The federal government is promising a total of 77 million dollars to rebuild the Village of Lytton, including 64 million dollars to help pay for fire-resistant public buildings. Harjit Sajjan, the minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, was in Lytton this morning to make the announcement. He says the federal government has also pledged just over seven million dollars to rebuild area businesses and six million dollars to support the reconstruction of homes. Two people died last June 30th and almost every building in Lytton was destroyed when a wildfire swept

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the Canadian government will suspend COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers and federally regulated workers. The new rules will come into effect on June 20, though the requirements for foreign nationals coming to Canada will not change. Intergovernmental affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc warns the government is prepared to ``bring back'' necessary policies if there's a resurgence of the virus in the fall. Travel industry groups have blamed federal public health measures and mandates for slowdowns at airport customs tha

Alberta's United Conservative Party has announced rules for a leadership contest to be held Oct. 6 to choose a new leader and the province's next premier. Candidates must each put up a non-refundable entry fee of $150,000, along with $25,000 that will be returned to them as long as they don't breach the rules. Ballots are to be preferential and will consist of mail-in and in-person votes at five locations. Eligible candidates must also get a nomination petition signed by at least 1,000 party members from across the province. The deadline for the required signatures and first instalment of the

A three-member team of Punjab Police reached Pune on Tuesday where it is likely to interrogate the accused Santosh Jadhav, in connection with the Sidhu Moose Waala murder case. Jadhav was arrested on Sunday night after which he was produced before a court in Pune around midnight on Sunday along with Navnath Suryawanshi, who is his aide, and they were remanded in police custody till June 20. Pune Rural Police on Monday said they have arrested a man and his aide, who has been named as a suspect in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala. Santosh Jadhav and Navnath Suryawanshi were arrested

Mexico's government wants citizens to produce more of their own food in a move toward self-sufficiency and lower prices in key products. The idea isn't new, but the ravages of the pandemic, climate change and the market turmoil created by the war in Ukraine have given it new urgency. The government wants to head off food insecurity in a country where 44% of its population lives in poverty and where 27.5 million tons of corn are produced, but more than 40 million tons are consumed. Some farmers are hopeful about additional government financial help and subsidized fertilizer. Others are suspic

The city of Calgary has declared a state of local emergency to deal with potential flooding related to heavy rainfall in southern Alberta. Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for between 75 mms and 150 mms of rain by Wednesday morning in parts of Alberta, including Calgary. Alberta Environment has also issued a flood warning on the Bow River between Banff and Exshaw, and flood watches on the Bow, Elbow and Highwood rivers upstream of Calgary and High RiverCalgary has lowered water levels at upstream reservoirs on the Bow and Elbow rivers to make room for potential floodwater. Mayor

The Alberta government is lifting the few pandemic restrictions that remain in place, saying the province is moving past the Omicron wave as COVID-19 hospitalizations decline steadily. The government announced the decision in a news release late Monday afternoon, saying it will move to Step 3 of its reopening plan at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. Pandemic measures that will end include mandatory masking on public transit and isolation for people who test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms. The government says isolation will still be recommended for those with symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test. Th

Several protesters opposed to old-growth logging were taken into custody in at least three location around Metro Vancouver and near Victoria this morning as police removed blockades that halted traffic on busy highways. Demonstrators set up blockades on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge between Vancouver and North Vancouver, at the entrance to the Massey Tunnel between Richmond and Delta and along the highway leading to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal north of Victoria. The blockades caused significant disruption to rush hour travel, with the longest delays on the highway north of Victoria, where

A federal government source says Canada's much-criticized COVID Alert app will be discontinued in the coming days. The app was launched in the summer of 2020 as the pandemic began. Nearly 7 million people had downloaded it as of February 1st, but it requires users to enter a one-time key for a positive PCR test, which many provinces are no longer offering. Less than 58,000 of the keys have been used in the app. The COVID Alert App cost the government 20-million-dollars.