Friday, January 16

Politics

Legault slams Marc Miller over French language comments, calls him a disgrace to Quebecers
Politics

Legault slams Marc Miller over French language comments, calls him a disgrace to Quebecers

Quebec Premier François Legault blasted federal culture minister Marc Miller on Tuesday, accusing him of downplaying the decline of French in Quebec and calling his comments an embarrassment to the province. “Marc Miller is a disgrace for all Quebecers,” Legault told reporters. “I don’t know how he’s going to show up at a cultural event in Quebec after saying nonsense like that.”Earlier Tuesday, Miller said he was “fed up” with the politicization of the language debate. He was named federal culture minister responsible for Official Languages on Monday, replacing Steven Guilbeault, who resigned from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet last week. Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller speaks to reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in...
Miller voices support to removing religious exemption for hate speech – National
Politics

Miller voices support to removing religious exemption for hate speech – National

Culture Minister Marc Miller expressed support Tuesday for removing a religious exemption on hate speech from the Criminal Code. Miller told reporters he doesn’t “think people should be using the Bible, the Qur’an or the Torah to escape from committing a hate crime or claim that … what would otherwise be a hate crime is done in the name of a religious text.”Miller chaired the justice committee until he rejoined cabinet on Monday. He said in French in a followup comment he was offering his own perspective and it remains to be seen what the government and the justice committee will do.The Bloc Québécois said in a press release Monday the party had the government’s support for an amendment to get rid of the exemption.The comments follow a report by the National Post saying the Liberals had re...
Liberals are being ‘dishonest’ about future of pharmacare, NDP says – National
Politics

Liberals are being ‘dishonest’ about future of pharmacare, NDP says – National

The federal government’s response to a report it commissioned on national pharmacare was “shockingly dismissive,” NDP interim leader Don Davies said this week as he called on the Liberals to come clean on their plans for the program. “I think it’s politically dishonest,” he said in an interview.Davies was involved in the negotiations that brought forward the Pharmacare Act last year.The law, which passed just over a year ago, was a key part of the supply-and-confidence deal between the NDP and Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.It required the government to set up a committee of experts to recommend the best way to create a universal, single-payer pharmacare system.That committee reported to Health Minister Marjorie Michel in October and its report was made public last mon...
Carney’s new housing agency will have ‘modest’ impact, says PBO – National
Politics

Carney’s new housing agency will have ‘modest’ impact, says PBO – National

A new report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) says Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s new housing agency is on track to build 26,000 homes over the next five years. That comes after Carney said during the federal election campaign that his government would double the pace of housing construction to 500,000 a year, but without specifying in that vow whether it would be the promised new federal agency that would do so.The impact of Build Canada Homes, a new federal agency created in September, on easing Canada’s housing crisis will likely be “modest,” the PBO report said.The PBO report says the agency is currently on track to increase housing supply by 2.1 per cent over the next five years. 4:31 ...
Canada’s federal income tax brackets are changing in 2026 – National
Politics

Canada’s federal income tax brackets are changing in 2026 – National

Changes could be on the way for federal income tax brackets next year, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. If the legislation working its way through Parliament becomes law, the proposed changes would mean Canada’s lowest earners may pay slightly less income tax starting in 2026.Some income tax cuts were introduced prior to the summer of 2025 by the federal government, and the new changes would essentially apply the same cut for the entire tax year. 2:20 Federal budget aims to balance spending with controversial cuts Prime Minister Mark Carney’s so-called “middle-class tax cut” introduced in the spring proposed dropping the federal income ...
Franklin the Turtle book publisher condemns Hegseth’s ‘violent’ post – National
Politics

Franklin the Turtle book publisher condemns Hegseth’s ‘violent’ post – National

By Aaron Sousa The Canadian Press Posted December 2, 2025 9:56 am Updated December 2, 2025 10:24 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size The publisher of the Franklin series of children’s books says an online post by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth depicting the titular character as a bazooka-wielding soldier is denigrating and violent. Hegseth shared on social media Sunday a mock cover of a Franklin book titled “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists” with the caption: “...
Carney to address Assembly of First Nations after Alberta pipeline deal – National
Politics

Carney to address Assembly of First Nations after Alberta pipeline deal – National

Prime Minister Mark Carney will address hundreds of First Nations chiefs gathered in Ottawa today for the December meeting of the Assembly of First Nations. Carney’s appearance before the chiefs could be a tense moment, coming just days after Ottawa signed a pipeline agreement with Alberta, which some First Nations leaders have condemned over a lack of consultation and environmental risks.“Canada is at a crossroads in its relationship with First Nations,” Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press.“Our rights are being threatened in new ways, but we’re not afraid. Far from it. First Nations across the country are stronger than ever.” 2:04 Will Carne...
May says voting for Carney’s budget a ‘mistake’ after Alberta pipeline deal – National
Politics

May says voting for Carney’s budget a ‘mistake’ after Alberta pipeline deal – National

Green Party leader Elizabeth May says supporting the Carney government on the budget vote is a “mistake” she won’t make again. May told The Canadian Press the memorandum of understanding Prime Minister Mark Carney signed with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on energy — specifically the part that applies federal tax credits to enhanced oil recovery — amounted to a “significant betrayal and a reversal” which has her questioning the worth of Carney’s word.“I don’t know if the prime minister lied but I think he needs to consider what his word means when his word was given,” she said.“He obviously thought getting a deal with Danielle Smith was more important than his word.”As The Canadian Press reported Friday, then-cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault was dispatched to win May’s vote for the budg...
Canadian air passenger traffic to U.S. down for 9th consecutive month – National
Politics

Canadian air passenger traffic to U.S. down for 9th consecutive month – National

For the ninth consecutive month, fewer passengers at Canadian airports are heading to the United States amid the trade war. New data from Statistics Canada shows total Canadian air passenger traffic in October was up by 4.5 per cent to five million travellers from the same time last year, but the number of people on U.S.-bound trips is down 8.9 per cent to 1.2 million travellers.The drop comes almost a year after U.S. President Donald Trump first started musing about making Canada the 51st state, a threat he has repeated throughout the trade war.When asked if he was considering using military force to take over Canada in January, Trump did not rule out a plan for annexation.“No, economic force,” he said. “Because Canada and the United States would really be something. You get rid of that a...