National News

VICTORIA — Here are highlights from the B.C. budget tabled Tuesday: — The government is earmarking $2.1 billion to fund disaster recovery efforts and future response to the threats from wildfires, floods and heat waves.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Trade Representative's office has once again made its feelings clear about Canada's plan to implement a controversial new tax on digital services.

SASKATOON — An ombudsperson's office being created in Saskatchewan will be the first in Canada to help address racism against Indigenous people trying to get health-care services.

OTTAWA — Shortly before his president announced new sanctions against Russia, and a short walk from the aftermath of the antigovernment protests that paralyzed Ottawa and key border crossings, the American ambassador to Canada saw a connection. U.S.

OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives are ending their boycott of a special national security and intelligence committee made up of MPs and senators.

TORONTO — Several Canadian universities are maintaining COVID-19 precautions such as vaccine mandates and masking for in-person classes even as governments roll back pandemic restrictions.

HALIFAX — The commissioners leading the inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting that claimed 22 lives in Nova Scotia began their first day of hearings on the defensive Tuesday after Premier Tim Houston accused them of disrespecting the victims' families.

HALIFAX — The federal-provincial inquiry investigating the 2020 mass murder in Nova Scotia heard Tuesday from experts who talked about the tragedy's impact on the mental health of Nova Scotians and lingering feelings of loss, anger and frustration.

Ottawa police cleared the return of shoppers and staff to Ottawa's largest mall after the building was evacuated Tuesday, just hours after it was able to reopen following a three-week long occupation of the city's downtown core.

OTTAWA — The latest developments on ongoing protests against COVID-19 restrictions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, in Ottawa and various locations across Canada, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. All times eastern: 2:45 p.m.