Beyond Local

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's defense minister said Tuesday a deal to buy nuclear-powered attack submarines from the United States was necessary to counter the biggest conventional military buildup in the region since World War II.

MONTREAL — Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Tuesday the federal government will close a loophole that allows airlines to deny customers compensation for cancelled flights.

Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse rattled the technology industry that had been the bank's backbone, leaving shell-shocked entrepreneurs thankful for the government reprieve that saved their money while they mourned the loss of a place that served as a chummy club of innovation.

EDMONTON — Alberta has promised $200 million in funding for post-secondary health-care programs as a part of its latest budget.

CALGARY — French fry giant McCain Foods Ltd. has announced it will spend $600 million to double the size of its potato processing facility in southern Alberta.

Senator Yuen Pau Woo questions whether a foreign influence registry might become "a modern form of Chinese exclusion," and says angry reaction to his suggestion proves his point about racial profiling and stigmatization.

MONTREAL — New polling results suggest Canadians are largely indifferent to King Charles, and more than half believe his May 6 coronation is the right time for the country to reconsider its ties with the monarchy.

AMQUI, Que. — Two people were killed and nine others were injured Monday afternoon when a pickup truck plowed into pedestrians who were walking beside a road in the eastern Quebec town of Amqui, police said.

OTTAWA — New polling suggests the majority of Canadians want the federal government to call an independent inquiry into foreign interference in the last two federal elections, but still feel the country's electoral system is safe.

MONTREAL — The Jesuits of Canada released a list of priests and brothers Monday who they say were "credibly accused" of sexually abusing minors over the past 70 years.