The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is reeling after suddenly losing its top cabinet minister, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, reigniting calls for Trudeau to step down and call an election.

Mail will begin moving again on Tuesday as Canada Post employees return to work for the first time in more than a month after the federal government pushed to end the stoppage.

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the 55,000 picketing employees back to work within days if the tribunal determines a deal isn't doable before the end of the year.

Canada Post said Sunday night that after two days of hearings over the weekend, an impasse was declared by the board.

Here's a look at some of this week's top news photos from around the world as selected by The Canadian Press editors.

Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon says he is "calling a timeout" in the Canada Post strike, and asking the Canada Industrial Relations Board to send about 55,000 employees back to work.

Mackinnon says the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are at an impasse after a nearly month-long work stoppage, and negotiations are actually going in the wrong direction.

He says if the board agrees the two sides are at an impasse, it has been asked to order union members to return to work until May.

RCMP say an officer in Manitoba wasn't injured when he was shot in the chest with a replica firearm.

Officers responded Tuesday to a disturbance call at a home in Gimli, north of Winnipeg.

Mounties say two men were in the home and one pointed at them a black pistol with its laser pointer activated.

They say the  men began to fight over the gun and an officer was struck in the chest with ball bearings.

It was later determined the gun was a replica loaded with .43-calibre ball bearings.

Canada Post and the union representing postal workers are in a war of words as a countrywide strike enters its 27th day.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers pushed back on recent criticisms from Canada Post in a bulletin to members Tuesday evening, giving a list of proposals it said are meant to bring the two parties closer together.

As the Canada Post strike involving more than 55,000 workers neared the end of its 25th day, the postal service warned that a speedy resolution is unlikely. 

In a statement Monday, Canada Post said the latest proposals from the union widen the gap between the two parties, claiming the union has in some cases increased its demands. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a new chapter for Syria can begin that's free of terrorism and suffering for its people.

In a social media post on X on Sunday, Trudeau said the fall of the Assad dictatorship "ends decades of brutal oppression."

Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on Sunday and is now reported to be in Moscow, bringing to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto control as his country fragmented in a brutal civil war.

The Canada Post strike involving more than 55,000 workers has hit 25 days.

In a statement Sunday, Canada Post says it is awaiting a formal response from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to the proposal it submitted to the union Friday.

In a Friday statement, the union said it was reviewing what Canada Post put forward and questioned when the mediation process will officially resume.

The union said it is committed to returning to the bargaining table.

The Vancouver Art Gallery says it is not going ahead with a planned design for its new home after construction costs soared by $200 million.

Vancouver Art Gallery CEO Anthony Kiendl also says in a written statement that it would no longer be working with the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, although it remains committed to building a new cultural hub that will “serve and inspire diverse audiences.”