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CanadaJun 11, 2020

Two teens dead, one missing after drowning in southern Alberta river: RCMP

RCMP in southern Alberta say two teenage girls have died and one is missing after they went swimming and canoeing with seven other people in a river. Cpl. Tammy Keibel, a spokeswoman with the Alberta RCMP, says the two victims are 16 and 17 years old. She could not give the exact age of the missing girl, but says she is about the same age as the other two. Police say officers responded to a call of a drowning on Wednesday night on the St. Mary River in the area of Spring Coulee, about halfway between Lethbridge, Alta., and the United States border. They say the three girls had trouble try
BCJun 11, 2020

B.C. records highest number of overdose deaths in May

British Columbia has recorded the highest number of illicit drug overdose deaths in a single month. The coroner's service says 170 people died in May, as concentrations of the deadly opioid fentanyl have increased. It says the number of deaths last month were 93 per cent higher than a year earlier. Nearly 45-hundred people have fatally overdosed on fentanyl in B.C. since 2016, when the province declared a public heath emergency.
vancouver-mayor-wants-b-c-premier-to-review-policing-across-province
BCJun 11, 2020

Vancouver mayor wants B.C. premier to review policing across province

Vancouver's mayor wants the B.C. government to conduct a review of policing across the province.Kennedy Stewart says city council can do little to change policing in Vancouver and the provincial government could override any potential decision.The comments come after the Vancouver Police Board asked council to rescind a one per cent budget cut last week.The board says George Floyd's death in Minneapolis has led to large scale protests that will affect the police department's budget.The mayor's announcement comes after the organizers of the Vancouver Pride Parade said all police and corrections
immigration-application-system-set-for-massive-revamp-in-wake-of-covid-19
CanadaJun 11, 2020

Immigration application system set for massive revamp in wake of COVID-19

A complete overhaul of how Canada processes immigration applications is in the works as the federal government braces for a post-COVID-19 surge in demand for migration to Canada. The federal Immigration Department says the "new normal" that will emerge after the pandemic requires a revamp of the technology used to handle millions of applications a year. It says new strategies for managing those applications are also needed to limit the amount of in-person contact within the bureaucracy and between officials and potential newcomers. The department included its plan in an "urgent request" issued
ottawa-commits-133m-in-further-aid-for-indigenous-businesses
CanadaJun 11, 2020

Ottawa commits $133M in further aid for Indigenous businesses

Ottawa will spend a further $133 million on helping Indigenous businesses suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government has heard from First Nations, Inuit and Metis business owners who have said the last few months have been extremely difficult. Of the total amount announced today, $117 million is to help small and community-owned Indigenous businesses. The remaining $16 million is to support Indigenous businesses in the tourism sector, which supports thousands of jobs across the country. This money adds to $306 million in f
doug-ford-tests-negative-for-covid-19-ontario-reports-203-new-cases-12-deaths
CanadaJun 11, 2020

Doug Ford tests negative for COVID-19; Ontario reports 203 new cases, 12 deaths

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has tested negative for COVID-19. His office said Wednesday he would get tested after learning that Education Minister Stephen Lecce had come into contact with someone who was infected. Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott held a joint news conference the day before with Lecce to announce a child-care reopening plan. Lecce's test result came back negative, and the premier's office says today that Ford's and Elliott's were negative as well. Ontario is reporting 203 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the province to a total of 31,544. The province also reported
india-has-diplomatically-resolved-matter-with-china-nitin-gadkari
IndiaJun 11, 2020

India has diplomatically resolved matter with China: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari said that India's territorial security is strong and the country has diffused border tension with China diplomatically. "Internal and external security of the country is strong. We have resolved the matter with China diplomatically. You also know what we have been doing continuously to the terrorists coming from Pakistan," said Gadkari during Jan Samwad rally in Madhya Pradesh via videoconferencing. The Union Minister had also slammed Congress party, saying that BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi did
472-covid-19-cases-and-63-deaths-reported-in-canada
CanadaJun 11, 2020

472 COVID-19 cases and 63 deaths reported in Canada

There are 97,125 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 53,341 confirmed (including 5,081 deaths, 19,841 resolved) Ontario: 31,341 confirmed (including 2,475 deaths, 25,380 resolved) Alberta: 7,276 confirmed (including 151 deaths, 6,754 resolved) British Columbia: 2,680 confirmed (including 167 deaths, 2,328 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 62 deaths, 994 resolved) Saskatchewan: 658 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 624 resolved) Manitoba: 289 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 285 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 d
BCJun 11, 2020

B.C. Supreme Court grants injunction against tent city in CRAB Park

The B.C. Supreme Court has granted an injunction against a tent city set up at a park on property owned by the port authority in Vancouver. The encampment was established in CRAB Park mid-May in a parking lot owned by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority after a tent city at nearby Oppenheimer Park was shut down. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled on Wednesday that campers have three days to pack up their belongings and leave the property, but he did not include an enforcement order. Hinkson says allowing campers to stay on the port's land would lead to the same health and safety conce

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ottawa-to-extend-2-cap-on-alcohol-excise-tax-increases-through-2028
CanadaMar 31, 2026

Ottawa to extend 2% cap on alcohol excise tax increases through 2028

The federal government is set to extend its temporary cap on annual alcohol excise tax increases for another two years, according to a senior government official who spoke to The Canadian Press on background ahead of a formal announcement. Excise duties on beer, wine and spirits are normally adjusted each April 1 based on inflation. Since 2023, the Liberal government has limited those increases to a maximum of two per cent annually. That cap was scheduled to expire this year, but the official said it will now remain in place until 2028. The government is also planning to extend for two years a
canada-post-moves-ahead-with-plan-to-phase-out-door-to-door-delivery
CanadaMar 31, 2026

Canada Post moves ahead with plan to phase out door-to-door delivery

Canada Post says it is proceeding with a federally mandated restructuring plan that could see the permanent end of door-to-door mail delivery across the country. In a statement to media Monday, the Crown corporation said the transformation is intended to adapt its operations to changing demand while avoiding ongoing financial pressure on taxpayers. According to the statement, the plan includes changes to delivery standards and a shift toward community mailboxes. The direction follows a federal announcement in September, when Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement J
AlbertaMar 31, 2026

Alberta proposes blackout period for citizen-led referendum petitions around elections

Alberta’s government has introduced legislation that would restrict when citizens can launch petitions for constitutional or policy referendums, including a blackout period before and after provincial elections. Justice Minister Mickey Amery outlined the proposed changes in a bill now before the legislature. According to the minister, the bill would prohibit initiating referendum petitions in the 12 months leading up to, and the 12 months following, a provincial election. Amery said the intent is to ensure voters can focus on making decisions at the ballot box without overlapping referendum
nenshi-distances-alberta-ndp-from-new-federal-leader-avi-lewis-over-energy-policy-differences
FeaturedMar 31, 2026

Nenshi distances Alberta NDP from new federal leader Avi Lewis over energy policy differences

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says his party is not aligned with newly elected federal NDP Leader Avi Lewis on energy policy, following Lewis’s victory at the party’s national convention. Speaking at the Alberta legislature on Monday, Nenshi said the divide between the federal and provincial wings of the party on energy issues has existed for years. “It was important for Albertans to remember that for many years now, the New Democrats have not been fully aligned, particularly on energy policy,” he said. Lewis, a Vancouver-based filmmaker and activist, was elected Sunday in Winnipeg
police-investigate-suspected-extortion-linked-shots-fired-at-cloverdale-business
BCMar 31, 2026

Police investigate suspected extortion-linked shots fired at Cloverdale business

Surrey RCMP’s Provincial Operations Support Unit is investigating after shots were fired at a business in the 5400 block of Production Boulevard, with police saying the incident is believed to be linked to extortion. According to RCMP, officers were called on March 30 at about 9 a.m. after a report that multiple gunshots had been fired sometime overnight. Investigators have since confirmed the shooting occurred at approximately 12:49 a.m. that morning. Police and the business owner reported damage to the exterior of the property. No one was inside the business at the time and no injuries wer