Western Standard - Western Standard News Update ｜ $885 million on health for illegal immigrants, refugees

00:00:00.000 From the Western Standard, here's your news update.

00:00:08.540 I'm your host for today, Western Standard reporter Leah Mushett, and here's what you need to know.

00:00:16.140 In the last year, Ottawa has spent nearly $885 million providing a wide range of health services

00:00:23.000 to illegal immigrants and refugee clements, which includes hundreds of millions for services

00:00:28.340 not typically covered under provincial health plans.

00:00:34.320 Surrey City Council has unanimously passed a motion introduced by Mayor Brenda Locke

00:00:39.860 calling on the federal government to declare a national state of emergency over the extortion crisis in the city.

00:00:47.080 Nearly 40 extortion-related incidents have been reported in Surrey this month alone, many of them violent.

00:00:53.080 Team Canada's Olympic flag bearers for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics have been announced,

00:01:02.920 naming Mikhail Kingsbury a mogul skier and Marielle Thompson a ski cross skier as the pair to do it.

00:01:09.740 Ottawa spent nearly half a billion dollars on its now-canceled 2 Billion Trees program,

00:01:18.960 only to fall dramatically short of its own planting goals, according to federal records tabled in Parliament.

00:01:26.240 That's it for now. Join us next time for more Western Standard News updates.

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00:01:39.940 and don't forget to visit our website at westernstandard.news and have a great day.

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Western Standard - January 28, 2026