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    • Former public safety minister Bill Blair expected to face questions about spy warrant

    Minister of National Defence Bill Blair speaks with reporters as he arrives for a meeting of the federal cabinet in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Minister of National Defence Bill Blair speaks with reporters as he arrives for a meeting of the federal cabinet in Ottawa, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
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    Former public safety minister Bill Blair is expected to face questions at a federal inquiry today about why it took much longer than usual to sign off on a spy service warrant in 2021.

    A commission of inquiry into foreign interference has heard that it took 54 days for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warrant application to be approved by Blair.

    The average turnaround time for such applications is four to 10 days.

    Michelle Tessier, CSIS deputy director of operations during the period, has told the inquiry there was frustration with the delay.

    Blair, now defence minister, has already told the inquiry behind closed doors he first became aware of the warrant application on the date he recalls signing it.

    In testimony at the inquiry this week, Zita Astravas, Blair's chief of staff in 2021, denied suggestions she worked to stall approval of the warrant.

    This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

    IN DEPTH

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    opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

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    The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    Canada

    • A B.C. man was found guilty and sentenced for murder after failing to convince a judge that the woman he killed and dismembered consented to the strangulation that caused her death.

    • The sexual assault trial of a Toronto councillor continued Thursday in a Bracebridge courtroom.

    • The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed a bid to appeal by accusers of former University of British Columbia writing professor and novelist Steven Galloway, paving the way for his defamation case against them to go to trial.

    • For years, the Feast in the Highlands atop Hunters Mountain - just off Cape Breton's Cabot Trail - has been a Mi'kmaq fall tradition, but this year was a bit different.

    • Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.

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      Dozens of cars were pulled out of the Detroit River in west Windsor on Tuesday, causing many questions for Windsorites.

    • Mercedes-Benz has partnered up with the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) and the provincial government to launch a new “incubator programâ€. One of the first three locations is Windsor, with the other two going to Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo.

    Local Spotlight

    There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

    Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

    Saskatchewan’s Jessica Campbell has made hockey history, becoming the first ever female assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

    Have you ever seen videos of hovercrafts online or on TV and thought, 'Wow, I wish I could ride one of those.' One Alberta man did, and then built his own.

    A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.

    Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.

    A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.

    Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.

    Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.

    • Emmy Casper-Joe hadn’t even reached her teens when she started to struggle with her mental health.

    • B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad pledges to overhaul BC Ferries, while NDP Leader David Eby promises to attract more doctors to B.C. with new payment model.

    • Seven Vancouver police officers involved in the beating death of Myles Gray nine years ago have been cleared of wrongdoing by a police discipline authority.

    • A worker has been transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries following a collision involving a Ministry of Transportation vehicle on Hwy. 403 in Burlington.

    • The victim of a violent robbery in Thornhill says he had $100,000 to $110,000 stolen from him after being boxed in his car.

    • A dashcam video that captured the moment a BMW rear-ended another vehicle near High Park, which set off a chain-reaction collision, was played at the trial of the man charged in the deadly 2021 crash.

    • The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) have voted to send a mediator-recommended settlement with the provincial government to its more than 30,000 members for a ratification vote.

    • Police officers and dogs were on the hunt for a suspect in the aftermath of a shooting in Forest Lawn Thursday night.

    • More than a month after the Alberta government announced it would be pulling funding for Calgary's Green Line project, Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says progress has been made.

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      CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at things to do in Ottawa and eastern Ontario over the Thanksgiving weekend.

    • OC Transpo says moving forward, its Zero Emission Buses (ZEB) program will procure 40-foot e-buses due to limited availability from manufacturers of 60-foot articulated buses.

    • It will be a sunny and warm start to the Thanksgiving long weekend in Ottawa, but cooler temperatures are in the forecast for most of the holiday weekend.

    • Quebec restaurant employees are earning a higher wage and working fewer hours than the servers, dishwashers and bartenders in other Canadian provinces, according to a new report from the Quebec Restaurant Association.

    • Over 100 homeowners attended a Pierrefonds-Roxboro meeting on Thursday night to learn more about the proposed flood maps for their Montreal borough. They are not confident the maps are accurate or fair.

    • A 28-year-old man has died after being shot in a Laval parking lot Thursday afternoon, police say.

    • An Edmonton daycare has been shut down after failing to address concerns about unsupervised children, the province said Thursday.

    • The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) have voted to send a mediator-recommended settlement with the provincial government to its more than 30,000 members for a ratification vote.

    • A controversial casino has been approved for south Edmonton.

    • Maritime motorists are paying more at the pumps ahead of the Thanksgiving long weekend after the price of gas and diesel jumped significantly overnight.

    • The northern lights were visible in parts of Canada Thursday night, including in the Maritimes.

    • A special weather statement is in effect for parts of Nova Scotia, warning of windy conditions on Saturday.

    • A woman is speaking out after an assault on a Winnipeg Transit bus sent her and her daughter to the hospital.

    • The superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division (WSD) has apologized over a message displayed during a professional development day on Wednesday.

    • A new report taking a second look at sleep safety in infants found a fundamental shift is needed to prevent babies from unnecessarily dying in their sleep.

    • RCMP say officers have found an abandoned vehicle and seized a firearm connected to an armed robbery in the Whitewood, Sask. area Wednesday night, but are still on the hunt for two suspects.

    • Amid what could be Saskatchewan's tightest election in 17 years, the leader of the NDP is asking voters to set party politics aside and support what's the best course for the province.

    • Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe says he would get tough on those disrupting the public and will shut down nuisance properties if re-elected premier on Oct. 28.

    • Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest officially gets underway Friday with a big celebration in front of Kitchener City Hall. Here's what you need to know.

    • Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a Waterloo man who they believe is linked to a group that has been scamming victims across Canada.

    • A failed condo development in Kitchener is in new hands, leaving those who purchased property with a decision to make.

    • Emails obtained by Â鶹´«Ã½ show a Saskatoon private school embroiled in abuse allegations considered mayoral hopeful Gord Wyant a "friend," but he says he cut off contact when the allegations came to light.

    • Saskatoon's civic election is inching closer, as candidates are now finalized ahead of voting day on Nov. 13.

    • The Saskatchewan RCMP is responding to a report of an armed carjacking in Red Pheasant First Nation.

    • Glenn Thompson packs his E-bike to make the short trip back to the room he’s renting. Just a few short weeks ago, he was living in a tent.

    • An Ontario man said he feels 'devastated' after learning his identity was stolen to take out two fraudulent loans under his name.

    • A 14-year-old student received non-life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon in a collision with a vehicle in Chelmsford in Greater Sudbury.

    • Officers investigated several complaints they received about the owner of McMillan Flooring and More Inc. soliciting business between May and June, taking deposits and then not doing the work.

    • At around 9:15 a.m. emergency services responded to reports of a possible stabbing in the area of Oxford Street West and Fiddlers Green Road.

    • More than halfway through a licensing and safety blitz by the City of London, almost a third of the Ubers and Lyfts checked have failed their inspections.

    • Local photographer grabs stellar photos of Northern Lights.

    • Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare's hospital redevelopment plan is ready for submission.

    • Police in Barrie are investigating a theft at a convenience store that they say turned violent on Wednesday afternoon.

    • Windsor police are asking the public for help in locating a 12 year old reported as missing. Omar Abdelsalan was last seen around 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the area of Clarence Drive and Fontainbleu Park.

    • If you are leaving Windsor-Essex for Thanksgiving this weekend, here are some tips, provided by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

    • The removal of 13 vehicles and one trailer from the Detroit River in Sandwich Town is complete.

    • A suspect has been arrested after allegedly shooting a pellet gun at someone in a Victoria parking lot last week, according to authorities.

    • It was a special day for five rescued harbour seals and the people who helped prepare them for their return to life in the wild.

    • Mounties on Vancouver Island say they made an unusual seizure during a recent drug trafficking investigation.

    • Dave Lindsey began growing giant pumpkins to bring a bit of magic to his grandkids' Halloween.

    • A U.S. District Court judge in Montana has sentenced a 27-year-old man from Kelowna, B.C., to 18 months in prison for using fake names to buy guns with the aim of selling them in Canada.

    • Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.

    • The Interfaith Food Bank is busy preparing Thanksgiving bundles and has some tips for anyone hoping to cut down on their holiday dinner costs.

    • A weapons complaint that led to the temporary lockdown of two Lethbridge schools Thursday turned out to be no threat, police said in a media release.

    • Thousands more Lethbridge residents will soon be without a family doctor.

    • Sault Ste. Marie Police Service said two people were arrested following a heavy police presence on Chapple Avenue on Thursday.

    • An annual international mining conference is underway in Greater Sudbury, Ont., marking the first time the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conference of Mining Regions and Cities has been held in North America.

    • Jeff Warner from Aidie Creek Gardens in the northern Ontario community of Englehart has a passion for growing big pumpkins and his effort is paying off in more ways than one.

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