Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Even as Russian warships carried out target practice in the Black Sea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to cool its rhetoric about a potential invasion, saying that it's putting his country's economy at risk.
"We should have no panic. We have a powerful army," he told reporters on Friday.
These statements appear to clash with the U.S. President Joe Biden on the assessment of the security threat. In a call on Thursday, Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart there was "a distinct possibility" of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.
When asked about Zelensky's remarks urging the West to tone it down, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stood by the administration's messaging, noting the presence of more than 100,000 troops at Ukraine's borders.
"It’s a dangerous situation. And we’ve been saying for over a week that Russia could invade at any time," she said on Friday. "This has been our message, and we’ve been really consistent."
Biden also told reporters on Friday that he plans on moving some U.S. troops to NATO allies in Eastern Europe "in the near term."
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov again rejected that claim, insisting Moscow doesn't want a war but is prepared to launch one. Lavov said Russia will respond if it can't get security guarantees from Europe, but didn't elaborate on how
Zelensky also criticized several countries, including Canada, for withdrawing families of diplomats working at their embassies.
"I think it was a mistake," he said. "I think embassy employees should be here."
NATO on Friday threatened again to slap severe economic sanctions on Russia if it invades. Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's secretary general, told CTV News Channel's Power Play that Ukraine’s military has more muscle and backing than it did eight years ago, when Russia annexed Crimea.
“The Ukrainian army will actually be able to defend themselves and defend Ukraine in a totally different way than they were in 2014," he said. "Ukraine has of course the right to self-defence."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday announced that Canada would be extending Operation UNIFIER in Ukraine and will continue to send Canadian soldiers to train Ukrainian armed forces and the national guard, a move praised by Stoltenberg.
“Canada is one of the lead countries in NATO when it comes to providing support for Ukraine and you have been that for a very long time,” he said. “There are not many other countries at the equal level of efforts, doing as much as Canada.”
However, the NATO chief dodged questions about whether Canada should provide Ukraine weapons as other NATO countries have.
"Different allies have different positions on that. What Canada does makes a huge difference already," he said.
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.