Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says he wants Canadian aid to Lebanon to reach ordinary Lebanese on the streets of Beirut, but that’s not what’s happening, says Ruby Dagher.

MONTREAL -- The government of Quebec announced it will pay close to $5.2 million to religious communities in the province so that they can offer bonuses to members of their staff who work in their infirmaries.

A $350 million federal fund to help charities get through the COVID-19 crisis is simply not enough, charitable sector spokespeople have told The Catholic Register.

Among the lessons driven home by the COVID-19 crisis is that people and societies are morally bound to care for one another. This care is accomplished in many ways but one gaining wide attention, including encouragement from Pope Francis, is the potential merit of paying everyone a state-guaranteed income.

Many of the financial measures being rolled out by governments to help people weather the COVID-19 storm would be unnecessary if Canada had a basic income policy, say basic income advocates.

OTTAWA -- Francisco Rico-Martinez knows that many of the people he helps at a Toronto refugee centre are worried about how they and their families could be impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis.

Relief programs implemented by the federal government to counter the economic fallout from COVID-19 have staved off significant pay cuts for priests and saved staff at the Archdiocese of Toronto offices and parishes from layoffs.