СÀ¶ÊÓƵ

OTTAWA — Parmod Chhabra is deeply invested in the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, with almost a billion people eligible to vote, but he won't be casting a ballot.

MONTREAL — On warm days, Montreal's Lachine Canal can attract thousands of picnickers, cyclists and pedestrians.

Solving a longstanding construction worker shortage will be key to boosting housing supply, experts say, as Canada's national housing agency continues to forecast housing start levels that fall short of growing demand.

RED DEER, Alta. — Egor Sidorov had a hat trick and two assists powering the Saskatoon Blades to a 7-0 thumping of the Red Deer Rebels to complete the second-round sweep on Wednesday in Western Hockey League playoff action.

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for a reversal of a ban on keffiyehs in the legislature. Ford says the decision was made by Speaker Ted Arnott alone and "needlessly divides" the people of Ontario.

TAMPA, Fla. — Auston Matthews fired 12 shots on net and chimed another off the crossbar. The Maple Leafs sniper desperately chasing history had another chance at a yawning cage blocked by a defender completely unaware the puck was headed his way.

COQUITLAM, СÀ¶ÊÓƵ — A hearing for AllanSchoenborn, who killed his three children in 2008, ended with an abrupt adjournment on Wednesday after his lawyer told the British Columbia Review Board he would no longer appear in front of its current panel.

BATHURST, N.B. — Justin Poirier scored the game-winning goal at 17:06 of overtime as the Baie-Comeau Drakkar swept the Acadie-Bathurst Titan with a 5-4 victory on Wednesday in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League playoff action.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Bryce McConnell-Barker had two goals and one assist, Charlie Schenkel earned a 27-save shutout and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds downed the Saginaw Spirit 4-0 on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League playoff action.

TORONTO — The federal budget is being met with disdain from Canada's innovation industry, including tech darling Shopify, which called the capital gains measures in the fiscal plan a potential cause of "irreparable harm.