Canada oh Canada

The countdown is on for the Alberta government to submit its proposed pipeline project to the west coast to the federal government’s Major Projects Office.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reaffirmed her vision Friday that an oil pipeline can happen.

“What we’re looking at is feasibility,” Smith said.

“What makes the most sense? The easiest route from an engineering point of view, cost effective point of view. How do we get closer to being straight on a deep-water port?”

Smith confirmed reports of five possible routes are on the table, with one to southern B.C. and the city of Vancouver, while four others pass through northern B.C. to the Prince Rupert region.

“It’s tough because there’s a lot of good opportunities and a lot of good options, but we have to narrow it down to one of those, and that one will be submitted to the Major Projects Office by July 1st,” said Smith.

B.C. concerns
However, B.C. Premier David Eby said this week his province has yet to find a seat at the table through pipeline discussions.

“I hear that there are leaks of potential routes that I don’t know who drew them,” said Eby on Tuesday.

“I don’t know whether Premier Smith drew them.”

He says there is a lot of work left to do with his province and consulting First Nations.

“There is no world in which there will be a pipeline that goes through the north of British Columbia… if it requires the oil tanker ban to be lifted,” said Eby.

First Nations concerns
Meanwhile, the Nisga’a Lisims government, north of Prince Rupert, says it too has not held discussions with Alberta or Ottawa.

“We were not aware that corridors or port locations on our land were being considered by the Alberta government,” read a statement from the First Nations group on Tuesday.

“Nothing on our lands can happen without our consent... Anybody can draw lines on a map and speculate about all kinds of projects.”

Ottawa available to talk: Hogan
Federal officials say they are open to discussions.

“Our intention is to work expeditiously and try to make sure we can get West Coast access for Alberta Energy products,” said Corey Hogan, Calgary Liberal MP.

“We’re always looking for is engagement. We want to make sure people are participating along the way and making sure that those conversations are robust.”

But some pro-business development groups say the prime minister is holding back major projects from being built, saying he is moving at a “snail’s pace” compared to his message of building at “speeds not seen in generations.”

“We talk about maybe having shovels in the ground in 2027 and this was what was said in 2025,” said Catherine Swift, president of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses Canada.

“So, in other words, in two years, we might have gone through all the hurdles, the ridiculous hurdles that government puts in the way.”

The pipeline push comes as the premier speaks to around 2,000 UCP members at the leader’s dinner at BMO Centre, Friday evening.

It’s a 25-minute speech that Smith says is filled with optimism for the future within Canada.

The UCP has been facing friction around separation from within its party, and Smith is hopeful a pipeline project can help quiet some of the dissenting voices.

A 72-year-old man was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Tuesday for smuggling more than seven kilograms of he**in into Canada after travelling to South Africa on an all-expenses-paid trip he said he won in an online contest.

Maurice Nadeau, a military veteran originally from the small town of Chapais, Que., near Chibougamau, was convicted about a year ago of possessing and importing drugs.

He was unable to convince the judge to serve his sentence in the community.

During sentencing Tuesday, Quebec court Judge Éric de Champlain stressed the importance of denouncing this "social scourge" from which "many families suffer."

In May 2022, Nadeau was caught at Montreal's Trudeau airport with 7.2 kilograms of he**in hidden in a false-bottom suitcase. Nadeau, then 68, claimed the suitcase was given to him by a woman in Johannesburg whom he didn't know, and that he thought he was bringing back gifts.

He had a reservation at a Montreal hotel and was supposed to hand over the suitcase to a stranger there upon his return, according to court records.

The drugs were discovered because Nadeau told customs officers about the suitcase, saying it didn't belong to him and that he hadn't packed it.

Nadeau's lawyer, Mike Junior Boudreau, argued in court that his client was duped by a criminal organization. Leaving the courtroom on Tuesday, Boudreau said he didn't see how a 12-year sentence would benefit society, given Nadeau's age.

"To see him go to prison, I'll admit, it affects me. I feel very sorry for him," he said.

Canada is facing the prospect of entirely new tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration after Washington claimed Ottawa has a poor track record on preventing importation of products of forced labour.

The move comes as Canada’s biggest free trade pact, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, is up for renewal.

What is the Trump administration upset about?
The last time Canada renegotiated the continental free trade agreement, during the first Trump administration, Ottawa changed the wording in a customs law on forced labour rules in 2020.

The White House says that since then, there has been little evidence Canada has stepped up enforcement.

The office of the United States Trade Representative accused Canada and a host of other countries of failing to enforce bans on forced labour in a new report released late Tuesday.

The report said the number of reported enforcement actions Canada has taken against forced labour products appears to be “minimal” and accused the federal government of “failing to effectively enforce its forced labour import prohibition.”

It said the Canada Border Services Agency does not appear to publish official information about its enforcement efforts, and cited numbers suggesting enforcement is weak.

It pointed to a report by the Coalition Against Forced Labour that said Canadian border officials intercepted only 50 shipments on suspicion of forced labour, and just two shipments were turned away.

The border services agency has said that it has intercepted and detained 50 shipments over concerns about forced labour since 2020. Two shipments were found to have been produced using forced labour — a 2024 shipment of textiles and one in 2025 containing frozen seafood.

For the second time in two years, the leader of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) met with King Charles on Tuesday to discuss the Crown's nation-to-nation treaty relationship with Indigenous peoples in Canada.

The meeting at Buckingham Palace in London was scheduled for 40 minutes but AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak said Charles added an additional hour to the schedule to accommodate all the visitors.

"I think that shows he wants to talk to First Nations and that we're working on our relationship together," said Woodhouse Nepinak.

The delegation also included former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner and former Treaty 6 grand chief Wilton Littlechild, Manitoba Regional Chief Willie Moore, New Brunswick Regional Chief Joanna Bernard, Yukon Regional Chief Math'ieya Alatini, Saskatchewan Regional Chief Bobby Cameron, Stoney Nakoda Bearspaw First Nation Chief Darcy Dixon, Dene National Chief George Mackenzie, and Lake Manitoba First Nation elder Margaret Swan.

Woodhouse Nepinak said the discussions centred around First Nations sovereignty, including in resource development as the federal government forges ahead with its major projects office amid ongoing U.S. tariff threats.

"Our delegation of course emphasizes that water and major projects legislation must be co-developed with First Nations consistent with stewardship responsibilities, inherent rights, as well as free, prior and informed consent," Woodhouse Nepinak said.

Nepinak added the AFN supports economic development and economic prosperity but not at the expense of the environment or First Nations inherent and sovereign rights.

Woodhouse Nepinak said the delegation also spoke to Charles about the ongoing work to repatriate First Nations artifacts from international museums and institutions.

When asked what Charles's response was to groups in Alberta wanting to separate from Canada, Woodhouse Nepinak said she would let him respond but did say he shares the same interests.

"Certainly we have the support of the King and we're working in unison together," Woodhouse Nepinak said.

With just a few days left in the legislative session, French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge introduced a bill on Thursday to extend the application of Bill 101 to vocational training and adult education.

The four-page bill states that it “imposes this requirement on school service centres and accredited private educational institutions for subsidies related to the educational services covered.”

B.C. Premier David Eby spoke on Tuesday morning for the first time since the BC Conservatives elected a new party leader.

Eby was asked about the possibility of a provincial byelection to give the winner, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the chance to hold a seat in the legislature.

“I don’t know what Ms. Findlay’s plans are as the new leader of the Conservative Party or if any Conservative candidate is planning on stepping aside so that she can run,” Eby said.

“I’ll stay tuned to see what the plan is. I’ll say that from my perspective, the job that she’s applying for right now looks a lot more like MAGA regional manager than the premier of British Columbia. But I’ll stay tuned and hear what her plans are.”

MAGA stands for “Make America Great Again,” which was a slogan that emerged during U.S. President Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016. Since then, it has become a term used to identify Trump supporters.

“The selection of Kerry-Lynne Finlay by Conservative members, I wish her congratulations; she’s making her priorities clear,” Eby said.

“To me, it looks like she’s focused on dividing people, including her own caucus,” Eby continued. “We know we’ve got more to do, but we also know very clearly what the Conservatives would do, which is to take us back to the bad old days, and British Columbia just can’t afford that.”

Speaking with Global News on Monday, Findlay said she thinks it is ridiculous to be branded MAGA.

“They are the extremists,” she said.

“They’re the ideologues. They’re the ones who would rather invest the taxpayer dime on ideology than prosperity for our citizens… I think it’s ridiculous, and I don’t think people buy it.”

OTTAWA — NDP parliamentary leader Don Davies has introduced a private member’s bill that would compel floor crossers to face their voters before switching parties.

The bill says no MP would be permitted to cross the floor without first sitting as an Independent and then contesting and winning a seat under the new party banner.

Davies says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s move to secure a majority government through floor crossings is undemocratic and makes people question the legitimacy of democratic institutions.

Deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman says voters should have some means to hold floor crossers accountable but she hasn’t had a chance yet to look at Davies’ bill.

Nova Scotia Liberal MP Chris d’Entremont, who left the Conservatives for the Liberals in October, says he did speak with his constituents before crossing the floor and parliamentarians have a long tradition of being free to choose which party would best represent their riding.

Davies says while he’s not optimistic about the Liberal government passing this bill, he hopes parliamentarians come together to help restore faith in the system.

The price tag for the public service insurance plan for federal public servants is expected to increase by approximately $900 million a year in the next five years, as insurance premiums rise and more members enroll in the benefit plan.

A report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer shows the cost for the public service insurance plan will grow from $3.5 billion during the 2024-25 fiscal year to $4.4 billion in 2030-31.

Latest information on federal public service, including notices, job cuts, return to office rules and more
The 3.5 billion cost for the insurance plan for public servants accounted for five per cent of the $71.4 billion in total personnel expenditures by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat during the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The report was prepared in response to a motion from the Standing Senate National Finance Committee in December 2025 to examine the cost trajectory of the public service insurance plan.

It looked at public service plans and insurance plans under the Treasury Board Secretariat, including the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP), which includes retirees, the Public Service Dental Care Plan (PSDCP), Pensioners’ Dental Care Plan, the Disability Insurance Plan, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police life and disability insurance plan.

‘Driven by both price and utilization’
According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the annual growth rate of the employer’s cost for the federal public service pension plan was 11 per cent between 2021-2022 and 2024-25. The costs for health, dental and disability insurance plans increased three per cent in Ontario, 6.2 per cent in Manitoba, and seven per cent in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba over the same period.

“Federal growth was primarily driven by expenditures per member for health and dental plans, driven by both price and utilization,” the report said.

The average cost per member under the Public Service Health Care Plan increased from $1,486 per member in 2020-21 to $2,284 in 2024-25, while dental care coverage costs jumped from $415 per member in 2020-21 to $477 in 2024-25.

Increase in pensioner beneficiaries
The Parliamentary Budget Office says expenditures for the federal public service plan will reach $4.4 billion by 2031.

“Overall growth in members is expected to be modest relative to historical trends, reflecting the impact of workforce reductions, which are expected to slow or reduce active employee participation in the PSHCP and PSDCP,” the report said.

“However, these declines are partially offset by an increase in pensioner beneficiaries, as some departing employees transition into retirement, for example through the Early Retirement Incentive (ERI), and retain access to health and dental benefits.”

The office notes growth in both prices and the plan’s utilization will drive expenditure growth over the next five years.

There were 803,000 members in the Public Service Health Care Plan in 2024,25, up from 732,000 members in 2020-21. The number of members in the Public Service Dental Care Plan increased 3.5 per cent over the same period.

If you haven’t filled out your mandatory census questionnaire yet, you can expect a visit or a phone call from a Statistics Canada employee soon.

The follow-ups to obtain responses for the 2026 Census of Population will begin this month, Statistics Canada said in a press release Tuesday. Millions of Canadians have already responded online, on paper or by phone, it added.

“These visits are intended to remind residents to complete the census and to offer assistance,” StatCan stated, noting that it had hired thousands of census enumerators to help collect the information. “Enumerators can help respondents complete the questionnaire in person if they have not yet done so or are unable to complete it on their own.”

The federal agency said those who have a hearing or speech impairment can call the Census Help Line at 1-833-830-3109 for assistance.

StatCan mailed information about the 2026 census to households across the country in early May, though some reported that they didn’t receive it by the May 12 deadline.

The federal agency collects census data every five years. The censuses are meant to help guide decisions about programs, services and infrastructure in communities nationwide, StatCan said.

Verifying census staff
Concerned about whether the visiting staff are legitimate? StatCan said people can contact the Census Help Line at 1-833-852-2026 to verify the identity of StatCan workers who call or show up at their homes. Census staff should have an official StatCan identification card, with their name, employment number and photo, it said.

Geoff Bowlby, assistant chief statistician for Statistics Canada, previously told CTVNews.ca that there isn’t a “hard deadline” for the mandatory census. However, those who still haven’t filled out their forms by around the end of July or August may face fines of up to $500, he added.

StatCan also said it will do phone and email follow-ups with those who didn’t fill out forms for the Census of Agriculture. The population census collects demographic, social and economic information, while the agriculture one gathers data on agricultural operations.