A nine-month investigation has led to 16 arrests and 138 criminal charges, mainly drug-trafficking counts, in eastern Ontario and Quebec, police say. The Ontario Provincial Police say they executed 12 search warrants in Ottawa as well as Gatineau and Luskville, Que., last Thursday with help from the Surete du Quebec. Police say they were targeting wholesale drug sellers linked with criminal networks in Ontario, including outlaw motorcycle gangs, as well as Ottawa and Quebec-based criminal organizations supplying drugs to mid-level traffickers and street gangs. In the raids police say they sei

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his children are not going trick-or-treating for Halloween this year. He says this is because Ottawa, where he and his family live, is considered a COVID-19 hot spot and local public health officials have advised against children going door-to-door this year. He says his children might take part in a hunt for candy around the house instead. Trudeau says he understands how frustrating the pandemic is for parents and children but stressed it is important to listen to the guidance of local public health officials. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health o

Premier Doug Ford is encouraging anyone with COVID-19 symptoms who lives in a virus hot spot to get tested. Ford says the province has set up additional testing units in those regions but some people seem to be holding back from getting an assessment. His comments come as the province reports that it conducted 24,049 tests in the last day, with nearly the same amount being processed. Ford says the province now has the capacity to process up to 50,000 tests per day and has eliminated its testing backlog. He says the government would like to see more people getting tested in regions where the vi

Ottawa is committing 12-million-dollars to a fund to help small business owners respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money is to be made available through the Canada United Small Business Resilience Fund. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he knows things have been challenging for small business owners. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the resilience and creativity shown by small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic is an inspiration. The new federal funding will help small business owners buy personal protective equipment, renovate their spaces to respond to local public health me

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says he's willing to change the name and mandate of a proposed committee to probe COVID-19 relief programs to make it clear his party doesn't want to force an election. The Liberals have said that in pushing for an "anticorruption committee", the Tories are effectively saying they've lost confidence in the government, so the vote on setting it up ought to be one of confidence.That means if the Tories get the support of the Bloc Quebecois and NDP for the motion, they could topple the government.O'Toole says the Liberals' approach is nonsense and Canadians shoul

Canada has marked a bleak COVID-19 milestone. The second wave of the pandemic has pushed the total case count past 200,000. This comes as tougher restrictions take effect in regions facing a surge in infections. Canada saw its first confirmed case in late January and marked 100,000 cases in mid-June, about five months later. Health experts say it's crucial to remember Canada is in the midst of the second wave and these kinds of milestones serve as a reminder of the need for continued vigilance. Today, Quebec is reporting 1,038 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths attributed to the novel

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says more RCMP officers have been deployed to respond to the escalating treaty dispute between commercial fishers and Mi'kmaq fishers in southwest Nova Scotia. Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, meanwhile, says negotiations to end the dispute are ongoing. But she did not provide details on what is being discussed. The RCMP is investigating several assaults that targeted Indigenous people and properties including an attack on Chief Michael Sack. The accused was arrested and released from custody with conditions to have no further contact with the chief. Ind

Regional airlines are demanding immediate action from Ottawa to prop up the beleaguered sector, but reject the idea of a federal stake in carriers. John McKenna, president of the Air Transport Association of Canada, says the government has not responded to requests for cash over the past six months, leaving Canada as the only G7 country to hold off on pledging major financial aid for the industry. Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc left the door open to a bailout, including the purchase of airline shares by Ottawa, in an interview with CTV's Question Period on Sunday. LeBlanc

WE Charity covered nearly $24,000 in expenses for Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's attendance at eight events over eight years. The dollar amount was released today as part of several documents published by WE Charity that had been sought by the House of Commons finance committee. At the same time, the minority Liberals have released a list of all paid speaking engagements taken on by Justin Trudeau before he became prime minister. That disclosure had also been sought by the Opposition, and both come as political tensions ratchet up over how deeply MPs can dive into the WE Charity issue and COVID-1