National News

WASHINGTON — Canadian beef producers are finally able to turn the page on the mad cow era, the federal agriculture minister said Thursday after an international animal-health watchdog gave the industry a long-awaited all-clear.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized on Thursday for the internment of Canadians of Italian descent during the Second World War, saying the community has carried the weight of the unjust policy for generations.

BURNABY, B.C. — Construction has begun on the 2.6-kilometre tunnel in Burnaby, B.C., for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern): 5:50 p.m. Alberta is reporting 513 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death.

OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer is pouring cold water on the economic fires from the government's latest spending plan, saying that an expected rise in interest rates should temper the amount of stimulus from the Trudeau Liberals' budget.

OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency says thousands of self-employed workers who received emergency benefits last year won't have to repay any of it, as long as they meet certain conditions.

MONTREAL — The Quebec government says a major Montreal bridge closed last week for safety reasons will be gradually reopened to traffic starting Friday.

OTTAWA — Federal New Democrats are ensuring the survival of a key piece of Liberal legislation aimed at keeping Canada accountable to its target of achieving net-zero carbon-related emissions by mid-century.

INDIAN BROOK, N.S. — A Mi'kmaq community is scaling back plans for a lobster harvest in southwestern Nova Scotia next week after Ottawa threatened to pull traps that aren't licensed by the Fisheries Department.

HALIFAX — A conservation group trying to prevent ships from striking endangered whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence says new satellite data indicates that vessels transiting the Cabot Strait are routinely ignoring voluntary speed limits.