Canada: Latest News

After 18 days of disrupting a Canada-U.S. border crossing, anti-COVID mandate protesters have dispersed their blockade near Coutts, Alberta.

For the first time in Canadian history, Ottawa granted itself extraordinary powers. Invoking the Emergencies Act, Monday, in a move designed to choke off the money keeping protesters across the country fueled and fed. Aaron McArthur reports.

Anti-hate experts are raising concerns after a picture of weapons, ammunition and body armour seized at the border protest at Coutts, Alta. showed patches belonging to a neo-nazi group in Canada.

Bringing children to the antigovernment blockades that have immobilized downtown Ottawa and shuttered border crossings is among the activities that could net protesters a $5,000 fine or five years in prison while Canada is under the national Emergencies Act.

As Canada’s COVID-19 situation stabilizes, the federal government is easing some testing and quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers. That includes removing the requirement for expensive and lengthy PCR tests before arriving in Canada.

Canada is entering uncharted territory, as Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act. Abigail Bimman explains what that means, and how it could impact police and protesters.

Canada will eliminate its pre-arrival COVID-19 PCR test requirements for fully vaccinated travellers at the end of the month, Federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos announced on Tuesday. As of Feb.

Police withdraw from their line and fall back to the front of Parliament buildings on the third day of demonstrations against Covid-19 restrictions, inspired by a similar demonstration in Canada, in Wellington on February 10, 2022 (Photo by MARTY MEL WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's prime minister on Monday said protesters who oppose coronavirus mandates were using "intimidation and harassment," as authorities appeared to take a harsher stance toward the convoy of demonstrators that has disrupted the capital of Wellington for nearly a week.Police initially let the protesters set up tents and camp on the grounds of New Zealand's Parliament before arresting 122 people on Thursday and then backing off again. The size of the protest dropped to a few hundred last week but increased again to around 3,000 over the weekend.Speaking with reporters, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signaled the thinning patience of authorities."I very clearly have a view on the protesters and the way that they’ve conducted their protest because it has moved beyond sharing a view to intimidation and harassment of the people around central Wellington," she said.

COVID-19 PCR test requirements for fully vaccinated travellers at the end of the month, officials say.“Today I’m announcing we are easing our border measures,” federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Tuesday in Ottawa. “It is time to adjust our approach.”As of Feb.

Coutts since Jan. 29 to rally against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and broader public health restrictions.Commercial and personal vehicles left the area Tuesday, one day after RCMP arrested 13 people and seized a cache of firearms and ammunition.Here they go.

Jean-Yves Duclos is expected to announce major changes to the border measures designed to counter to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 at 1 p.m. EST.Currently, the government advises against all non-essential international travel because of the threat posted by the Omicron variant.Foreign nationals coming to Canada and people travelling within the country by plane, passenger train or boat must be vaccinated against COVID-19, with few exceptions.Right now vaccinated international travellers are subject to COVID-19 test requirements before they cross the border, and potentially again once they arrive at a Canadian airport.

Canada took home more medals on day 11 of the Beijing Olympics, including its first ever gold in team pursuit speed skating with Isabelle Weidemann, Ivanie Blondin and Valerie Maltais clinching the top spot. Max Parrot also took home another medal, this time winning bronze in the men’s big air snowboard final.

Peter Sloly has resigned, according to multiple sources. The resignation comes amid the so-called ‘“freedom convoy” protests that have taken over much of downtown Ottawa for weeks.The protests have garnered national and international attention, with many focusing on the inaction of police in Ottawa to stop demonstrators from violating bylaws, laws and allegedly harassing Ottawa residents.The Ottawa police response to the trucker convoy’s ongoing demonstrations in the downtown core has been heavily criticized for a perceived lack of enforcement under Sloly’s leadership.Calling the protests “unprecedented,” Sloly has repeatedly said the service requires additional officers to end the demonstration.He said in the first week of the encampment that there “might not be a policing solution” to the protests and called for more support from provincial and federal sources.

Ford says he supports Feds decision after Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act over protests Participants in the so-called “Freedom Convoy” set up last Wednesday along the westbound lanes of the highway at Nauvoo Road, prompting police to close a section of the highway and implement a detour.“The OPP respects the right of everyone to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” police said at the time. “The OPP asks everyone to be patient and respectful of each other despite potential inconvenience.”The closure was approximately 45 km away from the Blue Water Bridge crossing between Canada and the United States in Sarnia, Ont.

flock of yellow-headed blackbirds suddenly dropped from the sky on a street in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua — but the reason behind the mysterious fall remains unclear.Several dead birds were discovered early on Feb. 7 by residents in the city of Cuauhtémoc, the Spanish-language El Heraldo de Chihuahua reported.

Canada won its first ever Olympic gold medal in women’s team pursuit speed skating at the Beijing Winter Games on Tuesday, after a stunning crash by Japan.

Beijing Winter Olympics on Tuesday, his second medal of the 2022 Games.Parrot won the gold in the slopestyle event last week. So far, it is Canada’s only gold of these Games.The 27-year-old Quebec native fell in his first of three runs, but recovered on his second jump by landing a huge cab 1800 to earn a score of 94 — the second highest overall for that run.He then scored a respectable 76.25 with a 1620 in his third and final run, his top two scores combining to claim second place.

freedom convoy” protesters who have disrupted the nation’s capital.Brad Howland, president of Easy-Kleen Pressure Systems Ltd., confirmed the donation, the largest from within Canada, following a hack of crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo.Howland declined to speak to Global News but said in a statement he had travelled to Ottawa to witness the “beautiful, legal, peaceful protest that overwhelmed us with emotion.”“We are thankful to be blessed enough to support their efforts to do what they have to do in a peaceful way until the government removes the mandates to restore all our freedom as pre-COVID,” he said.Protest organizers have secured millions in pledges from donors on GiveSendGo, the U.S.-based Christian crowdfunding platform that is hosting the fundraising campaign.

Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act for 1st time to aid convoy blockade response Kenney referenced the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, legislation that allows law enforcement to arrest and fine anyone impeding what is deemed critical economic infrastructure, including railways and highways.He said the legislation gives the province sanctions “that are quite similar to the court injunction obtained by Ontario” to break up a blockade on the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., over the weekend.Kenney said he is concerned invoking the Emergencies Act could have the potential to make things worse at the Coutts blockade.“I think at this point, for the federal government to reach in over top of us, without offering anything in particular, would frankly be unhelpful,” Kenney said.“I think we need to find ways to effectively enforce without escalating the situation.” RCMP arrest 13 people, seize weapons and ammunition near Coutts border blockade Kenney’s comments come after several arrests were made and more than a dozen long guns, handguns, ammunition and body armour were seized at the blockade. The premier described the group as a “militant cell” and said it’s why there has been “a relatively light touch on enforcement.”It’s the first time the Emergencies Act has been enacted in Canada, which Trudeau said would have a time and geographic limitation to areas impacted by the blockades and where law enforcement deems the expanded powers are needed.According to Trudeau, the expanded powers will give police more tools for enforcement and allow the RCMP to enforce municipal bylaws and provincial offences where it’s necessary.“The potential for violent acts I think remains.

Daily COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong, which is grappling with a quickly growing Omicron wave, topped 2,000 for the first time today as the public health system struggled to cope.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to invoke emergency powers across all of Canada to quell the protests by demonstrators who have paralyzed Ottawa and blocked border crossings in anger over the country's COVID-19 restrictions, a senior government official said Monday.READ: Ambassador Bridge officially reopened after weekThe prime minister met virtually with the leaders of Canada's provinces and planned to address the nation late in the afternoon.In recent days, Trudeau rejected calls to use the military but otherwise said "all options are on the table" to end the protests, including invoking the Emergencies Act, which gives the government broad powers to restore order.The government official who confirmed Trudeau's plans gave no immediate details on precisely how Trudeau intends to use his emergency authority.

Justin Trudeau consulted premiers about using the Emergencies Act Monday, while an Ontario judge granted an injunction to enforce noise and idling bylaws related to the ongoing anti-vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa.City solicitor David White requested the injunction Friday, saying the protesters were flagrantly violating bylaws against relentless noise, idling of trucks, setting off fireworks, and open air fires.The injunction, which does not have an end date, was designed to give the police and bylaw officers an extra tool to enforce city bylaws, lawyers acting for the city of Ottawa said Monday. Trudeau expected to invoke Emergencies Act to aid convoy blockade response: sources The Attorney General’s office intervened in the court hearing to make it clear that the injunction would also apply to federal property in Canada’s capital city.The protest by antigovernment demonstrators blockading city streets around Parliament Hill is now in its third week and has spread to several Canada-U.S.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Stellantis is recalling nearly 20,000 plug-in hybrid minivans over a potential fire risk and urged owners of the affected vehicles to stop recharging them. The recall covers model-year 2017 and 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids, impacting an estimated 19,808 minivans, the automaker said. No other Pacifica models are affected. "A routine company review of customer data led to an internal investigation that discovered 12 fires among model-year 2017 and 2018 vehicles," Stellantis said in a statement dated Feb.

“Freedom Convoy” protests, started by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, have turned into a rallying point for people opposing the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s government, covering everything from pandemic restrictions to a carbon tax.Meanwhile a social media outcry has been triggered by images of police mingling with a sea of protesters in Ottawa, helping some put a fallen tent back up, and one video showing an Ontario Provincial Police officer telling demonstrators “I support you guys 100%.”The police department said the officer’s comments were “not in line with the OPP’s values” and they were investigating.At least two members of Canada’s Special Operations Forces are also under investigation for allegedly supporting the protests, the military said. Windsor’s Ambassador Bridge border crossing reopens following COVID-19 protest Hundreds of counter-protesters on Sunday blocked vehicles trying to join the protest in downtown Ottawa, frustrated by what they said was police inaction.“We need to come together as people and say this will not stand,” said one demonstrator in front of the city’s police headquarters who said he was an Ottawa resident, but declined to give his name, fearing reprisals.

Two members of a Canadian counter-terrorism unit are under investigation for allegedly participating in thetrucker convoy protest in Ottawa, Ont., against COVID-19 restrictions, Global News has confirmed.

North America's busiest trade link has fully reopened for traffic following a six-day blockade, Canada Border Services Agency said, after Canadian police cleared protesters fighting to end Covid-19 restrictions.

Ottawa’s mayor says he’s reached a “backchannel” deal with convoy organizers to limit the three-week occupation’s to the area immediately surrounding Parliament Hill.

Hindustan Times.

the blockades that have snarled cross-border traffic and paralyzed the City of Ottawa.“Certainly,” responded Minister Bill Blair when asked Sunday if his government was prepared to invoke the Emergencies Act, rarely-used legislation that grants federal authorities exceptional powers to address national threats.“I want to assure you that we recognize the threat to Canada, to Canadians, to our livelihoods and to our prosperity that these protests represent. This isn’t about vaccines anymore.

Police clear a roadway at the Ambassador Bridge US-Canada border crossing blocked by truckers as they protest anti-vaccine mandates in Windsor, Ontario. (Photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images) Police moved in to clear and arrest the remaining protesters near the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing on Sunday, trying to end a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions that has hurt the economy of both nations even as they held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.Local and national police formed a joint command center in Ottawa, where protests have paralyzed downtown, infuriated residents who are fed up with police inaction and turned up pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.The protests have reverberated across the country and beyond, with similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Around 300 vehicles taking part in a Canada-style protest convoy against Covid regulations have arrived in Lille, northern France.

James Blunt in their latest effort to repel protesters who are camped outside of parliament.The demonstrators, who are angry at COVID-19 vaccine mandates, have been blocking the streets of the country’s capital, Wellington, since Tuesday (February 8).Tactics used by the local authorities to try and get rid of the protesters have included turning on the water sprinklers on the lawn where they camped. But protesters retaliated by digging trenches and building makeshift drainpipes to re-route the water, according to BBC News.When the sprinkler tactic proved ineffective, police turned to blasting out Barry Manilow‘s greatest hits, which include ‘Mandy’ and ‘Could It Be Magic’, on a 15-minute loop from one of parliament’s loudspeakers, as well as the ’90s Spanish hit ‘Macarena’ and a number of vaccine messages.After catching wind of what was happening, Blunt offered his services to New Zealand authorities via Twitter.

Ont.’s Ambassador Bridge.Dozens of trucks, cars, pickups and vans have blocked traffic in both directions at Canada’s busiest border crossing to the U.S. for several days.

Cyclone Dovi caused power outages, mudslides and evacuations across New Zealand, but neither the storm nor the music of Barry Manilow could dislodge anti-vaccine protesters camped outside parliament.

Canadian demonstrators led by truckers angry over Covid-19 restrictions defied police and kept occupying a key bridge yesterday, while thousands more rallied in the capital as a two-week-old protest showed no signs of abating.

trucker convoy protesters who break the law will be “increasingly severe” as an occupation in Ottawa extends past two weeks and blockades spring up across the country.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened a meeting Saturday with ministers and senior officials to see how protests, occupations and blockades can be brought “under control.”“I convened the Incident Response Group again today – we went over the efforts underway to address the illegal blockades and occupations,” Trudeau said on Twitter.

#FreedomConvoy #vancouver#military pic.twitter.com/XhnXUyDUaY— WaiverHunter (@WaiverHunter) February 12, 2022RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Elenore Sturko said late Saturday afternoon a group of vehicles, including a large truck with a military-style paint job, broke through a police blockade and over a median heading the wrong way on the northbound side of the road.It appears to be some type of, maybe military surplus … it’s not anything with the government of Canada, it’s a vehicle that is painted and lifted and looks to be a military type style, and that was one of the first vehicles to break over the median and past police barriers,” Sturko said.UPDATE #BCHwy15 – CLOSED in both directions between 8th Ave and 1st Ave due to a public demonstration.

protesters fighting the Canadian government’s pandemic measures, a bank spokesperson said on Saturday.The demonstrations, dubbed the “Freedom Convoy” by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccination  mandate for cross-border drivers as well as other pandemic restrictions, are now in their third week. They have gridlocked the capital Ottawa and blocked U.S.-Canada border crossings, damaging trade between the two countries.Early on Saturday, Canadian police began clearing protesters blocking a key bridge linking Canada and the United States.

Protesters from the so-called “freedom convoy” in Ottawa have torn down a fence that had been put around the National War Memorial to protect it from further desecration.

“Freedom Convoy” originally meant to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and quarantine rules for cross-border truck drivers has entered its 16th day on Saturday.Police in Windsor, Ont. say they’ve begun enforcement actions against protesters who blocked access to the Ambassador Bridge for days.They say they’ve told protesters at the scene to head home, and several have begun packing up tents.

Nurses in Canada say working during the COVID-19 Omicron wave has left them burnt out, physically and mentally, and an increase in abuse directed at health-care workers has pushed them to breaking point. According to a report from the Ontario Science Table, pre-pandemic, 20 to 40 per cent of health-care workers reported severe burnout. By spring 2021, rates had climbed to more than 60 per cent.

After two weeks of the protest convoy occupying Ottawa, questions are rising over whether a better security response could have averted all the disruption sooner.

Police could soon move in and end the Canada-U.S. border blockade in Windsor Ontario, after a court injunction was granted to remove protesters from the vital Ambassador Bridge crossing.

so-called “freedom convoy” that has snarled downtown Ottawa streets is widening its grip on the city, sprawling out in new, smaller encampments scattered around town.And while the police say they’ve negotiated movement of some trucks around the city, there are protesters in various encampments who continue to dig in their heels.“If trucks leave here, they’re going out on a convoy. They’re going to join the rest of the trucks,” said John Bancroft, a coordinator for the encampment site set up on Coventry Road — a short drive from downtown Ottawa.“No one’s leaving here until the mandates are lifted.” Trudeau calls on all parties to denounce ‘illegal’ trucker occupations, blockades But in the days since, that setup has shifted — and Global News has created a map of what the convoy protest’s encampments look like now.The original location of the convoy, Wellington Street, remains lined with trucks and regular vehicles.

Beijing Winter Games on Saturday.The event made its Olympic debut in Beijing, with pairs of one man and one woman racing back-to-back for a spot on the medal podium.Grondin and O’Dine had already claimed the silver and bronze, respectively, in individual competition earlier in the week.As he was in his earlier event, Grondin was the fastest out of the gate in every round of mixed competition, creating big leads in the earlier rounds. Yet he was finally outpaced in the final and finished third behind American Nick Baumgartner and Italy’s Omar Visintin.That meant O’Dine lost the advantage she had in the quarterfinals and semifinals, as the women started staggered depending on the speed of their teammates.O’Dine battled for second position but fell halfway through her run after colliding with Italy’s Caterina Carpano, yet the Canadian still managed to cross in third position.Baumgartner’s teammate Lindsey Jacobellis brought home her second gold for the U.S.

As protesters remain at the Ambassador Bridge, the blockade disrupting the busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S. is taking a toll on economies on both sides.

TORONTO - Canadian authorities Friday turned up the legal and public pressure on protesters to lift their blockades in Ottawa and at the U.S. border, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warning: "This unlawful activity has to end and it will end."Federal, provincial and local officials moved simultaneously on different fronts to break the standoff, which began with truckers and others angry over the country's COVID-19 restrictions and has morphed into a broader attack from the right on Trudeau and his Liberal government, cheered on by conservatives in the U.S."We heard you.

COVID-19 border measures and expect to announce changes to the rules next week, said federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.Duclos spoke in a pandemic update alongside Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, who said the worst of this wave appears to be over.“Canada is past the peak of the Omicron wave,” Tam said, in a press conference that saw officials offering more information on a decline in cases across the country after roughly 20 to 25 per cent of the country became infected by the Omicron variant.“The worst is behind us,” Duclos added.Officials also emphasized that the highly infectious nature of Omicron means border controls have a limited impact because cases are already transmitting in Canadian communities.But they said it remains important to be aware that any changes may have to be reassessed in the event of future variants, and that the coronavirus will likely continue evolving.“Unfortunately, there may be more surprises,” said Duclos.The rapid spread of Omicron across the country began in late November 2021 and saw cases surge to record highs, sparking the imposition of tougher lockdowns in a bid to slow the spread.