| Canada joins U.S. in imposing further sanctions on Russia Posted: 28 Apr 2014 02:55 PM PDT  OTTAWA - Canada is following the United States in once again stepping up the pressure on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine. Two Russian companies and nine individuals, including two billionaire friends of President Vladimir Putin, will face new sanctions, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Monday. The latest round of sanctions comes in response to Russia's continued actions to destabilize the Ukrainian government, Harper said in a statement. And he suggested that more economic sanctions could be on the way unless Putin follows through on an April 17 agreement that was designed to ease tensions in Ukraine.
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| Guns seized from Port McNeill, B.C., high school cache Posted: 28 Apr 2014 10:23 PM PDT Police have seized a number of guns believed to have been hidden by teenagers in two caches in northern Vancouver Island — one of which was at a local high school.  |
| 'Groundbreaking' indigenous art back in Alberta Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:31 PM PDT  A collection of the work of some of Alberta's leading indigenous artists is back on display in Edmonton after an absence of more than 10 years.
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| Jason Kenney on hot seat as controversy rages over temporary foreign workers Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:38 PM PDT  OTTAWA - In the midst of a fresh eruption of abuse allegations surrounding the government's troubled temporary foreign worker program, Jason Kenney's reputation as a capable task-master taking a beating. The employment minister was on the defensive Monday in the House of Commons, but he's also under attack from business groups, labour unions and — perhaps most troubling for Kenney with a federal election looming — everyday Canadians who believe the Conservatives have made it easier for foreigners to swipe their jobs. "The minister has been responsible for the temporary foreign worker program for the past six years," NDP leader Tom Mulcair said during question period. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has publicly maligned companies who import workers with "the intention of never having them be permanent and moving the whole workforce back to another country at the end of a job," Mulcair continued.
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| Ex-federal minister Jim Prentice has team for Alberta Tory leadership: source Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:28 PM PDT  CALGARY - Jim Prentice is forming a team for a bid to become Alberta's next premier, a move one observer says is an "earthquake" for the province's politics. A source working with Prentice confirmed the former federal cabinet minister has been talking to caucus and cabinet and has received encouragement to run for the leadership of Alberta's governing Progressive Conservative party. Prentice held several portfolios in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet before moving to the private sector in 2010. He is currently a vice-president with CIBC and recently accepted a job with Calgary-based Enbridge to help clear the way for the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline.
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| Hiring Brad Treliving was an 'easy decision': Brian Burke Posted: 28 Apr 2014 05:30 PM PDT  The Calgary Flames have hired former Phoenix Coyotes assistant general manager Brad Treliving as their new GM. Flames president of hockey operations Brian Burke says Treliving is interested in playing "black-and-blue hockey."
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| Study targeting Canadian obesity ‘myth’ torn apart by critics Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:19 AM PDT  Great news, there is no obesity epidemic in Canada. Apparently the entire hullabaloo surrounding the predominant social struggle of our generation has been wantonly overstated. This according to a conservative think-tank that believes attention paid to the issue by Canadian … Continue reading →
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| Canada’s Ukraine observers involved in pay dispute: report Posted: 28 Apr 2014 03:06 PM PDT  The Harper government is being accused of short-changing a group of Canadian observers — currently in Ukraine — to monitor that embattled country's up-coming presidential election.
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| Wage gap between high school grads and degree-holders narrows, but it still pays to go to university Posted: 28 Apr 2014 03:57 PM PDT  A new Statistics Canada study suggests that while a bachelor's degree might not be the ticket to easy street it once was, your chances of being employed improve if you have that degree.
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| Olivia Chow apologizes for photo-op with homophobic, sexist wrestler Iron Sheik Posted: 28 Apr 2014 12:30 PM PDT  Olivia Chow, Rob Ford's chief rival for the Toronto mayor's chair, is apologizing for a campaign appearance with a former pro wrestler who's known for his homophobic, sexist tweets. The former New Democrat MP had what National Post columnist Matt … Continue reading →
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| No police charges after pit bull bites baby girl's face Posted: 28 Apr 2014 05:01 PM PDT  Ottawa police say they will not lay charges after an incident in which a pit bull bit a baby girl's face on Sunday.
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| Tories set three-day deadline for redrafting contentious elections bill Posted: 28 Apr 2014 01:33 PM PDT  OTTAWA - A parliamentary committee has been given three days to debate and vote on nearly 300 amendments to a controversial overhaul of Canada's elections law — a tight time frame the Opposition NDP is calling a "farce." The Conservative majority has set 5 p.m. Thursday as the deadline for clause-by-clause debate of the 242-page bill, which now includes almost 300 pages of proposed amendments. "This is more of the farce," New Democrat David Christopherson groused as the final witness hearing wrapped up Monday. In fact, it's been more than a year since the Conservative government first promised to present election reforms, only to withdraw them — unseen by the public — after objections from party MPs.
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| First Nations leaders call on Conservatives to scrap aboriginal education bill Posted: 28 Apr 2014 01:25 PM PDT  OTTAWA - The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations finds himself in the difficult spot of supporting a Harper government bill that one of his chief political rivals described Monday as an affront to Canada's aboriginal community. Shawn Atleo has publicly backed Bill C-33, the so-called First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act, calling it a step toward long-standing aboriginal demands for control of their schooling, respect for their treaty rights and recognition of their language and culture. An AFN analysis sent to chiefs last week said the status quo is "absolutely and fundamentally contrary to treaty, inherent and human rights and must change." The document concluded Bill C-33 is a "is a constructive and necessary step." They say the legislation strips away their rights and puts too much control over their children's education in the hands of the federal government.
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| Lev Tahor child back in mother’s care Posted: 28 Apr 2014 02:36 PM PDT  An Ontario court judge has allowed a mother, who is a member of the Lev Tahor community, to have custody of her child again, after the infant was placed in foster care in Toronto.
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| Manitoba reports more cases of virus that has killed millions of pigs in U.S Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:01 PM PDT WINNIPEG - Manitoba is reporting more cases of a virus that has killed millions of baby pigs in the United States.  |
| Crumbling dike threatens Western Manitoba First Nation Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:59 PM PDT Premier Greg Selinger is heading to flooded areas of western Manitoba, where a crumbling dike is threatening to send a surge of water into several communities.  |
| Brother of slain homeless man hopes first-degree murder case moves swiftly Posted: 28 Apr 2014 12:43 PM PDT  Ron Lawrence said seeing the two men appear in court Monday was an emotionally charged experience after waiting for months for the RCMP to conclude their investigation into the death of his brother Harley. It was very emotional," he said outside provincial court in Kentville. Harley Lawrence, 62, was found dead Oct. 23 in a burned out bus shelter in Berwick, a town in the province's Annapolis Valley about 120 kilometres northwest of Halifax. Daniel Wayne Surette, 26, of Berwick and Kyle David James Fredericks, 25, of nearby Berwick District, were charged Friday with first-degree murder.
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| There should be no debate after pit bull mauls one-year-old Ottawa girl Posted: 28 Apr 2014 12:17 PM PDT It is hard not to gather and collect all the reports of recent pit bull attacks under one banner, something we can point to when discussing the case of one-year-old Cali Leclair, the Ottawa girl who will live her life … Continue reading →  |
| Paris police boss wants officers implicated in Canadian's alleged rape off force Posted: 28 Apr 2014 02:11 PM PDT PARIS - The director of the Paris police service says he wants the officers implicated in the alleged rape of a Canadian woman out of his department. Bernard Petit's remarks Monday to French radio station Europe1 came as authorities investigated two officers accused of raping the Canadian tourist at the city's police headquarters. Both officers from the elite police unit, as well as a third who's considered a witness, have been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation that could take weeks or even months to complete. As she left the station, she reportedly told another police officer she'd been raped, but a lawyer for one of the suspects told The Canadian Press the sex was consensual.  |
| Rotting whale's stench, bloating worry Newfoundland community Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:23 AM PDT A dead blue whale that is slowly rotting on the beach of the western Newfoundland community of Trout River has the community scrambling to find a way to get rid of it before it explodes.  |
| Canada budget officer sees smaller deficit than forecast Posted: 28 Apr 2014 07:28 AM PDT  Canada's budget deficit for the current fiscal year will come in lower than the government forecast in its February budget, and surpluses for the next two years will be slightly higher, Parliamentary Budget Officer Jean-Denis Frechette predicted on Monday. Frechette, whose role is to provide independent analysis to Parliament, pegged the budget deficit for the year that began on April 1 at C$500 million ($450 million), compared with the C$2.9 billion deficit the Conservative government forecast in the February budget. The government's budget forecasts were for C$6.4 billion for 2015-16, C$8.1 billion for the following two years, and C$10.3 billion for 2018-19. For the year that ended on March 31, he said he expected the budget deficit would come in at C$11.6 billion, lower than the C$16.6 billion the government forecast in the February budget.
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| Canada pension investment group bucks Barrick executive pay plan Posted: 28 Apr 2014 04:28 PM PDT The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) plans to vote against Barrick Gold Corp's new executive compensation plan, the investment management group said in a proxy voting notice on its website Monday. CPPIB, which manages investments for Canada's national pension plan, said that, while the gold miner has made progress in better aligning itself with shareholder interests, it has not fully addressed issues around its co-chairman's compensation. Co-chairman John Thornton, who is set to take over as Barrick's sole chairman when founder Peter Munk retires later this week, earned $9.5 million in 2013, down from $17 million in 2012, which included an $11.9 million signing bonus.  |
