Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Several major changes that could impact your wallet are on their way, some of which take effect April 1.
The federal minimum wage is set to increase by $1.10—from $15.55 per hour to $16.65—and you may end up paying more for gas and alcohol as of Saturday.
The minimum wage increase is meant to keep up with inflation and is based on the consumer price index, which rose 6.8 per cent last year, according to the federal government.
This wage increase only applies to federally-regulated private sectors such as banks, postal and courier services and interprovincial air, rail, road, and marine transportation. The government says the increase will help around 26,000 Canadian workers make life more affordable.
If the minimum wage is higher in the province or territory you live in, your employer must pay the higher amount.
Here are the provinces and territories where the minimum wage is set to increase on April 1:
To learn more about minimum wage in Canada, visit the government’s website.
The excise tax on alcohol was set to increase by 6.3 per cent April 1, which would have been the largest hike in more than 40 years. However, the feds instead temporarily capped it at two per cent after outcry from microbrewers and distillers.
The temporary cap will only remain in effect for a fiscal year, but it’s still a major win for those in the industry, according to Beer Canada president CJ Hélie.
The federal alcohol tax raises automatically based on inflation each year, which is why the planned increase was so high at 6.3 per cent. It is separate from provincial fees and sales taxes.
The government expects to collect $100 million from the excise tax in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to federal documents.
Expect to pay more at the pumps when you fill up your vehicle starting Saturday, as the federal government’s carbon pricing increases from $50 per tonne to $65 per tonne. The Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation says that change will amount to 14.31 cents per litre of gas, up from 11.05 cents per litre.
People living in British Columbia will soon see a break on their natural gas bill starting April 1.
After getting approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), FortisBC is lowering the amount it charges for natural gas.
FortisBC will charge $4.159 per gigajoule for gas, $1 less than its previous rate of $5.159. The price will remain in effect until June 30.
FortisBC changes what it charges for natural gas every fiscal quarter (with BCUC approval) to reflect the cost of acquiring natural gas at market-based prices.
People in the Lower Mainland will save about $7.50 every month on their bill on average, or about seven per cent, according to FortisBC estimates. In northeast B.C. around Fort Nelson, people could save an average of $10.40.
A previous version of this story stated an Ontario recycling program implementing fees on certain beverage containers would begin on April 1. The Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association announced earlier in March that it was changing its launch date in Ontario from April 1 to June 1, 2023. The story has removed mention of the recycling program to reflect this.
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.