National News

Defence Minister Bill Blair is expected to face further questions today about the evidence Canada has gathered to determine a rocket blast at a hospital in Gaza City did not originate in Israel.

Blair made the statement Saturday night, five days after the attack at the al-Ahli Arab hospital.

The blast came nine days after a renewed conflict in the region following an assault by Hamas militants in Israel and retaliation by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Federal housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle has called the spread of homeless encampments in cities across Canada a human rights crisis.

"People living in encampments face some of the most vulnerable circumstances of any member of Canadian society ... they have experienced a history of human rights violations and are at heightened risk of further violations," her office wrote in an interim report on encampments published this month.

A 99-year-old Hamilton man climbed 1,776 steps to the top of the CN Tower over the weekend, his third time pulling off the accomplishment in support of charity.

Walter Decker was joined by his son, grandson and two great-grandsons at the United Way ClimbUP on Saturday, where he raised more than $3,000 for people struggling to meet basic needs from housing and food to mental health supports.

Decker, who turned 99 last week, said he first began stair climbing more than 10 years ago as a distraction from his grief after his wife passed away, which he said made him "lost."

Ottawa will end evacuation flights from Israel next week, citing decreasing demand and increasingly available commercial options now that a number of Canadians have successfully left the country since the latest Israel-Hamas war began.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says in a statement that the last scheduled assisted departure flight from Tel Aviv will leave on Monday.

Joly says Canadian Armed Forces aircraft will remain on stand-by in the region in case conditions change and the demand for evacuation flights ramps up again.

The RCMP has told owners to turn in fully automatic military surplus firearms after hundreds were misidentified and allowed into Canada for commercial sale.

The Mounties say the registrar of firearms immediately froze records relating to the 245 prohibited guns upon discovery of the issue to prevent further sale or transfer of the firearms.

The registrar believes three firearm businesses imported and registered the guns as semi-automatic Tavor X95s that are classified as restricted firearms and can be sold in Canada.

Wab Kinew was sworn-in as Manitoba premier and named his lineup of cabinet ministers Wednesday in a colourful ceremony filled with the music and customs of the many Indigenous communities in the province.

There was Métis jigging accompanied by a fiddle, Dakota singing and drumming and the lighting of an Inuit qulliq -- an oil lamp -- during the two-hour event that marked the inauguration of the first First Nations premier of a Canadian province.

The parliamentary budget officer says the implementation of a digital services tax would raise $7.2 billion over five years.

The Liberals' spring budget confirmed their intention to implement the tax, which is designed to ensure that tech giants pay their fair share of taxes in countries where they earn revenue without having a physical presence.

The tax would apply to businesses with annual worldwide revenues of 750 million euros and more, as well as annual Canadian digital services revenue of more than $20 million.

A Winnipeg woman who suffered life-threatening injuries after her coworker stabbed her more than a dozen times told a judge she is haunted by the attack and fears being in public nearly two years later.

"My life was so very close to ending that day," Candyce Szkwarek read from a victim impact statement in court on Tuesday.

"I have a constant daily reminder when I look in the mirror and see all these scars from the stab wounds and surgeries. They all take me back to that day."

The bombing of a hospital in Gaza was "absolutely unacceptable," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, as federal officials confirmed Canada stands ready in Egypt to help people in the besieged territory get out amid a worsening humanitarian crisis. 

A police liaison officer who communicated directly with "Freedom Convoy" protesters during the winter 2022 demonstrations is expected to testify today in the criminal trial of two of its organizers.

Const. Isabelle Cyr had been expected to address the court on Tuesday, but defence lawyers said they needed time to review notes and emails between Cyr and her colleagues during the protests.

The court wrapped up the testimony of five Ottawa residents on Tuesday.