National News

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says he would like to increase the number of refugees Canada accepts and is pushing for higher refugee numbers every year.

OTTAWA — Conservative MP Mark Warawa's family said his "new address is in heaven" on Thursday, announcing his death following a "brief but valiant battle" with pancreatic cancer.

WASHINGTON — While plans are underway for the Toronto Raptors to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a White House visit for the NBA champions is uncertain.

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia government plans to sign a caribou protection strategy while it imposes an interim moratorium on new resource development in areas where the animals are struggling for survival.

FREDERICTON — A new study says more than half the 70 North Atlantic right whale deaths recorded over the last 16 years were the result of either entanglement in fishing gear or vessel collisions.

OTTAWA — Canada's top judge says there is slow but sure progress toward more timely justice in Canadian courts after years of backlogs and delays.

MONTREAL — Quebec's largest school board has voted to delay application of Quebec's controversial new secularism law for at least a year to allow for consultations with parents, unions and other stakeholders.

The bad news is that the populations of more than one-quarter of Canada's bird species are declining, many rapidly.

SOOKE, B.C. — The Greater Victoria School District says counsellors will be at a local middle school to help students and staff deal with the death of a fellow student.

Five stories in the news for Thursday, June 20 ——— TRUDEAU AND TRUMP TO MEET TODAY IN WASHINGTON Justin Trudeau is headed back to the White House today in what could prove to be a pivotal visit to the U.S.