National News

MONTREAL — A man on trial for the kidnapping of a couple from Upstate New York who were smuggled into Quebec in September 2020 denied any knowledge of the abduction plot Friday, testifying that he was never inside their house and never met them.

WASHINGTON — The relationship between Canada and Mexico has long been the weak link in North America's trilateral triangle, and foreign policy experts say reinforcing it will be key if the continent is to realize its true economic potential.

OTTAWA — The impasse over a new federal-provincial health-care deal has broken as both sides close in on how to get better results from new spending, federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Friday.

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith’s office says it would be wrong if a staffer contacted prosecutors about cases involving the Coutts, Alta., border crossing blockade, but hasn’t committed to investigating whether that happened.

Police in India say a third man has been charged in the deaths of four members of a family who froze in southern Manitoba while trying to cross into the United States. They say the man allegedly acted as a scout for potential immigrants to the U.S.

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Anita Anand was heading home from a meeting in Germany on Friday after she and her counterparts from the United States and across Europe failed to make much headway on whether to provide battle tanks to Ukraine.

MONTREAL — The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Quebec City confirmed Friday that it had received a second complaint from a woman alleging sexual misconduct by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the former archbishop in the Quebec capital.

OTTAWA — The Green Party's Elizabeth May is keeping her attention on climate action and on internal growth after disappointing results during her brief hiatus as party leader.

SPRINGBROOK, P.E.I. —East Coast mussel and oyster farmers hit by post-tropical storm Fiona are receiving $40 million over two years to help them recover from the damage and build back more resilient systems.

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Ottawa is hoping to capitalize on the country's vast geography and space expertise to lure in companies that want to launch commercial space flights from Canadian soil.