Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled an “ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality” amid rising Covid-19 cases. His expansive new legislative agenda includes new investments and initiatives to help the country recover from the pandemic.

It came with a vow to support Canadians “through this crisis as long as it lasts, whatever it takes”. Opposition parties have criticised the Liberals’ plan.  The Conservatives said it lacked a commitment to fiscal restraint and failed to address the needs of “everyday Canadians”. The four-pronged approach to the pandemic an d the recovery was delivered on Wednesday by Governor General Julie Payette, the Queen’s representative in Canada, in a Speech from the Throne. Mr Trudeau warned Canadians in a televised address following the speech that a second wave of the pandemic was “already under way”. “We’re on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring,” he said.(BBC)…[+]

US President Donald Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses November’s election.

“Well, we’ll have to see what happens,” the president told a news conference at the White House. “You know that.”

Mr Trump also said he believed the election result could end up in the US Supreme Court, as he again cast doubt on postal voting. More states are encouraging mail-in voting, citing the need to keep Americans safe from coronavirus.

Every losing presidential candidate in modern times has conceded. If Mr Trump were to refuse to accept the result of the election, it would take the US into uncharted territory and it is not clear how it would play out. However President Trump’s opponent, Democrat Joe Biden, has previously said that in this scenario he believes the military would be deployed to remove Mr Trump from the White House.(BBC)…[+]