MAID won’t be allowed for mental illness alone; federal leaders speak about Oct. 7 anniversary; and more

Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser speaks to reporters before attending a Liberal Party caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Photo by Hyungcheol Park/Postmedia

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It’s Wednesday, October 7. Here are the top stories we’re following today.

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Liberals announce bill to prohibit MAID for mental illness alone

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Justice Minister Sean Fraser admitted that there is “not a perfect consensus” on the issue of assisted death for people with mental illness, but “we believe this is the correct approach at this particular time.” However, the government says it will be allowing people to make advance requests for MAID if diagnosed with an illness that would threaten their ability to provide final consent.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney walks to a Liberal caucus meeting on Parliament Hill, on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. Photo by Blair Gable/Postmedia

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Mark Carney says ‘more work to do’ on behalf of Jewish Canadians on Oct. 7 anniversary

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“The government has been taking actions at home to protect the Jewish community, protect all Canadians, but particularly the Jewish community. And it’s above and beyond protection, it’s about the ability to truly thrive, live their lives freely and openly, and thrive as Jewish people in Canada,” the prime minister said. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also spoke about the anniversary: “The hatred that fuelled October 7th did not remain on foreign shores. Right here in Canada, far too many synagogues, Jewish businesses and institutions have been the targets of harassment and hate.”

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An aerial view of the roughly three-kilometre portion of the St. Lawrence River that U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents will be transiting on their way to the mouth of the St. Regis River. Photo by Hugo Rodrigues/Cornwall Standard-Freeholder/Postmedia

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‘We’re taking over our waters’: Canadian First Nation pushes back on U.S. border patrol access to river next to its territory

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The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne says it wants the Canadian government to treat it like an equitable partner, not a patsy in conversations about tackling illegal entry, the trafficking of drugs, guns and people, and other border issues that have come to the fore as Canada and the U.S. have stepped up enforcement and patrols. “The way we’ve seen it is Canada and the United States are not doing a good job,” Grand Chief Leonard Lazore told National Post.

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Jim Pattison, founder of Jim Pattison Group Inc., centre, speaks to employees at a Save-On-Foods supermarket in 2018. Photo by Ben Nelms/Bloomberg

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Adam Pankratz: Eby takes aim at Jim Pattison, one of B.C.’s few captains of industry

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The fact that B.C. NDP Leader David Eby chose a store owned by Jim Pattison — who has donated tens of millions of dollars and employs thousands of people in the province — “rather than, say, Walmart, as the back drop for his cap on food prices announcement is as insulting as it is revelatory of a party that hates anything that might smell of private enterprise doing well,” Pankratz states.

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Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon gives a victory speech following his win in the provincial election, in Montreal on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. Photo by Evan Buhler/Montreal Gazette/Postmedia

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FIRST READING: Quebec could be in for the most anti-woke government in Canada

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“The province routinely features open discussions of topics that are still largely treated as untouchable by mainstream politicians in the rest of the country,” Tristin Hopper writes. For example, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the province’s premier designate, “has denounced the ‘open borders’ policies of the federal Liberals, declared multiculturalism a failure and he’s even led campaigns against ‘wokisme’ in politics.”

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