In the news today: Carney in Japan, Ottawa office space, Stronach trial

The leaders have outlined a long list of areas where the two countries plan to collaborate.

That includes three new agreements involving closer co-operation on international emergency response, joint coast guard exercises, and tackling illegal fishing in the North Pacific.

On trade, the two countries said they would instruct officials to “identify immediate investment opportunities, including through pension funds” and exchange trade delegations.

They also agreed to expand trade when it comes to energy projects, including liquefied natural gas, and to work closer on critical minerals, including to secure reliable supplies, among other measures.

Feds face questions over Ottawa office space needs

Ottawa real estate watchers are calling on the federal government to be more clear about its workspace needs as public servants prepare to spend more time in the office.

Landlords and office brokers want to know whether the federal government is going to need more space to accommodate ramped-up return-to-office plans after years of stated plans to consolidate its office footprint.

The federal government made a splash in the downtown Ottawa office market last month with the purchase of a 14-storey building at 131 Queen St., two blocks south of Parliament Hill.

Morguard Corp., the seller, pegged the value of the transaction at $148.2 million in a press release. The deal is expected to close at the end of August.

The property in question has been home to House of Commons staff since it was built two decades ago, but a spokeswoman for Public Services and Procurement Canada — steward of the federal office portfolio — said the acquisition was about “prudent financial management.”

Lawyers set to make legal arguments today in Frank Stronach’s sexual assault trial

Lawyers are set to make legal arguments this afternoon in the Toronto sexual assault trial of billionaire businessman Frank Stronach.

Prosecutors finished presenting their evidence Wednesday and the court is set to address some legal issues before the defence begins its case next week.

Defence lawyer Leora Shemesh has said she will seek directed verdicts on two charges related to two separate complainants.

A motion for directed verdict asks the judge to enter a not-guilty verdict on grounds that the essential elements of the offence have not been met.

Stronach, who achieved fame and wealth as the founder of the auto parts giant Magna International, initially pleaded not guilty to 12 charges involving seven complainants.

More witnesses to testify in case of woman being sued by Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet

More witnesses will testify today in the civil trial of a woman being sued for defamation by Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

Paméla Groleau took the stand in a Montreal courtroom on Thursday to testify in her own defence and reiterate the allegations that prompted the lawsuit.

Groleau told the court that Ouellet touched her without her consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010, including once when she alleges he ran his hand down her back to the top of her buttocks.

She said this last alleged event was the only one that she considers a sexual assault, but cited several other interactions that she said made her feel uncomfortable.

The allegations first surfaced in 2022 as part of a wider class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese of Quebec and dozens of its clergy or lay members. Those allegations have not been tested in court.

A year after HBC’s collapse, some reimagined spaces — and a lot of vacant stores

Four days before Christmas, shoppers lined up around the Bay Centre in Victoria, B.C., where a corner of the mall had been transformed into a scene reminiscent of a London high street.

In the windows, animatronic bears and groundhogs in aprons and chef’s hats toddled around. Inside, Santa rode in a hot-air balloon hanging from the ceiling while an old-timey train display offered a rainbow of sweets and other delicacies and shoppers perused toys under a canopy of foliage.

The business has been breathing new life into a property that just a year ago was on the verge of being dark and empty.

Canada’s oldest company Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection on March 7, 2025, under the weight of $1.1 billion in debt. The move kick-started a complex legal process that’s still ongoing as the 355-year-old business winds down, and resulted in the closure of its 80 stores and 16 more under its sister Saks banners.

A year later, a Canadian Press analysis has found the vast majority — at least 73 former Hudson’s Bay or Saks stores — are still empty, though a few of those have tenants preparing to move in. Some of those sites were once among the country’s most prized shopping properties — along the stretch leading up to Toronto’s Eaton Centre, by the ByWard Market in Ottawa and in the hearts of downtown Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2026.

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

In the news today: Carney in Japan, Ottawa office space, Stronach trial

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