Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra has released a statement clarifying the government’s stance on new school attendance rules, assuring parents that they can still request their children be excused from class for certain extra-curricular activities.

On Monday, The Canadian Press reported that Calandra urged parents not to pull their kids out of school for sports tournaments next year when new attendance rules begin, sparking backlash from some who felt sports and other activities are essential to the health and well-being of young people.

I have two kids that play

The Alberta government is poised to make an announcement about its plans for a new West Coast oil pipeline later this week.

Sam Blackett, press secretary to Premier Danielle Smith, says there will be a “major announcement” on Thursday to share new details about the province’s submission to the federal major projects office.

The major projects office was established a year ago to speed along infrastructure deemed in Canada’s national interest.

Alberta is acting as a proponent for a new pipeline that would carry up to one million barrels

A 73-year-old man has been charged in connection to the historic sexual assault of a minor in York Region.

York police began the investigation in June when the victim came forward to report they had been allegedly sexually assaulted by the suspect threes time between 1997 and 1999.

The victim was under 16 years old at the time of the assaults.

Michael Geniole, 73, of Chatham-Ken is facing three charges of sexual assault and three charges of sexual interference.

Toronto police are trying to identify a suspect after an unprovoked stabbing in East Danforth last Sunday.

Investigators say the incident occurred in the Danforth Avenue and Main Street area on June 28 at around 12:45 p.m. when the suspect approached a person from behind and stabbed them in the back.

The suspect then fled the area.

The victim, whose age and gender have not been released by police, was treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

“It appears the victim and

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney will attend the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey next week before he jets off to Saudi Arabia — his first official visits to those countries.

NATO members are expected to gather on July 7 and 8 in Ankara to celebrate an alliance-wide increase in defence spending, following years of U.S. pressure for alliance members to hike their military and national security budgets.

But NATO nations remain under pressure to show up in Ankara with credible plans to meet the latest alliance defence spending benchmark of

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship , rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

By a 6-3 vote, the court struck down Trump’s order. A bare majority of five justices, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment , adopted after the Civil War,

Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto might be one step closer to reality.

The Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers have agreed on player compensation and a trade for the 2019 Finals MVP “could happen today,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on Tuesday.

“I think it’d be Brandon Ingram based on what I am told. What they have been haggling over is the draft-pick compensation,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up.

Meanwhile, Leonard, who has one year left

In a press scrum Monday afternoon, Ottawa police revealed why they checked on the house where they found the two boys murdered in the Leitrim community.

Supt. Jamie Dunlop, with Ottawa police, said someone called officers Monday morning after going to the house and growing concerned when no one answered the door.

“We are certainly going to be interviewing the mother, all other relatives, friends and everybody who knew them to kind of plan out, plot out what were the conditions of that family dynamic,” Dunlop told the

OTTAWA — The MP overseeing Canada’s foreign aid says Ottawa will match up to $4 million in public donations for Venezuelans still reeling from earthquakes, in addition to funding the federal government announced last week.

“Canadians really want to step up and really have a strong affinity and connection to the people of Venezuela,” Randeep Sarai, secretary of state for international development, told The Canadian Press.

Rare double earthquakes struck northern Venezuela 39 seconds apart last Wednesday. Officials reported Monday that more than 1,70