National News

OTTAWA — Legislation that commits the federal government to long-term funding of the national child-care system is poised to become law. The bill aims to enshrine the system into law, making it harder for future governments to defund it.

OTTAWA — Brian Mulroney is dead at 84. His family announced late Thursday that Canada's 18th prime minister died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. Here's a sampling of how Canadians are responding to the news.

OTTAWA — There was no in-between with Martin Brian Mulroney. Canadians loved him: In 1984, they handed the youthful charmer a blank cheque and the largest majority mandate in history so he could change the country.

VICTORIA — The mother of a University of British Columbia doctoral student is suing organizers of a martial arts tournament where she says he was "battered" by an opponent before falling into a vegetative state.

OTTAWA — A series of steps would need to happen before a judge can restrict a person's movement because of fears they could commit a hate crime, federal Justice Minister Arif Virani said Thursday as he defended a suite of tougher penalties to combat

EDMONTON — Health care and education came out ahead Thursday in a generally restrained Alberta provincial budget forecasting a paper-thin surplus that could easily go up in smoke.

MONTREAL — The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld Quebec's Bill 21 Thursday, finding the secularism law, which bans teachers, judges, police officers and prison guards from wearing religious symbols on the job, to be constitutional.

Saskatchewan's move to no longer remit the federal carbon levy on natural gas turned into a tit-for-tat of threats Thursday, with Ottawa saying the province's residents will no longer be getting rebates.

MONTREAL — The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled Thursday that the province's secularism law is constitutional and a lower court was wrong to exempt English school boards from the law, known as Bill 21.

MONTREAL — Extreme weather conditions were expected to continue in parts of northern Ontario and Quebec on Thursday evening after a sharp cold front with high winds hit both provinces, knocking out power lines and leaving tens of thousands of people