National News

OTTAWA — Canada's foreign interference watchdog David Johnston was already scheduled to testify before opposition MPs demanded his appearance in a letter this week, a parliamentary committee chair said Thursday.

QUEBEC — Months after saying that accepting more than 50,000 immigrants a year would be “suicidal” for Quebec, the province’s premier is considering increasing the number of immigrants who arrive in the province to 60,000 a year.

OTTAWA — An Israeli cabinet minister's plan to visit Canada next week comes amid an already turbulent relationship between Ottawa and that country's far-right government — and it's a trip that protocol experts say falls outside diplomatic norms.

QUEBEC — The federal government announced funding to help the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory fight organized crime, after the death of eight migrants in the St. Lawrence River earlier this year.

Quebec's legislature has unanimously adopted a motion calling on the province’s chief electoral officer to release all documents related to an investigation into illegal spending ahead of the 1995 referendum.

HALIFAX — The Canadian Hurricane Centre is predicting an "average" season, saying the ferocity and frequency of tropical storms off Canada's East Coast this year will be decided by competing factors in the global climate.

OTTAWA — A new plan to force hospitals to report adverse effects of "natural health products" such as herbal remedies and supplements has come as a surprise to manufacturers, who say they were blindsided by the proposed change.

OTTAWA — The federal government says it will invest $2.5 billion in new money to renew the Canadian Coast Guard's fleet of small vessels. The coast guard plans to acquire up to 61 small vessels, including 34 search-and-rescue lifeboats.

VANCOUVER — Five environmental groups have launched a combined legal challenge against the port expansion plan at Roberts Bank, south of Vancouver, that was approved by the federal government last month.

EDMONTON — Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney has lost his bid to have a court throw out a defamation case five environmental groups brought against him.