A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook an area about 200 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island early this morning but did not generate a tsunami. It happened at 4:33 and seismologist John Cassidy says in a social media post that it was not strong enough to be felt on the Island. It occurred in the Cascadia subduction zone which Cassidy says is one of the most seismically active areas in Canada, ``with earthquakes every day.'' About five hours earlier an unrelated quake measuring 7.8 struck off the Alaska Peninsula and was strongly felt across the state but no damage has been reported an

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will appear before the House of Commons finance committee at a date and time yet to be arranged. The committee is investigating his government's decision to give the WE Charity a contract to run a 900-million student-volunteer program. Both Trudeau's family, and that of Finance Minister Bill Morneau have ties to the organization. Morneau testified today he unknowingly failed to repay the costs of a trip to Ecuador in 2017 to see some of WE's humanitarian work. Morneau says he sent the charity a cheque today for more than 41,000 dollars to cover the travel expense

With an uptick in new cases of COVID-19 in Canada sparking concerns about a second wave of the illness, advocates for seniors in long-term care say more federal support must start flowing immediately to ensure elders do not again become the primary casualties.The Canadian Association for Long Term Care says the sector has long fallen through the cracks and that this lack of support helped create the conditions that led to widespread outbreaks and deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes across Canada.Now that the pandemic has laid bare the fragility of the long-term care system, association chai

The federal information watchdog has identified several shortcomings — from inadequate training to cumbersome paper-based processes — that hamper National Defence's ability to answer formal requests from the public.In a special report tabled in Parliament today, information commissioner Caroline Maynard says her systemic investigation found Defence did not meet its obligations under the Access to Information Act because of dated or inefficient practices.The access law allows people who pay $5 to request an array of federal files but it has been widely criticized as outdated, clumsy and of

Federal Court Justice Ann Marie McDonald has struck down a key agreement on refugees between Canada and the United States.She says elements of the law underpinning the Safe Third Country Agreement violate constitutional guarantees of life, liberty and security.Canada and the U-S have recognized each other as safe places to seek protection, but Canadian refugee advocates have argued America is not always a safe country for people fleeing persecution.They told the court that Canada is exposing ineligible refugee claimants to detention and other rights violations in returning them to the U-S.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has an obligation to look into allegations that Gov. Gen. Julie Payette mistreated staff members.Singh says workplaces need to be safe, and employees must feel they are heard when they raise concerns.Singh was responding to questions today about a CBC News report that quoted anonymous sources as saying Payette has created a toxic environment at Rideau Hall.The CBC reported Tuesday that Payette had yelled at, belittled and publicly humiliated employees, reducing some to tears or prompting them to quit.In a statement Tuesday, the Gover

Six more judges have been appointed to British Columbia's provincial court in an effort to clear away the backlog stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The province says in an information bulletin that it has reappointed three senior judges and appointed three new judges. The bulletin says the appointments will increase the capacity of the provincial court and reduce court delays around the province. It says the senior judges will help address the backlog of cases and support the response to the impacts of COVID-19 on the judicial system. Jane Cartwright, Thomas Gove and Richard Miller are bac

The latest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 6:56 p.m. on July 21, 2020: There are 111,697 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 57,796 confirmed (including 5,658 deaths, 50,298 resolved) Ontario: 37,942 confirmed (including 2,753 deaths, 33,605 resolved) Alberta: 9,728 confirmed (including 172 deaths, 8,363 resolved) British Columbia: 3,328 confirmed (including 189 deaths, 2,873 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,067 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 1,003 resolved) Saskatchewan: 970 confirmed (including 15 deaths, 813 resolved) Manitoba: 353 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 318 resolved),

Six members of a family in Jharkhand's Dhanbad have succumbed to COVID-19, officials said."Six aged members of a family have died due to COVID-19. Two more members of the same family have tested positive, but their condition is stable. We are doing their contact tracing," Gopal Das, Civil surgeon, Dhanbad told reporters.An 88 year old woman passed away at a nursing home in Bokaro on July 4. Later, her sons who were 65 years old, 67 years old, 72 years old, 70 years old, and 60 years old died within a span of 10 days at different COVID-19 hospitals.