By The Canadian Press

In the news: Ottawa debate on Iran War, Public service job cuts, Stronach Trial

Mar 9, 2026 | 2:15 AM

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

Federal Liberal government has proposed a debate on Iran war, House leader says

Liberal House leader Steven MacKinnon says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has proposed to debate the turmoil in the Middle East on Monday evening, following a weekend meeting of ministers that discussed the issue.

Steven MacKinnon, who is also transport minister, said in a Sunday post on X the government has proposed to opposition parties that a debate on the hostilities in Iran and the impact for Canadians abroad be held in the House of Commons.

Media representatives for the NDP and Conservative parties did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, and Carney’s office didn’t respond when asked if the prime minister would attend the debate.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout late Sunday that Carney convened the Incident Response Group with ministers and senior officials earlier in the day to discuss the ongoing hostilities.

Treasury Board not tracking impact of public service job cuts on equity groups

Advocates are raising concerns about how job cuts will affect public servants in equity groups — something the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat says it’s not tracking.

The federal government has committed to cutting the number of public service jobs by about 40,000 from a 2023-24 peak of 368,000 as it looks to find savings.

Departments and agencies across the public service have started notifying staff of coming job cuts.

Barb Couperus, a spokesperson for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat “which oversees government operations” said the office does not collect information centrally on the impact of workforce adjustment on employment equity designated groups.

Equity groups include women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Defence to start making its case in Frank Stronach sexual assault trial

The defence is expected to start making its case today in the sexual assault trial of Canadian auto parts magnate Frank Stronach.

Prosecutors finished presenting their evidence last week after calling all seven complainants and a friend of the final complainant as witnesses.

On Friday, Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy suggested Stronach will eventually be found not guilty on some of the charges he faces.

The judge said a not-guilty verdict would be entered on a charge of attempted rape at a later time.

Calgary returns yet again to water restrictions amid work to fix ailing pipe system

Calgarians are once again being asked to take shorter showers and reduce toilet flushes as the latest round of water restrictions kicks in.

As of today, the city is asking residents in Calgary and surrounding communities to ease up on water use as its Bearspaw South Feeder Main is shut down for a month for more repairs.

It’s the third time the city has imposed voluntary water use limits in the past two years because of the faulty water main, which carries 60 per cent of all treated water.

The most recent shutdown came in December after the pipe burst through the concrete of a major roadway.

Temperature records fall in Ontario as low-pressure system brings warmth, and rain

Record-breaking warm temperatures in parts of Ontario over the weekend, along with rain, have caused problems on some of the province’s road network, Environment Canada says.

A weather summary from the agency says the temperature at the Toronto airport reached a high of 17.6 Celsius on Saturday, breaking an old record for March 7 of 17.2 C that was set in 1860.

It says a weather station in the St. Catherine’s area recorded a high temperature on Saturday of 20.3 degrees, while further north in Wiarton, more than 40 millimetres of rain was recorded.

A low-pressure system tracked over Ontario on Saturday, bringing snow and rain to northeastern sections of the province and rain, fog and mild temperatures to southern Ontario.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2026.

The Canadian Press