National News

QUEBEC — The Quebec government whip has quit the Coalition Avenir Québec and will join the federal Conservatives, leaving the province's ruling party wondering whether its current slump in the polls will lead to more departures.

OTTAWA — Treasury Board President Anita Anand says no government ministry and agency will be left out of the process of cutting 5,000 public-service positions.

OTTAWA — Now is the time to urge Ottawa that people with disorders such as Alzheimer's and dementia should be able to request medical assistance in dying before their cognitive decline, says the CEO of an influential group.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today...

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Three men accused by the Crown of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 have been found guilty of mischief.

BURNABY, B.C. — A British Columbia coroner's jury has heard that a man who held his partner hostage and died in a spray of RCMP gunfire was a loving man who didn't have the opportunity to "get clean" from his drug addictions.

ZEBALLOS, B.C.

VANCOUVER — A defence lawyer for Ibrahim Ali, who was convicted of first-degree murder of a 13-year-old girl in Burnaby, B.C., says the man wants to appear at his sentencing hearing by video over fear for his safety. Kevin McCollough told a B.C.

OTTAWA — The federal government is providing up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to help Indigenous communities invest in natural resource and energy products.

OTTAWA — The federal government expects that its latest effort to discourage Canadians from smoking, contained in the federal budget tabled Tuesday, will generate $1.7 billion in new revenue.