Canada has lost its bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Canada's loss came in the first round of voting today in a secret ballot of 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly. It follows the loss by the former Conservative government of Stephen Harper in 2010, and after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared Canada's candidacy after coming to power in 2015. Canada lost to Norway and Ireland for two available seats for a two-year term starting next year. The voting began at 9 a.m. eastern time, with the UN ambassadors being given staggered access to the General

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called a Bloc Quebecois MP racist today after a New Democrat motion on RCMP discrimination failed to receive unanimous consent from the House of Commons.Singh refused to apologize for the words directed at Bloc member Alain Therrien.That prompted the Speaker to order Singh to leave the House for the rest of the day.Singh had asked the Commons to recognize there is systemic racism in the RCMP and to call on the government to review the force's budget, ensure the Mounties are truly accountable and do a full review of the RCMP's use of force.There was at least one objecti

Blood samples collected from tens of thousands of Canadians will soon be tested for signs of COVID-19 antibodies as the federal government seeks to learn how many people have already contracted the novel coronavirus.Dr. Teresa Tam, chief public health officer for Canada, says Ottawa's immunity task force is collaborating with Canadian Blood Services and Hema-Quebec on the project.The federal government today announced a contract is now in place with Abbott Laboratories to buy 140,000 serological tests for the project.The blood tests can detect the presence of the antibody that is produced afte

Police have made dozens of arrests after they say 46 people refused to obey a court injunction and leave a tent encampment on Vancouver's waterfront.An email from police says the arrests happened late Tuesday afternoon as demonstrators sat on the ground and refused to leave the site near CRAB Park on federal land operated by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.Police say the 46 were taken into custody for civil contempt of court, and one person was arrested for mischief and released without charges earlier in the day.They were among more than 100 people who had been living at the site since la

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising to deliver a "snapshot" of the federal government's finances in the House of Commons July 8. The Liberals were supposed to present a full budget for 2020 in March but postponed it indefinitely when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Trudeau has said uncertainty from the pandemic makes meaningful forecasts impossible. Revenues have plunged and expenses have soared as millions of workers stopped earning incomes as their workplaces shut down, and started collecting benefits instead. Trudeau says the situation demanded the biggest government response in our li

Vancouver police detonate device found in backpack while investigating break-in Vancouver police say they safely detonated an improvised explosive device in the city's downtown. Police say officers responding to a 911 call of a crime in progress at about 9 a.m. Tuesday saw two men allegedly trying to break into a vehicle near Thurlow and Bute streets. Police say after arresting one of the men, they found what appeared to be an explosive device in his backpack. The area was blocked off and specialists from the police department's emergency response section safely detonated the device. Const. T

There are 99,467 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 54,146 confirmed (including 5,269 deaths, 22,350 resolved) Ontario: 32,554 confirmed (including 2,538 deaths, 27,431 resolved) Alberta: 7,482 confirmed (including 151 deaths, 6,882 resolved) British Columbia: 2,756 confirmed (including 168 deaths, 2,416 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 62 deaths, 997 resolved) Saskatchewan: 684 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 631 resolved) Manitoba: 293 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 292 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 2

British Columbia's health minister says the province is working to set up a lab in Vancouver to determine if respirators and other equipment meet safety standards. Adrian Dix says B.C. is also rebuilding its reserve of personal protective equipment to prepare for a potential second wave of COVID-19 as it explores the possibility of locally made products. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says an increase in cases in some parts of the world suggest local measures to prevent the spread of the illness should not be relaxed too quickly. Henry says Beijing and the United States serve as c

The Teamsters Union says a CN Rail conductor has been killed in an accident just outside a rail yard in Prince Rupert. The union representing rail employees in BC says the man in his 30s died on the job while performing a switching operation yesterday. It's the second time in two weeks that a CN Rail worker has died on the job in BC. 31 year old Jas Riar was also killed during a switching incident at a rail yard in Surrey on June 1st.