Avalanche Canada has lifted a recent warning about the extreme potential for slides on eastern British Columbia mountains, but backcountry users are urged to remain cautious because of weak snowpack layers across the province. Areas of avalanche concern include the Purcell range in the southeast, Cariboo Mountains in central B.C., and slopes around the Sea-to-Sky region north of Vancouver. The forecaster reported large, human-triggered avalanches Sunday along sections of the Cariboo Mountains near Valemount, and Monday on Rainbow Mountain, near Whistler. In the Rainbow Mountain event, Avalanc

Governor General Julie Payette is paying tribute to essential workers, front-line health workers and the military in her New Year's message. Governor General Julie Payette says Canadians owe a debt of gratitude to front-line workers for their efforts to save lives and care for others during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her year-end message, Payette says while the pandemic has made for a challenging year, Canadians can respond, and have responded, positively to hardship. In a departure from previous annual messages, Payette rallies Lieutenant Governors and Territorial Commissioners from across th

Retired general Rick Hillier says the call to close Ontario's COVID-19 vaccination clinics over Christmas Day and Boxing Day was the wrong decision. Medical experts were sharply critical of the move, pointing out on social media that the virus doesn't take a holiday. That's been borne out in the latest stats, which show Ontario recorded 2,553 new cases of COVID-19 today and 1,939 yesterday. Hillier says all of the province's clinics are open today and that Ontario expects to receive its first doses of the Moderna vaccine tomorrow, which will be sent to long-term care and retirement homes. Ont

Canada's industry minister says the country faces mounting mental health concerns that the government will have to address in 2021.Navdeep Bains says he has heard more stories about the mental health of workers and entrepreneurs alongside needs for financial help to individuals and businesses.He says it is particularly the case in his Toronto-area riding that is home to Pearson International Airport, where local hotels and restaurants are also suffering from a drop in travel.Bains tells The Canadian Press that he has seen the issue in his own home.A father of two, Bains says the toll the pande

Quebec has become the fourth province to confirm its first case of a more contagious COVID-19 variant. Health Minister Christian Dube says the person who tested positive is a family member of someone who returned from the United Kingdom on Dec. 11. Three other provinces have confirmed cases of the new variant in recent days, with three cases in Ontario, one in Alberta and one in British Columbia. The variant was first identified in the U.K. and has since spread to several other countries. The latest case in Canada comes as Yukon Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost says the terri

Three regional health authorities in British Columbia are reporting new COVID-19 outbreaks in assisted-living facilities and long-term care homes. Interior Health says six residents and four staff members have tested positive for the illness at Heritage Square, a private facility in Vernon. The health authority says each of the six residents live in the long-term care areas of the facility and their close contacts are in self-isolation. Fraser Health is reporting two new outbreaks after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19 at Rideau Retirement Residence in Burnaby and another two st

Homicide detectives are investigating a fatal shooting in Surrey, B.C., the second deadly attack in the city in as many days.Sgt. Frank Jang with the joint-police Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the shooting happened Monday evening in the Guildford neighbourhood.The unnamed victim was found dead at the scene but few other details have been released.The shooting took place as Jang was providing more information about a Sunday night shooting in the Whalley area that killed 19-year-old Harman Singh Dhesi.Jang says Dhesi was known to police and his death and the Guildford-area shootin

Residents of Amritsar held a 'jaago' march in the city against Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government and its three newly enacted farm laws. The aim of the march was to draw Centre's attention and to tell them repeal the three farm laws.Farmers of Punjab and other states are sitting at different borders of Delhi to protest against the farm laws.

The head of the World Health Organization says it's important to step up genomic sequencing to detect a COVID-19 variant worldwide that has cropped up in parts of Canada. New variants discovered this month appear to be more infectious and have triggered sweeping travel restrictions. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the new variants are cause for concern. He says variants will only be found if countries are testing effectively. Canadian health officials report a more contagious new strain of the novel coronavirus virus was found in three parts of the country. The variant first seen i