National News

The U.S. military shot down a fourth high-altitude object in just over a week on Sunday, this time closer to heavily populated areas in southern Ontario and the U.S. East Coast.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand said in a statement Sunday evening that a "high-altitude object" was detected in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron.

"NORAD launched Canadian and U.S. aircraft to investigate and the object was taken down in U.S. airspace by U.S. aircraft," Anand said.

A transit driver has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after two children were killed and six were seriously injured when a city bus crashed into a daycare north of Montreal.

Pierre Ny St-Amand, 51, appeared in court by video late Wednesday afternoon from a hospital room and will remain detained. Court documents show he faces a total of nine charges, including attempted murder, aggravated assault and assault causing bodily harm. The dead children were both four years old, identified in the documents only by their initials.

Bail has been set at $300,000 for a former actor in the movie "Dances With Wolves" who is facing eight sex-related charges in Nevada as police in Canada say more complainants there have come forward. 

Information from the North Las Vegas Court website says if Nathan Chasing Horse can post bail, he could be released on house arrest and would be electronically monitored. He cannot have contact with the complainants or any minors. 

Under Nevada law, Chasing Horse would have to pay 15 per cent of the bail — about $45,000. 

Inflation has eroded purchasing power for many Canadians, but the experience with rapidly rising prices has been far from uniform. 

While the inflation rate shows how quickly prices are rising, other factors like income and consumption patterns can make it harder or easier for people to cope. 

Here's a look at how high inflation is right now, who's feeling the pinch, and when Canadians can expect inflation to come down.

How high is inflation?

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will ask the provinces today whether or not they intend to accept the new health-care funding deal tabled by the prime minister.

Duclos and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Carolyn Bennett are to write to the provincial health ministers seeking some clarity on their positions.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers met in Ottawa Tuesday where he presented an offer that would see transfers to the provinces rise by $196 billion over the next 10 years.

Canada is ready to help in the aftermath of a disastrous earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday, as authorities in those countries reported that more than 3,400 people had died and thousands more were injured.

Rescue workers and residents searched the rubble of toppled buildings for survivors and officials feared the death toll would keep climbing.

The federal government can expect continued pressure from Manitoba’s Justice Minister to make changes to the Criminal Code to keep violent offenders behind bars. 

Kelvin Goertzen, also the MLA for Steinbach, says this concern has also been raised by other provinces. 

The federal defence minister says Canada "unequivocally supports" the United States government's decision to shoot down a high-altitude surveillance balloon that was suspected of spying for China, noting the balloon violated Canadian airspace.

Fighter jets downed the balloon off the Carolina coast on Saturday afternoon after it had travelled over sensitive military sites across North America.

The federal Liberals withdrew an amendment to their guns bill on Friday that had introduced a controversial new definition of an assault-style weapon.

On behalf of the government, Vancouver MP Taleeb Noormohamed asked for and received unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment to Bill C-21 at the House of Commons public safety committee Friday morning.

The amendment introduced a new definition of an "assault-style" gun that includes semi-automatic rifles and shotguns with a capacity of more than five cartridges.

The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.

The U.S. says it is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a few days. 

The Pentagon says it decided not to shoot it down over concerns of hurting people on the ground.