Pause on OSAP at private post-secondary institutions to stay in effect until new year
Ontario's colleges and universities minister says a pause on student financial assistance payments across all private post-secondary institutions will stay in effect until at least the new year.
Nolan Quinn says in a late afternoon statement that the government has not yet finished setting up a new system for validating career colleges and other private post-secondary institutions and expects that to be ready in the new year.
He says Ontario Student Assistance Program payments will not resume at those institutions until the new process is in place.
Quinn tasked KPMG with an audit of the sector in August and said earlier this month that preliminary findings raised serious enough concerns that he has referred the matter to the Ontario Provincial Police.
The ministry investigators launched in-person inspections last week at eight career colleges.
Career Colleges Ontario, students and institutions including divinity schools and Canada's National Ballet School have decried the government's broad approach of pausing OSAP at all private post-secondary schools, but Quinn's office has said there is evidence of systemic issues.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.
By Allison Jones | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Winnipeg family seeks public inquiry after inquest into teen's fatal police shooting
The family of a First Nations girl fatally shot by Winnipeg police is renewing calls for a public inquiry into police-related deaths of Indigenous people.
Eishia Hudson was killed in 2020 after the vehicle she was driving was involved in a liquor store robbery and police chase.
The inquest into the 16-year-old's death, which concluded last week, heard an officer fired two shots at Eishia because he believed the lives of his fellow officers were in danger.
William Hudson, Eishia's father, says he is pushing for the province to call a public inquiry to examine the broader issue of police-related deaths and how Manitoba investigates them.
The inquest examined whether the use of force was appropriate and whether systemic racism played a role in Eishia's death because the suspects were identified as Indigenous.
Judge Margaret Wiebe is to deliver her final report at a later date on ways to prevent similar deaths.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.
By Brittany Hobson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Carney warns constitutional reforms 'difficult,' says he's after 'common solutions'
One day after Albertans voted to reject separatism, Prime Minister Mark Carney says he favours pursuing pragmatic "common solutions" with the provinces on issues under federal jurisdiction.
Carney warned today that constitutional change can be a "difficult" and drawn-out process and said disputes in areas like immigration can be resolved without constitutional amendments.
Carney made the comments to reporters as he welcomed the results of the Alberta referendum, which saw about three-quarters of the province vote against separating from Canada.
Nine other referendum questions, which had far narrower margins, called for more provincial powers in federal areas such as immigration and recommended a series of constitutional changes.
They include abolishing the Senate and giving provinces the authority to appoint Superior Court judges.
While Carney said before the referendum that Albertans should vote "no to the nine," he told Alberta broadcaster Ryan Jespersen ahead of the referendum vote that he is "open" to constitutional reforms where there is "consensus."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.