While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Sarah Ritchie.
OTTAWA -- Advocates for people with episodic disabilities say they don't understand why the federal government has two different definitions of disability in law -- and uses the narrower version to decide who gets benefits.
Saab says it will work with Canadian company CAE on a domestic training, flight simulation and support program if Ottawa decides to buy its Gripen jets. In a media statement, the companies say the deal would mean critical operational and mission systems information would stay in Canada under Canadian control. The Swedish jet maker has been trying to convince the...
OTTAWA -- Saab says it will work with Canadian company CAE on a domestic training, flight simulation and support program if Ottawa decides to buy its Gripen jets.
The federal government will not accept any new applications this year from people who want to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada as permanent residents under a program meant to promote family reunification. The Immigration Department said the change is part of an effort to responsibly manage the system and reduce wait times. In a statement posted...
OTTAWA -- The federal government will not accept any new applications this year from people who want to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada as permanent residents under a program meant to promote family reunification.
OTTAWA -- The federal government will not accept any new applications this year from people who want to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada.
OTTAWA -- Former B.C. Conservative leadership candidate Caroline Elliott is pushing back at Pierre Poilievre's recent jab about her campaign team, calling on the federal Conservative leader to work to bring people together.
OTTAWA -- The 2026 wildfire season has been manageable so far, largely because of significant amounts of rain across Western Canada, but federal officials cautioned Thursday the summer forecast is hotter and drier than normal in much of the country.
Richard Martel and Nate Erskine-Smith resigned their seats in the House of Commons on Tuesday, setting a clock ticking ahead of a pair of byelections in Quebec and Ontario -- and they are not the only ones. Voters in a number of ridings across the country will be asked to choose new federal representatives in the coming months as members...
OTTAWA -- Richard Martel and Nate Erskine-Smith resigned their seats in the House of Commons on Tuesday, setting a clock ticking ahead of a pair of byelections in Quebec and Ontario -- and they are not the only ones.
The Conservatives have named a new critic to take on the Liberals' handling of the economy — but not a new strategy, as party stalwart Michael Chong maintained Tuesday the country is in a recession despite data suggesting the economy started growing again. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has named Chong, an Ontario MP, as the new finance critic in a...
The Conservatives have named a new critic to take on the Liberals' handling of the economy — but not a new strategy, as party stalwart Michael Chong maintained Tuesday the country is in a recession despite data suggesting the economy started growing again.
Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu is looking for ways to turn down the temperature between unions and employers -- particularly when labour acrimony threatens to disrupt critical industries. Unions have seized on Ottawa's review of federal labour laws to make the case for the right to strike and reaffirm their opposition to government intervention in bargaining. Hajdu said in an...
Members of Parliament have wrapped up a spring sitting in the House of Commons that stretched over six months and saw the Liberals use their new majority powers to limit debate and push through contentious legislation. Prime Minister Mark Carney's government began the sitting in late January in a minority position. After courting five opposition members to join the Liberal...
OTTAWA -- A parliamentary committee is calling on the federal government to indefinitely exclude people with mental illness from becoming eligible for medical assistance in dying.
OTTAWA -- A parliamentary committee is expected to recommend against extending eligibility for medical assistance in dying to people with a mental illness in a report to the House of Commons set to be tabled Wednesday.
OTTAWA -- The Liberal government is not saying if it will act on a parliamentary committee report that's expected to recommend against making people with mental illness eligible for medical assistance in dying.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he will take time over the summer to review the work of a committee tasked with determining whether Canada is ready to allow people with mental illness access to medically assisted dying. Committee co-chair Marcus Powlowski said last week the report would be presented to Parliament on Wednesday to ensure it's in the government's hands...
OTTAWA -- Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he will take time over the summer to review the work of a committee tasked with determining whether Canada is ready to allow people with mental illness access to medically assisted dying.
OTTAWA -- As Jocelyn Downie watched the Supreme Court of Canada strike down the laws criminalizing the act of helping someone end their life in 2015, she thought she'd better find something to do with the rest of her career.
OTTAWA -- The federal government has launched a new advisory committee on preventive health care to provide guidelines on screening for things like cervical and breast cancer.
Conservative MP Billy Morin says he will spend the summer talking to Indigenous leaders about encouraging people to vote in the Alberta referendum. Albertans are set to vote in October on whether they want to stay in Canada or prefer to hold a future binding referendum on separating from the country. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he and his caucus...
OTTAWA -- Conservative MP Billy Morin says he will spend the summer talking to Indigenous leaders about encouraging people to vote in the Alberta referendum.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says support for Quebec separatism was "wiped out" under Stephen Harper's government but polls show the movement has had steady support for decades. The Tory leader insists separatist sentiment in both Alberta and Quebec is being driven by the Liberals and their policies. Bloc Quebecois House leader Christine Normandin pointed out that Quebec elected a Parti...
OTTAWA -- Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says support for Quebec separatism was "wiped out" under Stephen Harper's government but polls show the movement has had steady support for decades.
OTTAWA -- Ninety disability advocacy and mental health organizations have signed an open letter urging the federal Liberals to permanently exclude people with mental illness from eligibility for medical assistance in dying.
A majority of the House of Commons voted against a non-binding motion calling on the federal government to take action to protect private property from First Nations land claims. The Conservatives introduced and voted for the motion, while the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois all voted against it. The issue stems from a 2025 B.C. Supreme Court ruling that confirmed...
OTTAWA -- A majority of the House of Commons voted against a non-binding motion on Monday that called on the federal government to protect private property from First Nations land claims — a political issue the Crown-Indigenous Relations minister has said is rife with partisan rhetoric.
OTTAWA -- Members of Parliament are set to hold a non-binding vote today on a contentious question of private property rights.
OTTAWA -- Conservative MP Michael Chong said his meeting with Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday was meant to assert Canadian sovereignty in the face of Beijing's warnings to Canadian lawmakers that such visits are inappropriate.
OTTAWA -- Conservative MP Michael Chong said his meeting with Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday was a way to assert Canadian sovereignty in the face of Beijing's warnings to lawmakers in this country that such visits are inappropriate.
Conservative MP Michael Chong said his meeting with Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday was a way to assert Canadian sovereignty in the face of Beijing's warnings to lawmakers in this country that such visits are inappropriate. "I thought it was important to make it clear that we are not going to take direction from a foreign government about where...
OTTAWA -- Canadians worry about sports betting becoming a problem for people they know and more than one in 10 of those surveyed said they placed a wager on a sporting event in the last year, a new poll suggests.
A new online survey suggests nearly a quarter of Canadians say they've declined to get a vaccine recommended by their doctor -- and the data indicates most of them did so because they were concerned about potential side effects. A report from Proof Strategies released Thursday -- which is World Vaccine Day -- explores how Canadians feel about vaccines and...
OTTAWA -- A new online survey suggests nearly a quarter of Canadians say they've declined to get a vaccine recommended by their doctor -- and the data indicates most of them did so because they were concerned about potential side effects.
OTTAWA -- Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday that she and Prime Minister Mark Carney are committed to working through the issues between Alberta and Ottawa as separatist sentiment rises in the western province.
OTTAWA -- Conservatives gathered in Ottawa will hear from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith this afternoon as the Canada Strong and Free Network conference continues.
OTTAWA -- Pierre Poilievre urged conservatives to keep fighting for the country in a speech at a conference in Ottawa this afternoon.
OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Mark Carney said Wednesday he won't take a position yet on whether people with only a mental illness should be able to access assisted dying.
OTTAWA -- Bridget Tolley said the thought of coming to Parliament Hill on Tuesday morning was overwhelming.
OTTAWA -- A few dozen people wearing bright red shirts and dresses stood out against a grey sky on Parliament Hill on Tuesday afternoon, where they gathered for a vigil to mark Red Dress Day in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
OTTAWA -- The Archbishop of Toronto has written a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney appealing to his Catholic faith and urging him to "choose life and not death" when it comes to assisted dying.
OTTAWA -- Conservative MP Jamil Jivani was back in Washington on Wednesday with a handful of Tory colleagues for a meeting with Canadian business interests and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
OTTAWA -- The Conservatives say the Liberals wasted no time shutting down public debate at two House of Commons committees after securing their majority this week.
OTTAWA -- The Conservatives say the Liberals wasted no time shutting down public debate at two House of Commons committees after securing their majority this week.
Conservative MP Jamil Jivani was back in Washington on Wednesday with a handful of Tory colleagues for a meeting with Canadian business interests and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. Canadian Ambassador Mark Wiseman was also in attendance. The event was hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada and happened as Greer has been claiming that Canada has...
The Conservatives say the Liberals wasted no time shutting down public debate at two House of Commons committees after securing their majority this week. On Tuesday, the health and ethics committees welcomed new Liberal MPs, giving the government a majority of members. Minutes into both meetings, the Liberal members used their majorities to send the debates into closed-door sessions.
OTTAWA -- The federal government moved quickly to make use of its new majority powers on Monday, hours after three Liberals who won recent byelections took their seats in the House of Commons.
The three Liberals who won the byelections that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month took their seats in the House of Commons on Monday. The government moved quickly to make use of its new majority powers by introducing a motion to limit debate on a change to the House rules that would enable the...
OTTAWA -- The three Liberals who won the byelections that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month took their seats in the House of Commons on Monday.
The three Liberals who won the byelections earlier this month that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney are taking their seats in the House of Commons today. Doly Begum, Danielle Martin and Tatiana Auguste were sworn in as members of Parliament on Saturday. Begum and Martin are newcomers who replaced outgoing cabinet ministers Bill Blair and Chrystia...
OTTAWA -- The three Liberals who won the byelections earlier this month that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney are taking their seats in the House of Commons today.
A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues. The poll asked 2,013 Canadians a series of questions about the government's performance since it won the election on April 28, 2025. Last...
OTTAWA -- A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues.
OTTAWA -- An expert in Canada's assisted dying laws is warning that the committee of MPs and senators tasked with studying whether the country is ready to allow people with mental illness to access MAID has "gone off the rails."
OTTAWA -- An expert on Canada's assisted dying laws says a parliamentary committee studying MAID in cases of mental illness is not focused on its mandate and has not been balanced in its approach.
The last Conservative leader to be ousted by his party says he's advised his replacement to forget the floor crossings and social media trends as speculation heats up over Pierre Poilievre's future at the party's helm. "My advice to him has always been to put the country first and look at the long term," Erin O'Toole said in an interview...
The Liberals are moving to take control of House of Commons committees now that they've secured a majority government. House leader Steven MacKinnon says in a social media post that the Liberals will seek to change the standing orders, the rules that govern the Commons, to ensure they have the most votes on committees. Majority governments traditionally hold a majority...
OTTAWA -- Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne will appear before the House ethics committee next month to answer questions about his connection to the Alto high-speed rail project, after a lengthy Liberal filibuster.
Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne will appear before the House ethics committee to answer questions about his connection to the Alto high-speed rail project. The Liberal members of the committee dragged out debate for hours over whether Champagne and the ethics commissioner would be called in for questioning. The minister recused himself from decisions about the high-speed rail project last September...