Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Labour, has issued the following statement on the Cowichan Valley transit labour dispute: “This strike has been deeply disruptive to people living in the Cowichan Valley, who rely on transit to get to work, go to school, attend medical appointments and access everyday services. “This dispute has gone on for far too long. There’s a real urgency for the parties to get back to the table, find a fair resolution and get transit services back on the road. “To help the parties resolve the ongoing labour dispute, I have appointed Vince Ready as a special mediato

Two Canadian patients with spinal cord injuries have received Neuralink brain implants that have allowed them to control a computer with their thoughts. They are part of the first clinical trial outside of the United States to test the safety and effectiveness of Elon Musk's Neuralink wireless brain chip, which he introduced to the public in 2020, and was first implanted in a paralyzed American in 2024. The Canadian men, both around 30 years old – one from Ontario, the other from Alberta – have limited or no ability to use their hands. Dr. Andres Lozano, a neurosurgeon at University Health

Highway #1 will stay closed just south of Yale for the balance of the day as BC Highway Patrol investigates and looks for more witnesses after a serious collision forced the shutdown of the road. The collision happened just after 6:00 a.m. on September 5, 2025, when a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck collided head-on. The driver of the tractor-trailer is unhurt, but the driver of the pickup has been taken to hospital with serious injuries. “We are making progress in this investigation, but we need more witnesses and dash camera video to get a complete picture of what happened,” says

The Alberta government is set to release this afternoon its revised school library book ban. The new version would come three days after the government directed school boards to pause their work in complying with the original ministerial order. School boards initially had until the end of the month to remove books containing what the province deemed sexually explicit content, including images, illustrations and written descriptions. That led Edmonton Public Schools to compile a list of over 200 books it needed to remove, including literary classics such as Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tal

Canada lost nearly 66,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate hit a nine-year high of 7.1 per cent, excluding the pandemic. Statistics Canada said the Canadian economy lost most part-time jobs last month. The rise in the unemployment rate has also raised the possibility of the Bank of Canada cutting interest rates this month. About 1.6 million people were unemployed in Canada in August. The unemployment rate was last seen near 7 per cent in May 2016, according to Statistics Canada. It is worth noting that the Canadian economy has shown a tolerable level in the face of US tariffs on s

Environment Canada's special air-quality statements for wildfire smoke have now expanded to cover most of British Columbia, with air quality at its worst possible level in parts of the Fraser Valley. The alerts advise people to limit or avoid outdoor activity and are now in place for all of B.C. outside of Vancouver Island, the Central and North Coast, Haida Gwaii and about a quarter of the province on its northern edge. An air-quality warning continues to be in effect in Metro Vancouver, covered by orange smoke haze for a third day. Monitoring from the Metro Vancouver Regional District shows

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the government is launching a new $370 million production incentive to help Canada’s canola producers. The government says its new biofuel production incentive is meant to address "immediate competitiveness challenges" as China imposes massive tariffs on Canadian canola seed.

Police in Portugal say two Canadians are among the 16 people killed when a streetcar derailed Wednesday. The dead also included five Portuguese nationals, three British citizens, two South Koreans, one American, one French, one Swiss and one Ukrainian, police said in a statement. The list of nationalities was published following forensic identification. The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that a woman who was a French-Canadian dual citizen is among the dead. The Portuguese government's Office for Air and Rail Accident Investigations said that it has concluded its analysis of

The Nanaimo RCMP is asking for the public’s assistance in locating 25-year-old Storm Kehler. Kehler recently failed to appear in Nanaimo Provincial Court for a scheduled court appearance on a variety of charges ranging from Break and Enter, Theft Under $5000, Mischief, Resist Arrest and Breach of Probation. Kehler is a Caucasian man, 5 foot ten inches, 155 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. He is of no fixed address and is believed to be in Nanaimo. The picture provided is recent. Of note, Kehler has a tattoo of a diamond on his left hand. If anyone has information on the whereabouts o