Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says his government is not ready to announce when and for how long its gun amnesty program will be extended.
Author: Robert Wood
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota House will soon return to full strength under an unusual power-sharing agreement that forces both parties to work together, following a special election to fill the seat left vacant when the chamber’s top Democrat was assassinated.
Democrat Xp Lee won Tuesday’s special election with 61% of the vote, according to unofficial results. After the results are certified and he’s sworn in, he’ll fill the seat that was held by state Rep. Melissa Hortman until she and her husband were killed in their Brooklyn Park home in June by a man disguised as a police officer.
The special election came days after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, in the latest spasm of political violence in the U.S.
Here’s a look at what to know about Lee and what’s next for the Legislature.
Who is Xp Lee?
He pronounces his name X-P, just like JD as in JD Vance. It’s short for Xiongpao.
The former Brooklyn Park City Council member belongs to Minnesota’s large Hmong American community, and he will become one of several Hmong legislators at the Capitol. His parents fled Laos and he was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. He grew up in Fresno, California. He now works as a health equity analyst for the Minnesota Department of Health.
Lee’s Republican opponent in the heavily Democratic suburban district northwest of Minneapolis was real estate agent Ruth Bittner.
He’ll join a closely divided Legislature
Lee’s win preserves a power-sharing arrangement that existed for most of the 2025 legislative session, after the 2024 elections cost House Democrats their majority and left the chamber tied 67-67.
Hortman brokered that agreement. She agreed to give up her position as speaker and handed her gavel to Republican leader Lisa Demuth, who will continue to serve as speaker through the 2026 legislative session. After a rocky start and some bitter debates along the way, lawmakers accomplished the main task of the session by passing a balanced two-year budget.
The tie in the House — and the one-vote Democratic majority in the Minnesota Senate — means some level of bipartisan agreement is required to pass anything. Two Senate seats are currently vacant, adding another complication.
Minnesota isn’t finished with special elections
Special elections will also be held Nov. 4 in to fill those two state Senate seats.
One is for the seat vacated by Democratic state Sen. Nicole Mitchell, of the St. Paul suburb of Woodbury. She resigned in July after she was convicted of burglarizing her estranged stepmother’s home. The other is for the seat held by Republican state Sen. Bruce Anderson, of the Minneapolis exurb of Buffalo, who died in July.
Given that the two districts are heavily Democratic and heavily Republican, respectively, control isn’t expected to change. But the Democrat seeking Mitchell’s seat is state Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger, of Woodbury. If she wins, the governor would have to call another special election to fill her House seat.
The governor wants to call a special session
The Legislature isn’t due to reconvene until Feb. 17. But Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — who announced Tuesday that he’s running for reelection to a third four-year term — wants to call a special session to address school security and gun violence. He raised the idea following a shooting at a church last month that killed two children and wounded 21 other people.
But Walz hasn’t set a date and hasn’t produced a formal slate of proposals, though he reiterated his support for an assault weapons ban as he launched his reelection campaign.
Given the close partisan divisions in each chamber, it’s unclear what, if anything, lawmakers could pass during a special session to address gun violence or school security.
The added complication in the Senate is that its rules require at least 34 votes to pass most bills. So until the chamber returns to full strength after the next special elections — and an expected 34-33 Democratic majority — nothing could pass in a special session without bipartisan support.
One of the Senate’s leading advocates of gun safety legislation is Ron Latz, the Democratic chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. He convened an ad hoc gun violence prevention working group after the church shootings in the hopes of reaching some consensus.
But a pair of contentious meetings this week showed that there’s little to no GOP support for new gun restrictions.
Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press
MONTREAL — The Alberta government says the notwithstanding clause is an essential part of the Canadian constitution and the country’s top court should not undermine it.
The province’s attorney general filed its arguments this morning in a landmark Supreme Court of Canada case over Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.
Alberta says the notwithstanding clause was a “hard-fought and hard-won compromise” during constitutional negotiations, and preserves the provinces’ parliamentary sovereignty.
The province is supporting the Quebec government, which is defending its pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause when it passed the secularism law in 2019.
Bill 21 prohibits public sector workers in positions of authority, including teachers and judges, from wearing religious symbols on the job.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he opposes the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause, which allows governments to override some Charter rights.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Ontario’s financial watchdog is projecting that the government won’t balance the budget by 2027-28, though the finance minister’s office insists it will.
The financial accountability officer says in a report today that Ontario likely won’t come to balance until at least 2030.
Jeffrey Novak says real GDP growth in the province is projected to slow to 0.9 per cent this year and one per cent next year, as U.S. tariffs “reduce demand for Ontario’s exports, and businesses cut back on investment and hiring.”
Based on that economic outlook and the government’s current policies and plans, Novak projects that the outlook to 2029-30 still shows a deficit of $9 billion.
Novak says the government’s projection of balancing in 2027-28 is based on stronger tax revenue gains and “significantly lower” program spending growth than the FAO forecasts.
A spokesperson for Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the province remains on a “clear path” to balance and says the FAO’s reports do not encompass the entirety of Ontario’s finances.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA
— As Justice Minister Sean Fraser prepares to table his bill to legislate against the obstruction of places of worship, schools, and community centres, he says he wants to see it passed quickly.
That bill, which would fulfil commitments made in the Liberal platform, is expected to be tabled this week
, making it the first major piece of legislation to be introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals since returning for the fall sitting of Parliament.
While Fraser says he has not initiated conversations with other parties to see it pass the House of Commons by unanimous consent, as was the case when the Liberals passed their last bail reform package back in 2023 under his predecessor, former justice minister Arif Virani, Fraser says he would “invite” conversations to happen between House leadership.
“My goal here is to have the expeditious passage of the legislation,” he told reporters on his way into the Liberal caucus meeting on Wednesday.
“Should parliamentarians wish to engage in a meaningful debate
—
I think it’s important that they’re given the opportunity to voice the concerns of their community, and I wouldn’t want to shortcut that process. However, if everyone in the House accepts that this is the right path forward, I don’t see need to delay unnecessarily when we know hate is such an important issue to address.”
Fraser pointed to the rise in hate-related violence across the country, which police services report has only increased since the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel and its ensuing war with Hamas.
Jewish leaders and groups have specifically called for the federal government to create “safe access zones” or “bubble zones” around places of worship, schools and community centres, citing the frequency of protests and other violence against such places.
The federal government has also found itself on the receiving end of criticism from several prominent groups calling for more action from officials to stem the reported rise in antisemitism.
Melissa Lantsman, a deputy leader of the Conservatives, said in a statement that the party will assess the legislation once it is tabled, but says the Liberals have been guilty of inaction while the Conservatives have spent the past two years proposing ways to keep places of worship and those inside safe.
“
No one should be afraid to worship in peace, but that is exactly what the Liberal government has allowed over the last (two) years of their inaction while our communities called out for help,” she said on Wednesday.
“
Conservatives will always stand to protect all Canadians from religious discrimination and violence.”
Civil liberties groups have challenged jurisdictions that have enacted similar measures to the ones Fraser is preparing to introduce, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association launching a Charter challenge over a Vaughan by-law, calling it an “anti-protest law,” saying non-violent protests were a function of democracy.
Fraser says that Ottawa is operating on guidance from the Supreme Court of Canada when it comes to approaching discussions regarding “hate-oriented crime” and “the right to free expression.”
“We think we’ve done a good job to specifically accommodate Canadians’ right to free expression,” he said on Wednesday.
Toronto Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith told reporters the “devils in the details” of the forthcoming bill and that the government is right to move on ways to combat antisemitism.
“As parliamentarians, we’ve got to do our work and to review that legislation, to provide that accountability function and to approve it where we can, and we’ve got to make sure we strike the appropriate balance between protecting free speech and protecting people’s safety and accessing and attending faith services. I think we can do that.”
Besides making it an offence to “intentionally and wilfully obstruct” places of worship, schools and community centres, the Liberals in their platform also promised to make it a crime to “intentionally and wilfully” threaten those attending these locations.
Fraser also signalled on Tuesday that the Liberals intend to go further than what the platform committed to when it comes to addressing hate.
The minister has left the door open to possibly including some of the provisions contained in the since-defeated Online Harms Act, which the Liberals failed to see passed before the spring federal election.
Those included allowing human rights complaints to be filed with the
Canadian Human Rights Commission based on hate speech and introducing harsher punishments for hate-related offences. It also proposed creating a new peace bond to deter individuals from committing a possible hate crime, the circumstances of which would be determined by a court.
At the time, civil liberties groups, academics, and the Opposition Conservatives roundly criticized the measures as infringing on free speech.
Legislating against the obstruction of places of worship and schools is one of the three bills Fraser plans to introduce this sitting. Next month, he says, the government will introduce a package of reforms to the bail and sentencing system, which would be followed by a series of changes to better protect against intimate partner violence and children from crimes online.
National Post
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OTTAWA — British Columbia Premier David Eby is off to Ottawa to lobby the federal government for more investment in major infrastructure projects in the province.
The Premier’s Office says in a statement that Eby is leading a mission to Ottawa that will last until Thursday, and the itinerary includes a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on priorities for B.C.’s economic growth.
Eby’s office also says the province will seek information on the next steps for major projects in B.C. and to secure funding needed to move forward.
The province has two of the five projects flagged by Ottawa last week for possible fast-tracking, the second phase of LNG Canada and the Red Chris mine expansion.
B.C. is forecasting a multi-billion-dollar deficit that is projected to grow to a record high of almost $11.6 billion for the first quarter of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Eby says in a statement that while 40 per cent of the federal government’s nation-building projects are located in B.C., he will be talking with Ottawa on other projects that should be considered in the next round of funding.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Ottawa is calling Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza City “horrific” and suggests it violates international law.
Israel escalated its bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, saying it is targeting what used to be the most populated city in the territory so that it can prevent Hamas from launching attacks.
The military escalation has faced widespread criticism as the Palestinian territory grapples both with famine and with Israel’s efforts to move civilians in the enclave toward the Egyptian border.
Global Affairs Canada says the offensive “worsens the humanitarian crisis and jeopardizes the release of the hostages” and is repeating its call for an immediate ceasefire.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed his plans to officially recognize a Palestinian state next week and the government has been consulting on its approach to the region with Jewish groups and Arab ambassadors.
The Bloc Québécois is calling for Ottawa to impose sanctions on Israel after the European Union announced plans to slap tariffs on some Israeli goods.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
A teacher in British Columbia who had exchanged hundreds of “increasingly personal and intimate messages” with a student has been banned from the job for 15 years. Between the two, more than 1,000 calls were made over the phone, according to a summary of the consent resolution agreement published Tuesday.
The secondary school teacher and the student — who have not been identified in the document released by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation — started using the school’s Microsoft Teams messaging platform to speak to each other. There were more than 190 messages sent over a three-week period. Most of the Teams messages were sent between 8 p.m. and midnight.
“These messages included giving each other compliments about their physical appearance and about having a slow dance together,” per the consent agreement.
The relationship escalated after a school event, when the two exchanged Teams messages about the teacher picking up the student at the end of the evening. The student shared their cellphone number with the teacher. Over the following 16 months, more than 1,000 phone calls were made between them, with many of the calls lasting more than an hour and a half.
According to the consent agreement, the teacher was “dishonest about having contact with the student” when questioned by the B.C. school district. The district reported the teacher to the commissioner on March 8, 2024. The teacher was suspended that day.
More than a month later, on April 17, the teacher’s certificate of qualification was suspended.
The teacher admitted their behaviour constituted professional misconduct. The teacher agreed to the cancellation of their certificate of qualification. The teacher also agreed that for the next 15 years, they would not apply for a certificate of qualification, an independent school teaching certificate or any other authorization to teach in the kindergarten to Grade 12 education system.
The commissioner considered that the teacher’s conduct was “a fundamental breach of a teacher’s duty to students and to the public” and that the teacher was also “dishonest and did not maintain the integrity, credibility and reputation of the profession.”
“The teacher misused their position of power and trust to exploit a student for the teacher’s own personal advantage,” the commissioner wrote.
Consent resolution is when the commissioner and the teacher agree on appropriate consequences,
. It is one way that a disciplinary matter can be resolved.
The teacher had received a Professional Certificate of Qualification issued by the B.C. College of Teachers in 2011.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that “visa revocations are under way” for any foreign visitors who are celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk.
“America will not host foreigners who celebrate the death of our fellow citizens,” he said in a social media post on Monday. “Visa revocations are under way. If you are here on a visa and cheering on the public assassination of a political figure, prepare to be deported.”
America will not host foreigners who celebrate the death of our fellow citizens.
Visa revocations are under way. If you are here on a visa and cheering on the public assassination of a political figure, prepare to be deported. You are not welcome in this country. pic.twitter.com/dQys2OAeK7
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) September 16, 2025
Kirk, a 31-year-old political influencer, was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, last Wednesday. A suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was later arrested and faces seven charges including aggravated murder.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray has said his office will be seeking the death penalty against Robinson.
Rubio is not the first U.S. official to suggest a crackdown on those who are celebrating the event.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said last week he had directed consular officials to “take appropriate action” against people “praising, rationalizing, or making light of” Kirk’s death. He instructed officials to monitor comments on social media to identify such individuals.
In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country. I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light…
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) September 11, 2025
And JD Vance, the U.S. Vice President, said people should report anyone celebrating Kirk’s death to their employer.
“By celebrating that murder, apologizing for it, and emphasizing not Charlie’s innocence but the fact that he said things some didn’t like — even to the point of lying about what he actually said — many of these people are creating an environment where things like this are inevitably going to happen,” Vance said while hosting Kirk’s podcast on Monday.
“So when you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out,” he added. “And hell, call their employer.”
Reports have noted that several individuals in aviation, education, the media and elsewhere have lost their jobs or been suspended over social media posts about Kirk.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that airlines had grounded pilots who he said were celebrating Kirk’s death. “This behavior is disgusting and they should be fired,” he said in a post on X.
It is the right of every American to feel safe and free of political hate in our airspace.
Thank you @Americanair, @united, and @Delta for suspending employees who praised Charlie Kirk’s assassination. @USDOT applauds you for taking the first step in sending the right message.… https://t.co/IToGncLQMv
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) September 15, 2025
He followed that with another post saying: “It is the right of every American to feel safe and free of political hate in our airspace,” and thanking American, United and Delta airlines for suspending employees who praised the killing, adding: “The next step should be to fire them.”
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TORONTO — Ontario is looking at giving several types of health professionals more authority, including allowing psychologists to prescribe anti-depressants and letting pharmacists administer strep throat tests.
Health Minister Sylvia Jones says in a statement that expanding the scopes of practice for health professionals will ease pressures on other parts of the system such as primary care, and will make it faster for people to access care.
The government says it is consulting on proposed changes including granting psychologists with specialized training and education in psychopharmacology the authority to prescribe certain medications to manage mental health conditions, as well as to order some diagnostic tests.
The province is also looking at giving some other professionals including dental hygienists, physiotherapists and chiropractors the ability to order and perform some diagnostic procedures such as X-rays, MRIs and CT scans.
Optometrists are also being considered for a scope expansion, with a possibility they could be allowed to perform minor surgical procedures in office, including laser therapy to manage cataracts and glaucoma.
The government has already expanded pharmacists’ scope of practice several times and is now looking at a new round, to enable them to assess and prescribe for 14 more minor ailments, administer more publicly funded vaccines and perform some point-of-care tests such as strep throat testing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
