federal government

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau receives Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett during a Cabinet swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Trudeau appoints Bennett as mental health and addictions minister in new cabinet

Mental health advocates for mental health applaud focus on mental-health care

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau receives Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health Carolyn Bennett during a Cabinet swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
The PetroLMI Division of Energy Safety Canada says direct oil and gas employment fell by more than 6,700 positions in June compared with May, with about 70 per cent of the net job losses in Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

Federal COVID funding sits unused by Alberta, new report says

A Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report

The PetroLMI Division of Energy Safety Canada says direct oil and gas employment fell by more than 6,700 positions in June compared with May, with about 70 per cent of the net job losses in Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal
The Canadian flag on the Peace Tower flies at half-mast on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

MPs scramble to pass priority bills before summer but they could stall in Senate

Senate committees have already conducted pre-studies of two of the four bills

The Canadian flag on the Peace Tower flies at half-mast on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam speaks virtually as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021. The federal information watchdog says key government decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic might be lost to history because of a sudden shift to new technologies and long-standing poor record-keeping practices. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Slipshod practices might mean gaps in Canada’s COVID-19 record, info watchdog says

Decisions may not be properly recorded

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam speaks virtually as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on during a press conference to update Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic, in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021. The federal information watchdog says key government decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic might be lost to history because of a sudden shift to new technologies and long-standing poor record-keeping practices. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson speaks to media during the Liberal cabinet retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Wilkinson says Ottawa will step in to conduct assessments of new coal mines that could release the contaminant selenium.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma

‘Appropriate’: Ottawa to review new steelmaking coal projects over selenium concerns

Selenium is common in coal-bearing rocks and is found throughout Alberta’s coal beds

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson speaks to media during the Liberal cabinet retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Wilkinson says Ottawa will step in to conduct assessments of new coal mines that could release the contaminant selenium.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma
The Peace tower is reflected in a window in Ottawa, Tuesday March 26, 2019. A new report by researchers at the Université de Montréal’s HEC business school is calling for the end of federal transfers payments to the provinces. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Researchers suggest Ottawa eliminate health transfers, give provinces room to tax

Report released by Centre for Productivity and Prosperity

The Peace tower is reflected in a window in Ottawa, Tuesday March 26, 2019. A new report by researchers at the Université de Montréal’s HEC business school is calling for the end of federal transfers payments to the provinces. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves after holding a press conference in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Health care providers, advocates cry foul over stalled action on pharmacare

Expert panel appointed by the Liberals recommended public pharmacare system

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves after holding a press conference in Ottawa on Friday, May 7, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett takes her seat as she wait to appear before the Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee in Ottawa, March 10, 2020. Federal officials are facing calls for greater clarity on how a proposed new law to harmonize Canada’s laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People could affect future development projects and government decisions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Feds pressed to define ‘free, prior and informed consent’ in UNDRIP bill

UNDRIP bill mandates government adopt more inclusive approach

Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett takes her seat as she wait to appear before the Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee in Ottawa, March 10, 2020. Federal officials are facing calls for greater clarity on how a proposed new law to harmonize Canada’s laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People could affect future development projects and government decisions. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
(Black Press media file photo)

Canadian Medical Association hopes federal budget will address primary care needs

Hoping for $1.2 billion over four years to create more primary care teams for Canadians

(Black Press media file photo)
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna says the Liberals are setting aside $250 million over five years in a dedicated fund for rural transit. (Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Dedicated rural transit money to help fund ‘innovative’ services, McKenna says

Funding will be announced Monday as part of $15 billion in planned transit spending over eight years

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna says the Liberals are setting aside $250 million over five years in a dedicated fund for rural transit. (Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Roof repairs get underway at Golden Circle Resource Centre, funded by the federal government and the City of Red Deer. (File photo by Advocate staff)

Red Deer gets COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure funding

$13.2 million in federal funding

Roof repairs get underway at Golden Circle Resource Centre, funded by the federal government and the City of Red Deer. (File photo by Advocate staff)
Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building in Ottawa on July 28, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Kielburger brothers decline request to testify before ‘partisan’ Commons committee

Brothers have already testified at the Commons finance committee

Marc Kielburger, screen left, and Craig Kielburger, screen right, appear as witnesses via videoconference during a House of Commons finance committee in the Wellington Building in Ottawa on July 28, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
The Pornhub website is shown on a computer screen in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. More than 100 survivors of sexual exploitation along with hundreds of non-governmental organizations are urging Ottawa to pursue a “full criminal investigation” into Pornhub’s parent company. THE CANADIAN PRESS

Survivors, NGOs call for criminal investigation into porn giant MindGeek

MindGeek executives deny any wrongdoing

The Pornhub website is shown on a computer screen in Toronto on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020. More than 100 survivors of sexual exploitation along with hundreds of non-governmental organizations are urging Ottawa to pursue a “full criminal investigation” into Pornhub’s parent company. THE CANADIAN PRESS
A woman checks out a jobs sign board during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Labour groups ask Liberals to extend pandemic benefits as workers set to max out aid

OTTAWA — Labour groups are asking the federal government to provide workers…

A woman checks out a jobs sign board during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A WestJet employee assists a person checking in for a domestic flight at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on January 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Ottawa lays out criteria for quarantine hotels as it inches toward new travel rule

OTTAWA — The Public Health Agency of Canada has listed its criteria…

A WestJet employee assists a person checking in for a domestic flight at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on January 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, as lawmakers return to the House of Commons following the winter break. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Provinces sitting on millions in unspent federal pandemic spending, report says

Many provinces have bucked cost-matching requests

The Peace Tower is pictured on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, as lawmakers return to the House of Commons following the winter break. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Commons finance committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday March 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

PBO says reformed fiscal stabilization program to cost Ottawa $4.5 billion

Cash transfers to provinces

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Commons finance committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Tuesday March 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Afghan women attend an election campaign by Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. An internal review of the nearly $1 billion in foreign aid that Canada quietly spent in Afghanistan in the six years after the Canadian military pulled out has found some successes but also many failures, especially when it comes to helping women and girls. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Rafiq Maqbool

Review finds successes, failures in Liberals’ feminist aid approach in Afghanistan

$966 million in Canadian foreign aid spent since 2014

Afghan women attend an election campaign by Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. An internal review of the nearly $1 billion in foreign aid that Canada quietly spent in Afghanistan in the six years after the Canadian military pulled out has found some successes but also many failures, especially when it comes to helping women and girls. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Rafiq Maqbool
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands in front of his cabinet as he speaks to media during the final day of the Liberal cabinet retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma

Trudeau to shuffle cabinet before hosting ministerial retreat

Navdeep Bains does not intend to run in the next election

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stands in front of his cabinet as he speaks to media during the final day of the Liberal cabinet retreat at the Fairmont Hotel in Winnipeg, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma
Making workplaces healthier, safer and fairer will provide Canadians with a real chance to succeed says Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi. (File photo by The Canadian Press)

Canada Labour Code sees changes

Improvements to safety, equality and workers’ rights

Making workplaces healthier, safer and fairer will provide Canadians with a real chance to succeed says Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi. (File photo by The Canadian Press)