Japan's Parliament has elected Yoshihide Suga as prime minister, replacing long-serving leader Shinzo Abe with his right-hand man. Suga bowed deeply several times when the results were announced in parliament's powerful lower house. Suga, who was chief Cabinet secretary and the top government spokesman under Abe, selected a Cabinet that is a mix of fresh faces and current or former ministers. He has promised to serve the interests of ordinary people and rural communities. Suga says he will pursue Abe's unfinished policies and that his priorities will be fighting the coronavirus and turning ar

President Donald Trump has issued an emergency declaration for Oregon due to the deadly wildfires that have burned across the state and federal officials have also declared a public health emergency as dangerous, smoky conditions continue. The major disaster declaration, issued late Tuesday, allows a range of federal help for people and public infrastructure affected by the blazes. The public health emergency declaration will give hospitals and other organizations in Oregon more flexibility in meeting the needs of people who are on Medicare and Medicaid. Authorities say more than 1,140 reside

Federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says he, his family and some party workers are in self-isolation after an aide tested positive for COVID-19. A statement from the party says the O'Tooles don't have any symptoms themselves but are getting tested and informing the Opposition leader's recent contacts. O'Toole was to appear at a party event in Alberta later today, part of a mini-tour of the Conservative heartland in the West. And he was just in Quebec, where he met Premier Francois Legault. The Conservatives say the staffer who has the respiratory illness was travelling with him. Bloc Que

Just a day after the CEO of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project said the 12.6-billion dollar development was on time and on budget, protesters are claiming they've slowed it down. Demonstrators occupying a grove of trees in Burnaby say in a statement that they have prevented Trans Mountain from working in that area, pushing the project's completion date to 2023. CEO Ian Anderson says the pipeline, which more than triples the amount of bitumen moving from the Edmonton-area to port in Burnaby, has overcome many hurdles and will wrap up by 2022. A spokesman for the protesters says cour

CN Rail says work is now underway to recover the 60 freight cars that derailed off a bridge Monday about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver. A statement from the company says the damaged cars from the Canadian Pacific train are being removed from the site and repair work is underway on the bridge near Hope, B.C. The CP freight train was hauling potash, a non-hazardous, potassium-rich type of salt, when the cars left the bridge, dumping some of the material into a nearby creek. No one was hurt and CN says the spill is contained and water monitoring is continuing, while remediation work begins wi

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making clear he doesn't want to be on the campaign trail this fall. At the same time, Trudeau says holding an election campaign, if one was forced on Canadians, would not be an irresponsible act. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning Canadians that we aren't immune as countries in Europe and elsewhere see a steady rise in new COVID-19 infections. Trudeau says we've come too far to give up now. He is urging Canadians to follow public health guidelines and stay vigilant. Trudeau is wrapping up a two-day cabinet retreat today. Cabinet meetings included talk of

Lower prices for gas and air travel helped push the cost of living down last month, keeping inflation pegged at 0.1 per cent across Canada in August, the same as July. BC's rate also stayed static in August at 0.2%, identical to the July setting. The cost of living in Victoria edged down to 0.1 per cent in August from 0.3 % in July but inflation in Vancouver remained in negative territory at -0.2 up from -0.3 per cent the month earlier. Sluggish inflation means the Bank of Canada will hold its interest rate at 0.25% the lowest possible, in hopes people will borrow and spend, propelling the cos

Registered and psychiatric nurses in British Columbia will be able to prescribe safer drugs for people at risk of overdose under a new public health order. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry's order comes as B.C. experiences a record number of monthly overdose deaths with border closings during the COVID-19 pandemic being blamed for putting more toxic drugs on the streets. Henry says new nursing standards will be introduced, along with training, education and access to expert consultation.More than 5,000 people have fatally overdosed in B.C. since the province declared a public health

Smoky skies have cleared slightly in parts of British Columbia but Environment Canada is maintaining air quality statements for the entire southern third of the province.For the first time in days, the weather office lifted smoky skies bulletins for all areas north of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and Thompson regions.But it says wildfire smoke carried north from blazes in Washington state, Oregon and California is expected to continue blanketing southern B.C. at least until later this week.The province's air quality health index reflected a brief improvement in conditions early Wednes