Ottawa, Finance Canada has issued a rebuttal of a politically embarrassing report on middle-class economic woes that was compiled last fall by experts in another federal department. The duelling analyses highlight an economic issue almost certain to dominate the federal election campaign next year, as political parties cite the same dataRead More

British Columbia, As students in most of Canada enjoy their last few moments of their summer break, students in British Columbia still don’t know when they will be returning to the classroom. The B.C. government and the BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) are still very far apart on many issues and the twoRead More

European Union governments will decide on a package of new sanctions against Russia by Friday, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini told the European Parliament on Tuesday, calling for “the strongest possible response.” Mogherini, who will be the bloc’s next foreign policy chief, said theEuropean Commission, the EU executive arm, will present aRead More

Wellington,  RCMP in Prince Edward Island say a man facing impaired driving charges was travelling with two children in the back seat. Mounties say they stopped a 39-year-old driver after seeing a speeding vehicle in Wellington, in western P.E.I., Sunday night. The two young passengers, both under 10 years of age, were taken homeby their mother. TheRead More

Ontario,  An Ontario teen has successfully swam across Lake Erie, finishing the second leg of her challenge late Monday morning after swimming throughout the night. Annaleise Carr, 16, completed the 33-kilometre leg just before noon Monday as hundreds of people gathered at the beach to cheer her on. This lastRead More

Ottawa,  Stephen Harper has been one of the toughest-talking leaders throughout the Ukraine crisis, yet newly released figures show National Defence is expected to face an even deeper budget hole in the coming year than previously anticipated. The ongoing reductions come as the prime minister is expected to resist pressure from allies at thisRead More

Toronto,  Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a chance to prove that he is not “all hat and no cattle” at the NATO leaders’ summit in Wales this week. No other leader in the 28-country trans-Atlantic alliance has condemned Vladimir Putin’s military adventure in Ukraine more harshly and more persistently than Harper has. However, paradoxically,Read More

Wellington/New Zealand, A man suspected of killing two unemployment-office workers and seriously wounding a third in a South Island town was charged Tuesday with murder. John Tully was arrested Monday evening following a seven-hour manhunt that kept a town on edge. Tully made his first court appearance Tuesday on twoRead More

Koreia, Three American citizens detained in North Korea have appealed to the US government for help returning home, speaking in rare interviews with US media that were set up by the North Korean government and may signal an attempt by Pyongyang to reopen a long-stalled dialogue. The three men, one servingRead More

Beijing,  A knifeman stabbed three children to death and wounded five more plus a teacher in a rampage Monday at a Chinese primary school that refused to enrol his daughter, reports said. The attacker killed himself by jumping from a building following the carnage at a school in Shiyan in the centralRead More