Indigenous

TORONTO — Roughly 200,000 small businesses took on new debt to access the forgivable portion of their pandemic relief loans from the federal government, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday.

TORONTO — The Ontario government tabled a budget Tuesday that forecast a ballooning deficit, investments in the home and community care sector, and support for a first-of-its-kind medical school.

CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders signed veteran American linebacker Shaheed Salmon on Tuesday. Contract details weren't immediately divulged but Salmon's deal reportedly is for one season.

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Community members in Saint John, N.B., say they are devastated after two people died in a tent fire at a homeless encampment on Monday — the second and third unhoused people to be killed by fire this year in the same area.

When Hall of Fame jockey Gary Boulanger retired in September, it was to an uncertain future. Boulanger was walking away from horse racing on his own terms but with no idea regarding what was ahead. However, the 56-year-old Drayton Valley, Alta.

CALGARY — Fuel retailer Parkland Corp. has engaged two real estate firms to help it sell 157 of its gas and convenience store locations across six provinces.

OTTAWA — A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says 36 Canadians have now brought out of Haiti by helicopter.

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government will erect prefabricated homes at sites near two hospitals in the province as part of a $45-million program to address housing shortages for health-care workers.

MONCTON, N.B. — The New Brunswick and federal governments have signed two agreements worth $430 million to fund the province's health and long-term care systems.

OTTAWA — A House of Commons committee plans to look into concerns about a high-security laboratory after two scientists lost their jobs over dealings with China.