Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he'll push the provinces to give workers 10 days of paid sick leave a year as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. That appears to meet a key demand from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in exchange for the New Democrats' support for a motion to limit sittings and votes in the House of Commons through the summer. Singh laid out the demands on Monday morning, shortly before a small number of members of Parliament returned to the House of Commons to begin debate over the future of parliamentary sittings for as long as several months. The debate will revolve

Three-time Olympic gold medallist hockey player Balbir Singh on Monday passed away at the age of 95 after battling multiple health issues."Balbir Singh passed away this morning," Balbir's grandson Kabir said in a statement.The veteran player suffered a cardiac arrest on May 12 and after that, he suffered two more cardiac arrests during the course of his admission to the hospital.Balbir Singh was a three-time Olympic gold champion.He played a key role in India's Olympic victories in London (1948), as a vice-captain in Helsinki (1952) and as the captain in Melbourne (1956). In his illustrious p

Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged people to get tested for COVID-19 if they wanted to, while admonishing Torontonians who crowded into a popular downtown park yesterday. Ford said the only way to reach testing capacity in the province is for people to get tested, and said asymptomatic people will not be turned away at assessment centres during a televised address today. The new directive for asymptomatic people to get tested is a marked change from earlier guidelines that said only people displaying symptoms are able to be tested. Ford said the province will also unveil a new testing strategy th

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan took charge as the Chairman of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board. "When India decides, it performs. We eradicated polio and small pox in our country at a time when there was abject poverty. More recently, we faced the threat of COVID-19 in a proactive and pre-emptive way, with unmatched scale and determination. Today, we have a mortality of three per cent only. In a country of 1.35 billion, there are only 0.1 million cases of COVID-19. The recovery rate is above 40 per cent and the doubling rate is 13 days," said Dr Harsh Vardhan while a

Federal political parties are tapping into the emergency wage subsidy program to avoid laying off their staff as donations dry up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Liberal and Conservative parties have both been approved to receive the 75 per cent wage subsidy. The NDP and Greens have both applied but have not yet been approved. The Bloc Quebecois says it has not applied for and does not need the subsidy. Under the $73-billion program, the federal government will cover 75 per cent of wages, up to $847 per week, per employee, for eligible companies and organizations. The program was initially i

Anti-Asian racism has spiked since COVID-19 forced B.C. into a state of emergency in March and Vancouver police say that has driven an increase in overall hate crimes. Howard Chow, the department's deputy chief constable for operations, says investigators have opened 29 files involving anti-Asian racism since March, compared with four over the same time period last year. Chow says there have been 77 hate-associated police files in 2020 and another 10 active files from April and May that could later be classified as hate crimes. Deputy Chief Const. Laurence Rankin says the alleged offences ran

President Donald Trump has called for the reopening of houses of worship, declaring them "essential'' services". The president wants governors to allow them to reopen this weekend. "If they don't do it, I will override the governors,'' Trump says. "In America, we need more prayer not less." Trump says the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention also was issuing guidance for communities of faith to hold safe gatherings. The president's comment came one day after he prodded the agency to issue guidelines, so congregations can restart gatherings for worshipers. The CDC previously sent the T

Quebec is reporting 65 new COVID-19 deaths today, bringing the total to 3,865. Deputy premier Genevieve Guilbault said Quebec has 46,141 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 646, with 13,819 people recovered. She says the province has 1,479 people in hospital with the virus, a decrease of 25 patients. Culture Minister Nathalie Roy announced that libraries, museums and drive-in movie theatres can reopen across the province as of May 29. She says that in libraries, book and document lending will be the only services allowed to reopen, and the public won't be able to circulate beyond the

A survey of British Columbia businesses finds barely one quarter believe they can open and operate profitably as the province gradually eases COVID-19 restrictions. More than 1,300 member businesses of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, the BC Chamber of Commerce and the Business Council of British Columbia were asked about the second phase of B.C.'s restart plan. A statement from the board of trade says 26 per cent expect to open and operate at a profit while 75 per cent worry about attracting customers. Other concerns include a lack of cash to meet expenses or new safety standards and th