The Conservative leader in the Senate took a personal trip to Mexico shortly after Christmas. A spokesperson for Sen. Don Plett says the senator travelled to Mexico on Dec. 28. Upon his arrival, the spokesperson says, Plett "reflected on his decision to travel" and immediately made arrangements to return home to Manitoba. He returned on Dec. 31 and is quarantining for 14 days as required by Manitoba public health protocols. The spokesperson says this was Plett's only trip outside the country since last March, when the COVID-19 pandemic first swept across Canada. Plett is the latest in a numbe

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has brought the hammer down on members of his staff and caucus who recently travelled abroad. In a Facebook post, Kenney says he has accepted the resignation of Municipal Affairs Minister Tracy Allard and fired Jamie Huckabay as his chief of staff. Other backbench members of his United Conservative caucus who travelled to sunnier climes over Christmas have been stripped of responsibilities. Kenney says the individuals demonstrated "extremely poor judgment," and he has listened to anger from the public in recent days. Saskatchewan Highways Minister Joe Hargrave res

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson orders new national lockdown as Britain faces `critical moment' in coronavirus pandemic. The decision came on the same day as UK became the first country in the world to start using the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca, with a dialysis patient named Brian Pinker the first to get the shot. Pinker says he was very pleased to get the vaccine, adding that he can now look forward to celebrating his 48th wedding anniversary with his wife Shirley later this year. Britain is in the midst of an acute outbreak, recording more than

RCMP in Prince George say they deployed "significant resources" to investigate the death of a man on New Year's Day. Mounties say in a news release they received a report of a homicide at a home in the early hours of January 1st. They say officers found a 50 year old man dead and secured the scene. Police say they believe the death was targeted. RCMP's Serious Crime Unit is leading the investigation.

British Columbia's police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, is investigating after a man was injured during an armed standoff with police in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The Vancouver Police Department says in a statement the incident occurred when a 32 year old man exited a suite with a firearm during a prolonged standoff.The standoff began Saturday night. They say a member of the Emergency Response Team fired at the man and he was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect and another man are now in police custody facing firearm-related charges.

More than 50 COVID-19 cases have been reported at Waterford Independent Living Community in Tsawwassen. The independent living community announced the outbreak on Dec. 26 after one resident tested positive. The outbreak has grown to 51 residents and six staff members. Two outbreaks declared over in Fraser Health region Fraser Health has declared COVID-19 outbreaks over at two long-term care facilities in the region. The health authority says there are no longer any COVID-19 cases at Holyrood Manor in Maple Ridge or The Residence at Clayton Heights in Surrey. It also says that it remains critic

The federal government is weighing whether to bar people who have travelled overseas from a new benefit for those who have to quarantine due to COVID-19.The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, launched in the fall to help Canadians who are unable to work because they must quarantine during the pandemic, is worth $500 per week to a maximum of two weeks.But Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says the government is actively looking at all options as questions surface around whether Canadians who have travelled abroad should be allowed to collect the money during their mandatory two-week isolatio

Another round of discussion between the Central government and farmers' representatives will take place after the lunch break at Vigyan Bhawan here on Monday. The farmers' representatives are demanding the government to repeal the three farm laws. Union Minister Som Prakash met them during the lunch. The eighth round of meeting between the Central government and farmers' representatives began at Vigyan Bhawan earlier today.Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Parkash along with government officials and representatives of farmers observed a two-minute silence for farmers w

British Columbia's interim Liberal Leader Shirley Bond says the coming year promises to be one of reflection, renewal and rebuilding. The Liberals are looking to elect a new leader in 2021 following the resignation of Andrew Wilkinson after the party's election defeat in October. She says Liberals need to ask hard questions about the election result that saw the party lose seats to the NDP in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, an area once considered a BC Liberal stronghold. Bond says a review of what went wrong during the election and plans for the future direction of the party must be a