IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Scott Morrison said Wednesday that giving himself extra powers when he was Australia’s prime minister was necessary during the coronavirus crisis, as criticism rose the moves were deceptive and undemocratic.
Current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking an opinion from the solicitor-general on the legality of some of Morrison’s moves.
Many of Morrison’s own colleagues were blindsided by his decision to secretly appoint himself to five ministerial roles, which have only been revealed in recent days. Some have called for him to resign from Parliament, where he is now an opposition lawmaker after losing the general election to Albanese earlier this year.
But Morrison told reporters in Sydney that while he apologized for causing offence to his colleagues, he stood by his actions.
The expectation early in the COVID-19 crisis was that as prime minister, he was responsible for everything — “every drop of rain, every strain of the virus, everything that occurred over that period of time,” Morrison said. “I believed it was necessary to have authority, to have what were effectively emergency powers, to exercise in extreme situations that would be unforeseen, that would enable me to act in the national interests.”
He said he'd rather be criticized for overstepping the mark than for not taking action. Asked why he didn't let his own Cabinet colleagues know about the appointments, let alone the broader public, Morrison said his moves could have been misunderstood.
“I was concerned that these issues could have been misconstrued and misunderstood, and undermined the confidence of ministers in the performance of their duties at that time, and I did not consider that to be in the country’s interest,” Morrison said.
Albanese on Tuesday revealed that between March 2020 and May 2021, Morrison was appointed minister of health, finance, home affairs, treasury and industry — moves which appeared to have given him equal powers to the ministers already appointed to those positions. News Corp. media had revealed some of the appointments over the weekend.
“How about an apology to the Australian people?” Albanese said after Morrison spoke. “The Australian people went to an election not knowing that any of this had occurred, not knowing that there was a shadow government operating in darkness.”
Albanese told reporters in Brisbane that he found it incomprehensible that the appointments weren't publicly announced at the time. He alluded to the secrecy in the movie “Fight Club.”
“The first rule of power-grab club is don’t talk about power-grab club, and Scott Morrison broke that rule today," Albanese said. "Scott Morrison was evasive, he was defensive, he was passive-aggressive and of course, he was self-serving. So at least he was true to himself today."
Morrison used his additional powers on at least one occasion, to overturn a decision by former minister Keith Pitt to approve a contentious gas project off the New South Wales coast.
Pitt said in a statement he was unaware Morrison had joint oversight over his ministerial portfolio and that he stands by the decisions he made at the time.
At the time, Morrison said he was vetoing the project in his capacity as prime minister, and did not mention that he had joint oversight over the portfolio.
Morrison on Wednesday said there were different circumstances in that particular case than with his pandemic-related portfolios, and he stood by his decision which he believed was in the national interest.
Morrison’s appointments were authorized by Governor-General David Hurley, who said he followed processes consistent with the constitution by signing an "administrative instrument on the advice of the prime minister” — which was Morrison — to give Morrison the extra powers.
Karen Andrews, who served as home affairs minister under Morrison, said Morrison never told her that he was also being appointed to the portfolio. She said Morrison should resign.
“The Australian people have been let down, they have been betrayed,” she said. “For a former prime minister to have behaved in that manner, to secretly be sworn into other portfolios, undermines the Westminster system, it’s absolutely unacceptable.”
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
In the quiet and leafy Vancouver neighbourhood of South Cambie, best known for its botanical garden, playoff fever is about to set in.
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
Biden wants the 2024 election to be a referendum on Trump's record and plans, but he also wants voters to look favourably on his own policies and actions
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.
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.
A P.E.I. lighthouse and a New Brunswick river are being honoured in a Canada Post series.