OTTAWA — Closing arguments in the trial of Sen. Mike Duffy will be heard Feb. 22 to March 4. Judge Charles Vaillancourt says he wants to see written submissions from the Crown and the defence in advance. He says he hopes that will focus their arguments and perhaps reduce theRead More

OTTAWA — The country’s annual inflation rate picked up the pace last month to 1.4 per cent as the influence of last year’s oil-price plunge faded in the economic data. Statistics Canada’s November inflation reading, released Friday, accelerated from just one per cent in October. But economists noted the inflationaryRead More

Toronto: You may need to leave a little extra time if you are heading to Pearson International Airport today. Dec. 18 is historically one of the busiest days of the year for the Toronto airport and more than 127,000 travellers are expected to come through Pearson today. Shabeen Hanifa, aRead More

Toronto (Kanwaljit Singh Kanwal) – The government is delivering on its promise to allow beer sales in grocery stores by announcing the first 58 locations across the province where Ontarians will be able to buy beer. Premier Kathleen Wynne and Minister of Finance Charles Sousa announced the 13 independent groceryRead More

Toronto: Volunteers helping newly-arrived, privately sponsored refugees find housing say landlords are refusing to approve refugee families for apartments because they understandably do not have jobs, bank accounts or credit histories. At the Armenian Community Centre of Toronto on Wednesday, Angelique Astourian-Kirijian said some landlords are under the impression thatRead More

TORONTO — Ontarians with complaints about secret meetings among their city councillors will soon have recourse to the province’s chief watchdog. Acting Ombudsman Barbara Finlay says her office will have new powers to investigate complaints against municipal councils effective January 1. The expected mandate comes through the Public Sector andRead More

Ontario: Ontario Provincial Police released a report today highlighting the number of unsolved cases they are dealing with that involve murdered and missing indigenous people. OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes said he hopes that releasing the report will generate new leads and renew interest in the cases. “We recognize that there areRead More

  TORONTO — Ontario’s premier made history Tuesday simply by purchasing a six-pack of beer at a grocery store, something that hasn’t been legal in the province since Prohibition. Kathleen Wynne, 62, smiled when she was asked for proof of age as she bought the beer at a Toronto Loblaws,Read More

OTTAWA — Donald Trump may be running to lead America’s right-wing political party, but his views aren’t welcome by Canada’s right-wing party, the interim leader of the Conservatives says. Trump’s position should not even be considered right-wing, but something far beyond that, said Rona Ambrose in a wide-ranging year-end interviewRead More

OTTAWA – The new Liberal government is not shutting the door on the idea of raising the GST to boost revenue. Finance Minister Bill Morneau was asked directly today whether he has considered raising the goods and services tax. In his reply, Morneau says it’s necessary to go through theRead More