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CanadaFeb 20, 2020

First person in Canada to test positive for COVID-19, now fully recovered

The first person in Canada to test positive for the novel coronavirus has now been completely cleared of the virus. Ontario health officials say the man in his 50s has now had two negative tests 24 hours apart, which is the standard for being cleared. Associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe says the man is no longer infectious to others and has recovered. The man returned to Toronto in January from the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak, and had to be hospitalized. His wife, who had travelled with him, also fell ill, but had less severe symptoms and is still in sel
BCFeb 20, 2020

Independent Investigations Office has cleared officers of any wrongdoing in the death of a UBC student

The Independent Investigations Office has cleared officers in the RCMP's University of B.C. detachment of any wrongdoing in the death of a UBC student two weeks ago. The student had been arrested early in the morning on February 5th and was briefly held at the UBC detachment but was released about 2:30 a.m. and taken back to his residence on campus. Just hours later a security guard found the unnamed student dead under the Lions Gate Bridge. The office, which examines all incidents of police involved death or serious injury in B.C., says the student's death was not the result of RCMP action o
german-gunman-calling-for-genocide-kills-9-people-pm-trudeau-shares-grief
WorldFeb 20, 2020

German gunman calling for genocide kills 9 people, PM Trudeau shares grief

Authorities say a 43-year-old German who posted a rant calling for the ``complete extermination'' of various races and cultures shot and killed nine people, most of them Turkish, in an attack on a hookah bar and other sites in suburban Frankfurt. Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that the shootings exposed the ``poison'' of racism in Germany. The bloodshed comes amid growing concerns about far-right violence in Germany and stepped-up efforts from authorities to crack down on it. Justin Trudeau's tweet: Canada condemns last night’s terrible attack in Germany. We must stand united agains
françois-philippe-champagne-tweets-about-canadian-flight-departing-from-japan
CanadaFeb 20, 2020

François-Philippe Champagne tweets about Canadian flight departing from Japan

Healthy Canadians were issued face masks and coloured wrist bands before they left the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan to board buses that took them to Tokyo's airport. They have spent weeks under quarantine for the novel coronavirus, and will face a further quarantine at a Nav Canada facility in Cornwall, Ontario. The ship has seen the largest outbreak of the virus outside China, with 634 passengers testing positive, including 47 Canadians who will have to remain in Japan for treatment. François-Philippe Champagne's tweet: The Canadian flight departing #Tokyo is wheels up. M
BCFeb 20, 2020

Vancouver Fire says smoking caused the city's first fatal fire of 2020

A man with mobility challenges has died after being trapped in his burning home in Vancouver. Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services says in a statement that the fire broke out Sunday evening in a home on the city's west side. Crews found the 55-year-old victim in the home as they arrived. He had been badly burned and was rushed to hospital but the statement says he did not survive. Investigators say the fire was caused by smoking materials. The man's death marks the first fatal fire in Vancouver in 2020.
blair-says-rcmp-have-met-wetsuweten-conditions
CanadaFeb 20, 2020

Blair says RCMP have met Wet'suwet'en conditions

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says the RCMP in British Columbia has offered to move its officers to a town away from the area where traditional leaders of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation have been opposing a pipeline project on their territory.Blair said on Parliament Hill Thursday morning he believes this move meets the conditions set by the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs and that barricades set up in solidarity with that nation should come down."I believe the time has come now for the barricades to come down," Blair said before a cabinet meeting."We have met the condition that those who ar
canadians-aboard-coronavirus-ridden-cruise-ship-to-return-home-tonight
WorldFeb 20, 2020

Canadians aboard coronavirus-ridden cruise ship to return home tonight

Healthy Canadians from the Diamond Princess cruise ship will shortly be heading home, according to Canada's foreign affairs minister, after weeks under quarantine for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.The ship, docked in Yokohama, Japan, contained the largest outbreak of the virus outside China, with hundreds of passengers having tested positive. Among the infected are 47 Canadians who will have to remain in Japan for treatment.Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday that passengers would be screened before boarding a chartered flight Thursday evening, Japan time.T
CanadaFeb 20, 2020

Deadly crash that involved about 200 vehicles near Montreal

Two people are dead in a crash that involved about 200 vehicles on Highway 15 in La Prairie south of Montreal. The confirmation comes from the Surete du Quebec, which says the victims are two people who were trapped in the wreckage near a diesel spill. Whiteout conditions likely triggered the massive pileup that sent a dozen people to hospital with minor to serious injuries. The crash occurred around 12:30 p-m on a stretch of the highway that runs along the St. Lawrence River. Quebec Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel says the pileup took place in an area where heavy winds come off the riv
francois-philippe-champagne-process-of-taking-chartered-canadian-jet-to-start-on-thursday
CanadaFeb 20, 2020

Francois-Philippe Champagne: Process of taking chartered Canadian jet to start today

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canadians who want to leave Japan where they were stuck on board a quarantined cruise ship, can begin the process of taking a chartered jet today evening. That could mean they will be back in Canada on Friday, when they will be taken to a hotel in Cornwall, Ontario for another two-weeks' isolation. About 500 healthy passengers have been allowed to leave the Diamond Princess. The 47 Canadians who have symptoms of COVID-19 will have to stay in Japan for treatment.

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AlbertaSep 22, 2026

Alberta Government Suspends Fuel Tax Until Year-End

The Alberta government is suspending the province’s fuel tax for the rest of the year. Premier Danielle Smith made the announcement Tuesday while addressing business leaders in Calgary. Smith said the average price of Western Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was $90.54 per barrel last month, triggering a full suspension of the 13-cent-per-litre provincial fuel tax for the quarter beginning October 1. The province had previously suspended its fuel relief program during the last quarter. However, Smith said Albertans had told the government they would prefer to receive the savings directly at th
b-c-premier-david-eby-calls-early-provincial-election
BCSep 22, 2026

B.C. Premier David Eby Calls Early Provincial Election

B.C. Premier David Eby has formally called a provincial election after meeting with Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia and requesting the dissolution of the legislature. The election is being held two years ahead of schedule. The next provincial election had originally been set for October 21, 2028. The announcement also cancels the Abbotsford-Mission byelection scheduled for September 26, as the riding will now be contested as part of the provincewide general election. The seat had been vacated by B.C. Conservative MLA Rian Gaspar to allow former party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to run in the
BCSep 22, 2026

B.C. MLA Brent Chapman Leaves Conservatives, Joins OneBC Party

Party-switching intensifies in B.C. as Surrey South MLA Brent Chapman leaves the B.C. Conservatives and joins the OneBC Party. Chapman, who is the husband of former B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay, had been facing continued pressure within the party over controversial social media comments from his past. In a statement, Chapman said he had been a loyal party member for the past 15 years, but recent internal divisions, publicly exposed disagreements and what he described as a decline in the party’s principles had made it difficult for him to remain with the B.C. Conservatives. On
b-c-premier-david-eby-meets-lieutenant-governor-wendy-cocchia
BCSep 22, 2026

B.C. Premier David Eby Meets Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia

B.C. Premier David Eby has met with Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia. Eby is scheduled to hold a press conference at 12:15 p.m. at Government House in Victoria, where he is expected to formally announce a provincial election. The election is being called with about two years remaining in the current term of the B.C. NDP government. Eby had indicated that he was considering an early election amid recent turmoil within the opposition Conservative Party, a change in leadership and the NDP government's narrow one-seat majority in the legislature. According to Elections B.C.'s anticipated electio
CanadaSep 22, 2026

Canada’s NDP Opposes Federal Plan to Allow Private Investment in Major Airports

Canada’s federal NDP is opposing the federal government’s plan to allow private investment in the country’s airports. NDP Leader Avi Lewis has described the Carney government’s proposal as privatization, arguing that calling it anything else is misleading to the public. Speaking outside the House of Commons alongside party members and labour union leaders, Lewis warned that handing over the operations of Canada’s four largest airports in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver to private investors could lead to higher passenger fees. Lewis said the plan amounts to privatization beca