British Columbia Finance Minister Carole James says she doesn't want to sugar coat what will be a hard road ahead as labour force figures show the province lost a quarter of a million jobs in April. Combined with jobless figures in March, almost 400,000 people were unemployed.James says nearly half of the job losses were in food services and the wholesale and retail sectors.B.C.'s unemployment rate jumped to 11.5 per cent in April, but remains below the national rate of 13 percent. James says it's too early to say what impact the COVID-19 pandemic will have on B.C.'s budget, but her quarterly

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government's emergency wage-subsidy program will be extended beyond its early-June endpoint.The program covers 75 percent of worker pay up to $847 a week to try to help employers keep employees on the job in the face of steep declines in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.In an announcement in Ottawa, Trudeau says more details on the extension will come next week.The Canadian economy lost almost two million jobs in April, a record high, as the closure of non-essential services to slow the spread of COVID-19 forced businesses to shutter temporari

The Canadian economy lost almost two million jobs in April, a record high, as the closure of non-essential services to slow the spread of COVID-19 forced businesses to shutter temporarily. The loss of 1,993,800 comes on top of more than one million jobs lost in March, and millions more having their hours and incomes slashed.Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate soared to 13.0 per cent as the full force of the pandemic hit compared with 7.8 per cent in March. It was the second highest unemployment rate on record as job losses spread beyond the service sector to include construction and

There are 64,922 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 35,238 confirmed (including 2,631 deaths, 8,673 resolved) Ontario: 19,121 confirmed (including 1,477 deaths, 13,569 resolved) Alberta: 6,017 confirmed (including 114 deaths, 3,809 resolved) British Columbia: 2,288 confirmed (including 126 deaths, 1,512 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,007 confirmed (including 44 deaths, 708 resolved) Saskatchewan: 531 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 329 resolved) Manitoba: 272 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 243 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 244

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the steps being taken in response to the gas leak incident in Vishakhapatnam. The Prime Minister discussed at length the measures being taken for the safety of the affected people as well as for securing the site affected by the disaster, read a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs issued on Thursday. The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Ministers of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and G Kishan Reddy, besides other senior officers. On rec

A member of the military serving as one of US President Donald Trump's valets has tested positive for the coronavirus. The White House says Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have since tested negative for the virus and remain in good health. It's the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. Trump says neither he nor Vice President Mike Pence spent much time around the valet.

BC is reporting 33 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths. That raises the total number of cases to 2,288 with 126 deaths, while more than 1,500 people have fully recovered. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says everyone is looking forward to a new phase after the May long weekend when some COVID-19 restrictions are eased. But she says just because it's allowed, doesn't mean everyone should expand their social bubbles or reopen businesses depending on their own unique circumstances.

Greyhound Canada is temporarily slamming the brakes on all of its busing routes and services as ridership plummets amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The transportation company says starting May 13 it will halt all routes until passenger demand recovers. Greyhound Canada says it made the decision after its ridership dropped by 95 per cent. The bus operator says it has already cut costs across its business and "made significant outreach efforts" to provincial and federal governments seeking financial support. It says 400 employees will be affected by the decision. Greyhound Canada has pulled back on

The B.C. government is announcing what it describes as an ``ambitious plan'' to rescheduled thousands of cancelled surgeries and increase capacity in the health-care system. The government estimates it will take 17 to 24 months to clear a backlog of 30,000 patients whose surgeries have been cancelled or weren't scheduled because COVID-19 health restrictions. It says those patients joined or remained on an existing backlog, bringing the total waiting list to 93,000. The first year of the plan will cost $250 million, and includes hiring additional staff, expanding hours, opening new and unused