In the news today: Federal budget falls flat: poll; G7 meeting in southern Ontario

Only 15 per cent of households surveyed told Leger the proposed budget will have a positive impact on their personal lives, while 32 per cent predicted a negative effect.

Andrew Enns, Leger’s executive vice-president for central Canada, said that while the Liberals managed to win broad support on some big-ticket items, such as new spending on defence and infrastructure, Carney’s first budget missed the mark when it came to Canadians’ own pocketbooks.

Top diplomats to discuss Ukraine at G7 meeting

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven countries are gathering in southern Ontario today to hear from Ukraine’s foreign minister as Russia escalates the gruelling war by targeting the Ukrainian power grid.

The Russian attacks have brought rolling blackouts to Ukraine as winter approaches and U.S.-led diplomatic efforts remain at a standstill.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says today’s G7 meeting will reaffirm collective support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s aggression.

During the two-day G7 meeting, foreign ministers from the other G7 states — France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the European Union — will discuss shared economic and security challenges.

Mental health care lacking, prison watchdog says

The federal prison ombudsman says weak policies, insufficient training and a lack of specialized treatment are hindering the Correctional Service of Canada’s efforts to deliver mental health care.

In his latest annual report, correctional investigator Ivan Zinger says it’s “abundantly clear” the prison service is fundamentally ill-equipped to provide long-term mental health care to people experiencing acute psychiatric distress, suicidal thoughts or chronic self-injury.

In cases involving such serious mental illnesses, transfers to external, secure, community-based psychiatric hospitals are necessary, Zinger says in the report.

The Correctional Service of Canada routinely transfers individuals requiring complex physical care — such as chemotherapy or heart surgery — to external hospitals, Zinger notes.

New policy directions to be debated at UCP meeting

Reintroducing coal-powered electricity to Alberta’s grid and restricting which flags are flown on public property are among dozens of new policy proposals being brought forward by grassroots members of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party.

The pitches, another being to make temporary residents pay for health care, were released recently by the party.

They are to be debated and voted on at month’s end at the party’s annual general meeting in Edmonton.

Smith’s government isn’t bound by the results, but one political watcher says the premier’s job security could depend on her moving forward with at least a few of the 35 proposals.

Holiday hiring up but job market tough: report

Holiday job postings are a little more plentiful this year, but that’s hardly a respite for job seekers as competition for those positions is expected to be tough with unemployment still elevated, a new report shows.

Indeed Canada’s holiday hiring trends report released Wednesday finds seasonal postings so far this winter are up 12 per cent from last year, though still weak relative to earlier years.

“After two down years, we’ve seen the seasonal hiring appetite actually come in a bit stronger than last year,” said Indeed Canada’s senior economist Brendon Bernard, who also authored the report.

Bernard said demand for seasonal workers generally mimics the broader state of the economy.

Roughrider, Alouette superfans prep for Grey Cup

Lance Hackewich loves his Saskatchewan Roughriders — and he’s got a 75-year-old desiccated, positively inedible piece of history to prove it.

It’s a loaf of bread from 1951.

It sits among other treasured mementoes in wall-to-wall glass case displays alongside old and new Roughrider jerseys, helmets, newspaper clippings, posters and footballs in Hackewich’s son’s old bedroom in Regina.

When the son moved out in 2019, the Rider Pride moved in, along with the bread to commemorate 1951, the year the Riders made it to the 39^th Grey Cup. They ended up losing to the Ottawa Rough Riders.

“(It) looks like a large crouton now,” Hackewich said about the bread in an interview from what is known as “The Rider Room” on social media.

Don’t worry, it’s genuine.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2025

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

In the news today: Federal budget falls flat: poll; G7 meeting in southern Ontario

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