David Suzuki says Mark Carney is driving Canada ‘into a ditch’ with shift on climate

OTTAWA - David Suzuki said that when Prime Minister Mark Carney was first elected last year, he celebrated. Having met and interviewed the prime minister before, the national environmentalist icon said he knew Carney understood the challenges of climate change.

But in an interview with The Canadian Press, Suzuki said he now feels he was "wilfully blind" to Carney's promises of action on climate, despite warnings from his longtime friend the late Stephen Lewis, who predicted the agenda of a banker — and now politician — would supersede Carney's views on addressing climate change.

"I don't see that there's going to be any deviation from the driving of our country into the ditch," Suzuki said.

He acknowledges that Carney's actions come as Canadians' views on climate have shifted to other priorities.

13 federal departments, agencies spending more than $18 million on return-to-office

OTTAWA - Federal government departments and agencies are set to spend more than $18 million to get their employees to work in the office more often.

Thousands of federal public servants started a new work schedule in July requiring them to be on-site in the office four days a week. Executive public servants returned to the office full-time in May.

In response to an order paper question from NDP MP Heather McPherson, 13 federal organizations said they plan to spend a combined $18,720,150 to reconfigure or acquire office space to accommodate the increased frequency of in-person work.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said it will spend almost $5.7 million, while Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it will spend $4.2 million.

Manitoba budget reveals province underspent on crucial departments related to justice, public safety

While concerns about homelessness and public safety continue to make headlines in Manitoba, the two government departments mainly responsible for addressing them came in under budget last year.

The 2025-26 public accounts, released Monday, show Housing, Addictions and Homelessness underspent its budget of $869 million by $18 million. Manitoba Justice underspent its budget of $994 million by $34 million.

The 247-page public accounts report attributes the underspending in justice mainly to “reduced impacts of contingency liabilities,” such as a court ruling or legal settlement.

The report did not explain how and why Housing, Addictions and Homelessness underspent its budget last year as the province addresses those critical issues.

Manitoba students able to opt out of classes with sensitive lessons on sex, drug use

Manitoba’s premier pledges to continue allowing parents to pull their kids from health class if content — be it related to human sexuality, substance use or otherwise — clashes with personal beliefs.

Wab Kinew said Tuesday the government’s overhaul of phys-ed and health curriculum in Manitoba schools won’t impact the ability for parents to opt-out of a lesson and deliver material as they see fit.

“As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher and that will always be the case,” Kinew said, surrounded by hundreds of teenagers on the football field outside Kelvin High School during an announcement Tuesday.

More than 100 schools are taking part in a voluntary pilot project this fall. It’s the first systematic review of this curriculum in decades. The changes to kindergarten-to-Grade 12 courses will be mandated to all schools in September 2028.

Province paid three men wrongfully convicted in 1973 Winnipeg homicide $4 million apiece

More than five decades after their lives were derailed by a racist justice system, the provincial government has paid millions of dollars to three men who were wrongfully convicted in a 1973 Winnipeg homicide.

Clarence Woodhouse, Allan Woodhouse (no relation) and Brian Anderson were wrongfully convicted of murdering restaurant worker Ting Fong Chan in 1974.

The ruling was reversed in 2024 for Clarence Woodhouse, when he was acquitted by Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal, and in 2023 for both Allan Woodhouse and Anderson. Russell Woodhouse, Clarence’s brother, was also subjected to a miscarriage of justice — he was wrongfully convicted of manslaughter — but died in 2011.

Canada’s first post-mortem conviction review has since been called into his case.

Gillingham promises to make north Main revitalization a second-term priority

Scott Gillingham says he will work to “reset and renew” north Main Street, if he wins a second term as mayor.

The incumbent candidate promised Tuesday to devise a long-term plan to rejuvenate that section of the thoroughfare, noting it has recently suffered from decay.

“It has a rich history, a deep and proud history. But the last couple of years, to say it’s been underperforming would be an understatement…. So many stretches of Main Street here, I see derelict buildings, boarded-up businesses, piles of rubble after fires that sit waiting to be cleaned up,” Gillingham said.

“We can disrupt what is going on and turn the tide on north Main Street.”

Changing Transit Plus drivers’ status a ‘ridiculous anti-worker provision,’ councillor says

Some fear a change of status for Winnipeg Transit Plus drivers could allow them to be paid less and receive fewer benefits.

However, council’s public works chairwoman said pay protections are now embedded in contracts and the change is needed to attract enough workers.

Three years ago, city council passed a motion that required Winnipeg Transit Plus drivers to be employees of companies the city hires to provide accessible transit service.

Coun. Brian Mayes said that clause prevents “sub-minimum wages” from being permitted for subcontracted drivers and ensures drivers can access multiple benefits.

Carney says he won’t backtrack on digital services tax, streamers’ CanCon payments

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney says he won’t change his mind about his decision to eliminate the digital services tax and Canadian content contributions for streamers.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet asked Carney in the House of Commons on Monday whether he would reconsider those decisions, since they failed to secure progress in trade talks with the United States.

"No," Carney replied.

Blanchet said in French that Carney's strategy failed and that big tech companies, whose revenue streams are larger than those of some countries, should have to contribute to arts and culture.

B.C. sues OpenAI, says one call could have prevented Tumbler Ridge mass shooting

VANCOUVER - The B.C. government has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence company OpenAI in California over the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., asserting "one telephone call to the RCMP could have prevented the tragedy."

Attorney General Niki Sharma announced the filing on Monday, saying the province is seeking accountability from OpenAI and its decision-makers.

British Columbia is also aiming to recover costs associated with the shootings in February that left eight victims dead, including five students at the local secondary school.

Sharma said OpenAI failed to warn police of concerning interactions between the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, and the company's chatbot ChatGPT.

Moe warns ‘blood potash’ part of Trump’s planned deal with Belarus to thwart Canada

REGINA - As U.S. President Donald Trump works on a deal to buy potash from Belarus to lessen dependence on Canadian fertilizer, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is warning that the eastern European country has blood on its hands.

"More than 40 countries – Canada and its allies – have sanctions against Belarus for supporting war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s invasion of Ukraine," Moe said on social media Monday.

"Buying blood potash from Belarus is supporting Russian aggression.

"It’s wrong and it doesn’t make sense."

Who will vote for trees?

In July 2026, Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a small Quebec town, made international headlines.

And no, it wasn’t the result of murder and mayhem or a catastrophic flood. The headlines were about a remarkable resolution passed by its town council, making Terrasse-Vaudreuil the first city in the world to recognize the rights of trees.

Canada, France pledge to work together on space infrastructure, economy

SAINT-PIERRE - Prime Minister Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to work together in the areas of space infrastructure, business and economic growth as the leaders met Sunday in the French territory of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon.

Speaking to reporters, Carney said he and Macron will task their space agencies and defence ministries to develop and share common infrastructure, including space launch systems and ground-based reception facilities.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office said the countries plan to work together on infrastructure that can receive data from satellites.

Carney said that he and Macron will also task the regional joint cooperation commission between Atlantic Canada and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to expand its work in economic growth, energy transition and climate resilience.

New health curriculum puts emphasis on harm reduction

Manitoba is revamping how students are taught about drugs with an emphasis on harm reduction, the complexities of substance use disorders and the role of ceremonial tobacco in Indigenous cultures.

For the first time this century, physical education and health curriculum is undergoing a systematic overhaul set to debut in September 2028.

Drafts released this back-to-school season have “substances and patterns of behaviour” units across kindergarten to Grade 12.

Grade 6 has been updated so students learn about the short- and long-term effects and risks of using and misusing cannabis products, as well as caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and vaping.

Canadian politicians speaking with one voice

It was something that seems unusual in politics in recent years: politicians of different stripes taking the same side and together supporting what Canada needs to do, and is doing, to address U.S. trade attacks.

Take former prime minister Stephen Harper, closing out a major Toronto investment meeting set up by Prime Minister Mark Carney with a speech where Harper said he not only supported Carney’s decision to walk away from trade talks with the U.S., but that he would have done the same thing.

The deal the Americans were demanding “leaves no choice but for Canada to pursue diminished reliance on the U.S.,” Mr. Harper said. “There will be significant costs to this effort, but those are costs that I hope and believe Canadians are able and prepared to accept.”

And, Harper said, Canada has plenty to offer to other countries that want to trade with us: integrity.

Carney set to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week as geopolitical instability, war and U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to dismantle the multilateral order hang over the event.

Carney will not give a speech in front of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly while in New York City from Monday to Wednesday. Senior government officials said the prime minister will meet with world and business leaders and take part in UN events.

In a news release, Carney said "the world is looking at Canada differently."

"At a moment when the international order is being remade, Canada intends to help shape it," he added. "At the General Assembly, we will sit down with partners old and new, defend the rules that protect our sovereignty, and turn co-operation into real opportunity for Canadian workers and businesses.”

Northern First Nation calls for voluntary ban of moose hunting as numbers dwindle

A northern Manitoba First Nation is calling for a voluntary closure of moose hunting in its traditional territory to protect the declining population and respond to what it sees is a lack of provincial intervention.

On Friday, Misipawistik Cree Nation issued a plea urging hunters to abstain from harvesting moose in provincial Game Hunting Area 10 — a 10,000-square-kilometre region of boreal forest north of Grand Rapids. The request applies to this year’s moose-hunting seasons, which open Monday.

According to the province’s 2025 aerial big-game survey, an estimated 281 moose reside in the area, roughly 60 of which are bull moose. That’s down from an estimated 346 moose in 2013, which the survey describes as a “relatively stable population” over the past decade.

This year, 124 licences and 62 bull moose tags were made available in the region during Manitoba’s annual hunting draw.

AFN invites premiers, Carney to ceremony ahead of October meeting

OTTAWA - The Assembly of First Nations has invited premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney to a daylong ceremony ahead of their October meeting.

The premiers, Carney and First Nations representatives are set to meet in Ottawa on Oct. 26 — the first such gathering in decades — just as tensions are rising over the federal and provincial governments' major projects agenda.

National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said First Nations leaders want to bring their own cultural practices to that meeting and she hopes all premiers accept the invitation.

"We're taught as First Nations people that ceremony and prayers change things," Woodhouse Nepinak told The Canadian Press.

Odds of an interest rate hike from Bank of Canada this year have jumped

OTTAWA - Traders are increasingly betting that the Bank of Canada could end its string of interest rate holds and deliver a hike as early as next month.

While many economists remain unconvinced that the central bank will raise the cost of borrowing this year, concerns that inflation could become a more persistent thorn than first thought have some pencilling in a tightening cycle to start in early 2027.

The U.S. Federal Reserve broke its own stand-pat stance and delivered the United States' first rate hike in more than three years on Wednesday in an effort to rein in inflationary pressures bubbling up south of the border.

The Bank of Canada has sat comfortably on the sidelines for nearly a year now, content to leave its policy rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent as it waits to see how the economy and inflation will adjust to a series of shocks.

Kinew delivered what most of us wanted; now we’ll have to deal with the consequences

Premier Wab Kinew has decided to adopt permanent daylight savings time, which means a permanent end to the spring forward, fall back tradition of adjusting our clocks. And absolutely no one is surprised.

Manitoba abandoning spring, fall clock changes

Manitobans won’t be setting their clocks back an hour in November. The province has decided to permanently stay on daylight time after surveying residents on the twice annual clock adjustment.

‘Parental rights’ issue resurfaces

Trustee campaign material that condemns rainbow flags is being met with outrage of all kinds, written complaints and, in one case, a cease-and-desist order.

“Parental rights,” including questions about classroom diversity, equity and inclusion policies, are resurfacing heading into school board elections across Manitoba.

“People are trying to advance their politics and their issues while simultaneously calling teachers ideologues and brainwashers,” said Shannon Moore, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba who studies sexual health education. “And I find that rich.”

Moore said parents have a right to choose independent school or homeschool, but they do not have a right to dictate curriculum that is currently developed using research and mainstream morals.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation tabs up to $20 million to get into aerospace, defence manufacturing

Darryl Bauer arrived with open ears and a business plan: aims for Opaskwayak Cree Nation to enter aerospace and defence manufacturing, either through acquisition or partnership.

Paskwayak Business Development Corp.’s economic development director carried the physical plan through an aerospace procurement event Wednesday in Winnipeg. The day-long conference drew all levels of government and industry executives.

“There could be significant long-term benefits,” Bauer said of breaking into the sector. “The government’s committing a lot of financial resources.”

Ottawa released a $6.6-billion defence industrial strategy in February.

Gillingham pledges police, firefighter staffing increases to serve growing population

Scott Gillingham is promising to set long-term staffing targets to raise the ratio of firefighters and police officers to Winnipeg’s population, if re-elected as mayor next month.