National News

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ukraine should be allowed to strike deep inside Russia, regardless of Moscow threatening that this would draw Canada and its allies into direct war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the NATO military alliance would draw itself into war if it allows Ukraine to use donated weapons to make long-range strikes inside Russia.

His comments come five weeks after Ukrainian forces stormed the border and put parts of Russian territory under foreign occupation for the first time since the Second World War.

After 45 days of evidence and legal arguments the criminal trial of "Freedom Convoy" organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber is finally at an end.

A verdict could be as much as six months away.

"I don’t know in this moment when I will be in a position to give my decision," Justice Heather Perkins-McVey said Friday.

She said "it's a little daunting," given the unusually great volume of evidence and legal questions associated with the case. 

Air Canada and business leaders are asking Ottawa to be ready to intervene in labour talks with its pilots as time is running out before a potential shutdown, but so far the government has said the two sides need to work things out. 

Airline spokesman Christophe Hennebelle said Thursday that Air Canada is committed to negotiations, but it faces wage demands from the Air Line Pilots Association that it can't meet. 

"The issue is that we are faced with unreasonable wage demands that ALPA refuses to moderate.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and members of his inner circle are slated to return to a federal inquiry into foreign interference in coming weeks.

A newly published provisional witness list for the next phase of the inquiry's public work indicates senior government bureaucrats and members of national security agencies will also testify.

Trudeau and key government officials took part in the commission's initial hearings earlier this year on allegations of foreign interference in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections.

A battle is heating up between Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh ahead of the return of the House of Commons next week, as the Conservatives challenge the NDP to help them bring down the government.

Singh said Wednesday he won't be taking advice from Poilievre, while sidestepping questions about whether the NDP would vote in favour of a non-confidence motion, as Poilievre challenged him to do.

Kamala Harris pushed back on Donald Trump's claims about immigration and abortion as the two leaders met face-to-face for the first time on a debate stage in Philadelphia Tuesday.

The matchup marked a pivotal moment during the final sprint of a close race for the White House and saw Trump and Harris lay out starkly different visions for the future of America. 

While it started with a handshake, the debate quickly saw the Democratic vice-president and Republican former president zero in on each other's records. 

New Democrats are huddling in Montreal to strategize a new path forward ahead of the fall parliamentary session — one that doesn't include the Liberals at their hips and ideally makes them a credible alternative to the Conservatives at the next election.

The three-day caucus retreat kicking off Tuesday comes less than a week after NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced the end of the supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals. 

It's also taking place in one of the two cities where the NDP is hoping to win a byelection on Sept. 16. 

The family of a 15-year-old girl who was lit on fire at a Saskatoon high school has asked people to wear purple Tuesday when classes resume. 

“It is her favourite colour,” the girl’s grandmother said in an interview.  

“It’s going to be a very long recovery, and we’ve put it out there just to let her know that people are thinking of her and praying for her.”

Students are to return to Evan Hardy Collegiate on Tuesday, where last week a witness said the girl had liquid from a black canister poured onto her head which was then lit on fire. 

One of two men sentenced Monday to 6 1/2 years for firearms violations and mischief at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., says the time he has already spent behind bars has changed him and his "solemn weapon” is now love.

"Stay strong, live free, spread love — not war," Anthony Olienick, reading from a prepared statement, told a Court of King’s Bench judge before sentencing.

“I've gained a stronger understanding into what divine destiny awaits me," he added.

Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his sexual assault convictions in Toronto.

His time behind bars will work out to 6.7 years after accounting for credit he received for time already spent in custody.

Nygard’s lawyer had argued for a six-year sentence, citing the 83-year-old’s age and poor health, while the Crown sought a sentence of 15 years.

Nygard was convicted of four counts of sexual assault last November but acquitted of a fifth count as well as one of forcible confinement.