The global death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to reach one-million sometime today, based on the official tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. But experts believe the true number is much higher, considering the difficulties in testing and identifying virus-related deaths early in the health crisis. The grim milestone also comes at a time when many countries are either approaching or are in the midst of a second wave of COVID-19. The US already has surpassed 200,000 virus-related deaths, with the CDC warning tens of thousands more Americans could die as the weather gets colder

BC's chief electoral officer says schools won't be used as polling places during the upcoming election, at least not on weekdays. Anton Boegman says two days of advance polling fall on the weekend, and school gyms and auditoriums will be used then, while election day is a Saturday, so school facilities will also be available. But he says advance polls slated for weekdays will be held in other facilities because he understands parents' and teachers' concerns about keeping COVID-19 exposures out of schools. Boegman says using schools for election activities on weekends means all necessary clean

A Quebec woman accused of sending a ricin-laced threat to President Donald Trump has been ordered to remain in U.S. custody. District Court Judge Kenneth Schroeder Jr. says Pascale Ferrier was clearly capable of causing harm when she tried to cross the Canada-U. S. border last week. Ferrier, 53, was arrested while attempting to enter the United States at the Peace Bridge border crossing in Buffalo. Timothy Lynch of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Buffalo says Ferrier had a semi-automatic handgun and 294 rounds of ammunition at the time. Lynch also says experts in Canada found traces of ricin in

International Trade Minister Mary Ng says it is extremely disappointing that the United States has decided to appeal a World Trade Organization ruling against its softwood-lumber duties, particularly because the U.S. is making it impossible for that appeal to be heard. The WTO ruled in August that the U.S.'s import duties on Canadian softwood violate international trading rules because the U.S. cannot prove that Canada is unfairly subsidizing its softwood producers by undercharging for wood coming off government land. Ng says the U.S. decision to appeal is confusing since earlier this year th

The RCMP says there is no safe and proven face covering for officers with beards, but it is working to find one for Sikh members temporarily sidelined from front-line policing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has publicly expressed disappointment that Sikh RCMP officers find themselves on desk duty during the COVID-19 pandemic because their religiously mandated facial hair makes it difficult to properly wear a mask. In a statement today, the RCMP says while a respirator, such as an N95 mask, is not mandatory in all front-line situations, it is sometimes required to reduce risk. The national poli

B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson promised today that if elected, BC liberal government will immediately eliminate the provincial sales tax (PST) for a year. In second year, the PST will be slashed down to three per cent from the current seven percent rate, until the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, said Wilkinson. Wilkinson hopes the step will save people money, bring investment back to BC and stimulate growth for struggling small businesses. "Countless people are still out of work, small businesses are facing bankruptcy, and the public health threat from COVID-19 is still very

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole and Bloc Quebecois chief Yves-Francois Blanchet are expected to take their seats in the House of Commons this week after being benched due to COVID-19.The two opposition leaders were absent from the Commons last week as both were in isolation after contracting COVID-19.Their formal replies to the Liberals' speech from the throne will come as Parliament is set to debate new COVID-19 relief measures over the coming days and potentially pass them into law.The government plans to set up a new pandemic-benefits regime under the umbrella of the existing employment i

Days after quitting the union cabinet, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has now decided to pull out of the BJP-led NDA alliance over "Centre's stubborn refusal to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of farmers crops on MSP".The decision was taken at the core committee meeting of SAD. The meeting unanimously decided to pull out of the BJP-led NDA alliance.Apart from Centre's stance on the agriculture bills, the party also talked of "its continued insensitivity to Punjabi and Sikh issues like not including Punjabi language in the list of official languages in Jammu and Ka

The head of the federal New Democrats is hailing it as a historic moment for Canadian workers. Jagmeet Singh says there's a deal with the Liberals, in exchange for NDP support for the throne speech, the minority government will maintain a 2,000 dollar a month support payment for those who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and it will provide paid sick leave. The agreement is on the legislation known as Bill C-2, which is scheduled for two days of debate early next week. It also likely means the NDP will end up voting with the Liberals on the throne speech.