National News

OTTAWA — Retail sales in December came in slightly stronger than economists were expecting, driven by strong sales for new cars and parts. Statistics Canada reported retail sales rose 0.9 per cent to $67.

QUEBEC — The Quebec government will present a budget on March 12 that is expected to have a larger deficit than originally estimated.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today...

VANCOUVER — B.C.'s premier and minister of labour are sharing their heartfelt condolences after a worker was killed in Vancouver's Oakridge neighbourhood when a load from a crane fell on a building under construction.

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government is scrapping a plan that was to allow shared decision-making with First Nations about the use of public land, a move one Indigenous leader describes as a step back for reconciliation.

OTTAWA — Provincial, territorial and federal emergency response ministers have wrapped up two days of meetings in Ottawa. That included talks on the upcoming wildfire season, which is already getting an early start in Alberta.

OTTAWA — A federal government unit tasked with keeping war criminals out of Canada has not published a report on its activities in more than eight years, and its budget hasn't been adjusted in more than two decades.

OTTAWA — Canada has summoned the Kremlin's ambassador in Ottawa for a lambasting over the reported death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny while in Russian custody, Global Affairs Canada says.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising that his government's upcoming bill to legislate against online harms will focus on making the internet safer for minors, while not censoring it for the rest of Canadians.

VICTORIA — British Columbia Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says the province should prepare for a fiscal deficit in the upcoming budget — but there won't be cuts that result in a "deficit of services".