Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party promises to extend diabetes coverage if re-elected

OTTAWA – Canada’s parliamentary budget officer says the federal government is overestimating the impact its new immigration plan will have on the country’s housing shortage.

In October the Liberal government announced it was cutting the number of permanent residents allowed into the country between 2025 and 2027.

The PBO has previously reported that Canada needs to build another 1.3 million homes by 2030 to close the housing gap — and today it says the revised immigration plan will reduce that by 45 per cent, or 534,000 units.

The government has projected its new immigration targets will reduce that number by 670,000 units by 2027.

The Liberal plan to cut immigration levels is expected to result in a population decline by 0.2 per cent in each of the next two years.

The PBO noted that would mark the first time Canada sees an annual decline in population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

EDMONTON – Canada’s Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is apologizing after shifting claims of his Indigenous identity came under scrutiny.

The Edmonton Liberal member of Parliament says he’s sorry he hasn’t been clear about who he is and his family’s history and that he’s still learning about his heritage.

Boissonnault has previously referred to himself as “non-status adopted Cree from Alberta” and said his great-grandmother was a “full-blooded Cree woman.”

The apology comes after reports that a company co-owned by Boissonnault unsuccessfully bid on two federal contracts while identifying itself as Indigenous and Aboriginal owned.

Boissonnault says he never claimed Indigenous status to his business partner, and he corrected the Liberal party as soon as he became aware of its public claim that he’s Indigenous.

The Conservative party has called for Boissonnault to testify before the ethics committee and answer for what it calls serious allegations of fraud.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

VANCOUVER – Intense flooding that hammered British Columbia’s coast last month has led to more than $110 million in insured damage claims.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says insurers have been working with clients for the last few weeks since the Category 4 atmospheric river caused “significant flood damage” to Metro Vancouver properties in Coquitlam, Burnaby, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Surrey.

The bureau says the intense rainfall and wind — which prompted a local state of emergency in North Vancouver on Oct. 20 — resulted in overflowing rivers, sewer backups, and flooding on roads and in parking garages and basements.

It says that while some residential flood insurance is available, it may be limited or inaccessible to some, forcing them to rely on government disaster financial assistance for their recovery.

About 10 per cent of Canadian households cannot access flood insurance, and the bureau is again calling on the federal government to “fully fund” the National Flood Insurance Program.

It says a national program would provide financial protection to high-risk households, and reduce disaster costs to federal and provincial government treasuries.

“Rather than responding with disaster financial assistance in the aftermath of catastrophes, this program would be a proactive, cost-effective approach to managing the financial toll when disasters strike,” the bureau says in a news release.

“While the federal government has committed to its creation, the program has yet to be fully funded.”

It says insured losses related to severe weather in Canada now routinely exceed $3 billion annually and a new record has been set this year, reaching more than $7.7 billion.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.