National News

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he kept his distance in a debate over the fate of two outspoken backbenchers but believes his United Conservative caucus made the right decision to expel them. “I did not reveal which way I was voting.

EDMONTON — A criminologist says a recent court order that allows Alberta RCMP to arrest organizers of anti-lockdown rallies can limit or prevent future gatherings but does little to educate people who don't believe in the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. lawmaker who has made a political crusade out of getting the border with Canada reopened is again pressing his case with President Joe Biden — and this time, he believes he has the Centers for Disease Control on his side.

TORONTO — Canadian residents should be able to head to the United States for COVID-19 vaccinations and be exempt from mandatory quarantine on return if health authorities here deem the shots medically necessary, a hospital CEO said on Friday.

OTTAWA — The head of the country's largest private-sector union says Parliament should raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, and possibly put future increases into the hands of an independent commission.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Friday he sees an opening to begin the next federal election campaign on Aug. 16 if the COVID-19 pandemic is under control.

WASHINGTON — Senior officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico will meet virtually next week for the first Free Trade Commission meeting of the USMCA era.

HALIFAX — Canada should respond to a UN committee examining whether it failed to protect Mi'kmaq fishers from racist violence, even though the independence of committee members can be questioned, a former human rights investigator says.

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 14 ... What we are watching in Canada ... The U.S.

The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 14, 2021. There are 1,312,408 confirmed cases in Canada. _ Canada: 1,312,408 confirmed cases (75,475 active, 1,212,108 resolved, 24,825 deaths).