'PROCEED WITH CAUTION': Smith discusses Albertans' mild support for referendum proposals

OpinionVoters are ignoring the costed platforms and betting on the emotional appeal of the leaders. David Eby and Lorne DoerksenImage courtesy of ChatGPTPublished on:22 Oct 2026, 12:30 pmLoading content, please wait...

The Modernization of the French-language Policy on Language and Cultural Planning in Education (Politique d’aménagement linguistique et culturel, PALC in French) has sparked hope and garnered praise. The province of New Brunswick is updating its “vision” for the success of the French-language education system and for identity-building. Federal funding to achieve this vision, however, has not been updated. In fact, it’s declining.

OpinionThe dangerous geopolitical consequences of Washington's new Russian energy policy. Trump's Diesel Deal with RussiaImage courtesy of ChatGPTPublished on:22 Oct 2026, 11:30 amLoading content, please wait...

A Bloc Québécois supply motion calling on the government to uphold the CRTC’s levies on streaming services and release a promised $600 million interim payment to the cultural sector is the only item on the government’s agenda today. Thursday is the third of a maximum seven allotted days in the supply period ending Dec. 10, and no government bills are scheduled for debate or introduction. The motion goes to a recorded vote no later than 15 minutes before the end of Government Orders. The motion stands in the name of Martin Champoux (Bloc Québécois, Drummond), with notice also given by Christine Normandin (Bloc Québécois, Saint-Jean). Its preamble asserts that culture is central to Quebec’s identity, that the cultural sector plays a critical role in Quebec’s economy, that the media and cultural production sectors face serious pressures that hamper their development, and that the government “nevertheless abolished the Digital Services Tax levied on the U. S. digital corporate giants.”

A senior Privy Council Office official told MPs that Global Affairs Canada did not require an open-source search before granting the security clearance to a Canadian now facing espionage allegations in Belgium, and that every protocol in force at the time was followed. David Morrison, senior diplomatic and international affairs adviser to the prime minister and the deputy minister at Global Affairs when the clearance was issued, appeared before the House of Commons public safety committee Tuesday as part of its study of Canada’s security screening process. Conservative MPs pressed him on how a person with a documented federal fraud finding was cleared to work at NATO.

Food Banks Canada reported Canadians made a record 2.35 million visits to food banks in March 2026, nearly nine percent more than a year earlier and 117 percent above the 2019 level, with working people now about 18 percent of those seeking help. Policy analysts writing for The Hub argue the surge exposes gaps in social assistance, disability benefits and housing policy that have left charities to fill the void. Only Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador bucked the trend in the charity’s HungerCount report, which draws on a February survey of its network to capture March use; demand rose everywhere else. British Columbia posted the sharpest increase, with 250,505 visits, 14 percent more than a year earlier. Ontario, the busiest province, logged 846,724 visits, close to 11 percent higher, and Quebec’s tally reached 785,889, a five percent rise. Nearly a third of visitors—32.5 percent, or roughly 776,000 visits a month—were children, and single-person households were again the most common type of client.