The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health says responders have fielded more than 300,000 calls and texts since the launch of the national 988 suicide helpline a year ago. Dr. Allison Crawford, the chief medical officer for the helpline, says people having suicidal thoughts or other mental health distress can get help 24 hours a day, seven days a week no matter where they live in Canada. She expects the volume of calls and texts will go up as more people become aware of the service. Crawford says it's critical that responders answer the calls or texts quickly so someone needing help doesn't gi

Environment Canada has issued a winter storm warning for British Columbia's north coast, saying a "prolonged snowstorm" will bring up to 50 cm of snow by Thursday night. It says about 15 cm has already fallen and a low pressure system will move over the region this morning, bringing about 10 cm more. The weather office says another 25 cm of snow is expected between this evening and Thursday night. Environment Canada has also issued a snowfall warning for the northern and central Interior region of British Columbia, saying 15 cm of snow is expected. The bulletin says periods of light snow will

Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is summoning Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to his office today as federal mediation to end the nearly two-week old strike isn't working. MacKinnon says the special mediator appointed to help end the labour dispute says the two sides are too far apart on critical issues for mediation to currently be of use. As such mediation has temporarily been suspended. MacKinnon says he will be telling both sides that they alone are responsible for the consequences of the job action, which has stalled mail and parcel delivery since Nov. 15. Around 55,0

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed former Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra to respond to allegation that witnesses were being threatened in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case that claimed eight lives. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan asked senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, to file an affidavit clarifying his stand after he refuted the allegations. At the outset, a counsel appearing for one of the complainants in the case told the court that he has filed a plea in which he has said that witnesses were threatened by Mishra.

Call it the Sovereignty Act edition of the “Scrap the Cap” campaign.Alberta’s UCP government is bringing a motion to the legislature that argues Ottawa proposed cap on oil and gas emissions is unconstitutional. “We’re fighting back with every weapon in our arsenal,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Tuesday. “The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act was designed to protect our province from unconstitutional interference, and now we’re going to use it again.” Smith says the federal cap would cripple Alberta’s oil and gas economy and the province has a constituti

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to meet with the country’s premiers this afternoon, after they asked for an urgent meeting on U.S.-Canada relations ahead of the incoming Donald Trump administration. That request came Monday, before the U.S. president-elect threatened to impose a 25-per-cent import tariff on goods coming from Canada and Mexico. Trudeau and the premiers will hold a virtual meeting at 5 p.m. today. Trump said in a social media post Monday night that he would keep the tariffs in place until Canada and Mexico stop illegal border crossings and prevent drugs such as fentanyl f

Punjab BJP leader and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has stated that neither the central government nor any of its agencies are involved in the detention of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal. He clarified that the responsibility for taking Dallewal into custody lies entirely with the state police. It is important to note that Dallewal was planning to begin a hunger strike at the Khanauri border on Tuesday, but was detained by the police in the early hours of the morning before he could carry out his protest. In the meantime, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has issued a 10-day ultimat

The NDP and Bloc Québécois have called on the Trudeau government to extend the $250 rebate to retirees. This move could significantly increase the cost of the government's proposed relief package. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a $6.28-billion relief package for Canadians, including a GST exemption and a $250 rebate. Of this total, $4.68 billion is allocated to send $250 checks to Canadians. The government needs the support of at least one party in Parliament to implement the full package, but Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet has said he will only support the Liberals' plan i

The teenager who is infected with the first human case of H5N1 avian influenza acquired in Canada remains in critical care at BC Children’s Hospital, officials said Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference in Victoria, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the young person is stable, but still very sick. “Our thoughts remain with them and their family, and we remain hopeful, as they have made some progress in the last few days, that they will recover from this very severe infection,” she said. Over the past two weeks, public health officials have tested and monitored dozens of h