

“On smaller issues, we were able to find some progress,” said Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton in a phone interview.

"The special mediator has helped facilitate those discussions. So we're going to continue to be at it. We're committed to getting collective agreements," he said, adding that arbitration is off the table for now.

Canada's inflation rate climbed back up to two per cent in October, shifting expectations slightly in favour of a smaller, quarter-percentage point interest rate cut next month. 

The report from Statistics Canada on Tuesday said prices in October increased at a faster annual pace in five out of the eight major components of the consumer price index.

A major driving factor of the uptick in headline inflation was gasoline prices on an annual basis falling to a lesser extent in October compared with September.

Health and Addictions Minister Ya'ara Saks is looking for pitches to help young Canadians who are struggling with their mental health.

The federal government plans to distribute $500 million for projects that help young people struggling to afford private mental health care services.

The funding comes from the five-year Youth Mental Health Fund announced in the spring federal budget to tackle the stress, anxiety and depression young people are facing amid a high cost of living and global uncertainty.