International Trade Minister Mary Ng says it is extremely disappointing that the United States has decided to appeal a World Trade Organization ruling against its softwood-lumber duties, particularly because the U.S. is making it impossible for that appeal to be heard. The WTO ruled in August that the U.S.'s import duties on Canadian softwood violate international trading rules because the U.S. cannot prove that Canada is unfairly subsidizing its softwood producers by undercharging for wood coming off government land. Ng says the U.S. decision to appeal is confusing since earlier this year th

The RCMP says there is no safe and proven face covering for officers with beards, but it is working to find one for Sikh members temporarily sidelined from front-line policing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly expressed disappointment that Sikh RCMP officers find themselves on desk duty during the COVID-19 pandemic because their religiously mandated facial hair makes it difficult to properly wear a mask. In a statement today, the RCMP says while a respirator, such as an N95 mask, is not mandatory in all front-line situations, it is sometimes required to reduce risk. The national poli

B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson promised today that if elected, BC liberal government will immediately eliminate the provincial sales tax (PST) for a year. In second year, the PST will be slashed down to three per cent from the current seven percent rate, until the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, said Wilkinson. Wilkinson hopes the step will save people money, bring investment back to BC and stimulate growth for struggling small businesses. "Countless people are still out of work, small businesses are facing bankruptcy, and the public health threat from COVID-19 is still very

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and Bloc Quebecois chief Yves-Francois Blanchet are expected to take their seats in the House of Commons this week after being benched due to COVID-19.The two opposition leaders were absent from the Commons last week as both were in isolation after contracting COVID-19.Their formal replies to the Liberals' speech from the throne will come as Parliament is set to debate new COVID-19 relief measures over the coming days and potentially pass them into law.The government plans to set up a new pandemic-benefits regime under the umbrella of the existing employment i

Days after quitting the union cabinet, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has now decided to pull out of the BJP-led NDA alliance over "Centre's stubborn refusal to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of farmers crops on MSP".The decision was taken at the core committee meeting of SAD. The meeting unanimously decided to pull out of the BJP-led NDA alliance.Apart from Centre's stance on the agriculture bills, the party also talked of "its continued insensitivity to Punjabi and Sikh issues like not including Punjabi language in the list of official languages in Jammu and Ka

The head of the federal New Democrats is hailing it as a historic moment for Canadian workers. Jagmeet Singh says there's a deal with the Liberals, in exchange for NDP support for the throne speech, the minority government will maintain a 2,000 dollar a month support payment for those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and it will provide paid sick leave. The agreement is on the legislation known as Bill C-2, which is scheduled for two days of debate early next week. It also likely means the NDP will end up voting with the Liberals on the throne speech.

BC has another 98 cases of COVID and one new death to report. A statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are over 1,300 active cases in the province. Around 3,500 people are under health monitoring because they were exposed to those who have the virus. COVID-19 has killed 230 people in the province. 62 people are in hospital and 19 are in intensive care. There have been 8,641 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in B.C. and 230 deaths.

The annual Canadian Pacific Holiday Train is the latest casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1999 CP has sent the decorated train across the country, from Montreal to Metro Vancouver, stopping in more than 100 cities and towns to collect cash and food donations for food banks in each community. The program has raised nearly 18-million dollars and collected more than two-million kilograms of food since it began but this year CP says the company will instead donate food directly to stops along its usual route, including 24 in BC. CP also plans to host a virtual concert to raise funds for fo

The head of B.C.'s money laundering inquiry has delayed the resumption of the hearings because of the B.C. election. Austin Cullen says the hearings will start again on Oct. 26, two days after the provincial election is to be held. Cullen says in a statement he delayed the hearings to preserve the independence of the commission and to protect the integrity of the electoral process. The inquiry was to resume on Oct. 13, and Cullen says he was told the inquiry would hear about issues that had been identified, but not the complete evidence and that could invite speculation. He says difficulty ar