A trio of federal cabinet minister is warning COVID-19 researchers to take additional precautions to protect their efforts from thieves and vandals.The statement today says the federal government is concerned about "hostile actors" targeting pandemic-related research in this country and urges government scientists, academics and private-sector workers to double- and triple-check their security measures.Signed by Industry Minister Navdeep Bains, Health Minister Patty Hajdu and Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, the statement recommends strong cyber- and physical-security protocols.It's not cle

The operators of a popular tourist gondola near Squamish, B.C., say the cable of the ride has been severed for the second time.Squamish RCMP say the damage to the Sea to Sky Gondola occurred at about 4 a.m. and no one was hurt.Police say they're working with the West Vancouver Police Department and Integrated Police Dog Services in the investigation and are asking people to stay out of the area, including climbers and hikers.Vandals were blamed for cutting the nearly six-centimetre thick cable in August 2019 while the ride was closed, sending about 30 gondolas smashing to the ground.Total dama

Canada's foreign affairs minister says the federal government is still trying to cool its dispute with the United States over aluminum exports, but remains poised to retaliate if necessary.Francois-Philippe Champagne says he believes the standoff is an opportunity to figure out new ways to bring manufacturing back to life across North America. But in the short term, Champagne says, Canada is fully prepared to impose dollar-for-dollar countermeasures against U.S.-made aluminum and products that contain it, beginning Wednesday.The Trump administration imposed the new national-security tariffs l

Environment Canada says air quality advisories posted across most of British Columbia since last week should spread east across Alberta due to wildfire smoke from the United States. Air quality statements have been issued for four regions of southwestern Alberta along the Rockies but the weather office says alerts will likely expand before smoke exits that province tonight. Relief will not come as quickly for B.C. residents, with the air quality index showing smoky conditions will improve only marginally by Tuesday. The index uses a scale of one to 10 to rank risk from stagnant or smoky air a

There are 135,625 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 64,463 confirmed (including 5,774 deaths, 56,843 resolved) Ontario: 44,068 confirmed (including 2,813 deaths, 39,598 resolved) Alberta: 15,415 confirmed (including 253 deaths, 13,718 resolved) British Columbia: 6,962 confirmed (including 213 deaths, 5,273 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,688 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,598 resolved) Manitoba: 1,393 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 1,090 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,086 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,019 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 269 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New B

British Columbia is reporting an additional 132 cases of COVID-19 and one new outbreak at a health-care facility. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say the outbreak at Evergreen Hamlets in Surrey is the 14th long-term care or assisted-living facility to have an active outbreak. Three acute-care facilities also have outbreaks. The Fraser Health Authority says a staff member at Evergreen Hamlets tested positive for the virus and is in self-isolation at home. In a joint statement, Dix and Henry say there were no additional deaths. There have been a total o

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian government began preparing for a possible pandemic when it first got word of a mysterious cluster of cases of pneumonia in China on New Year's Eve. The federal government is facing accusations it didn't act quickly enough to warn Canadians about how dangerous COVID-19 was to their health and the economy. Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there was a lot of work done in January and February, including getting labs ready to test for the novel coronavirus. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu told Canadians as late as March 1

Ministry of Health in B.C. has issued a statement in regards to the closure of Banquet Halls. The decision to close stand alone banquet halls and nightclubs was made by the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry.Dr. Henry made the decision to take action to address the risks of COVID-19 transmission at a number of types of venues, including also closing nightclubs and limiting late night alcohol sales in all bars, pubs and restaurants.She made this decision because public health officials have seen exposure and transmission events happen repeatedly at standalone banquet halls, bars and ni

A new report from British Columbia's auditor general says the largest amount the provincial government had allocated by mid-August in its pandemic response was for individuals and households.Michael Pickup's report says of the $2.6 billion his office has identified as being allocated by the government as of Aug. 18, $1.9 billion was targeted at individuals and households. Another $642 million was for critical services, and $100 million was allocated for business and industry.The government has announced a $5-billion COVID-19 response and a $1-billion contribution to a federal cost-sharing prog