The federal government is weighing whether to bar people who have travelled overseas from a new benefit for those who have to quarantine due to COVID-19.The Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, launched in the fall to help Canadians who are unable to work because they must quarantine during the pandemic, is worth $500 per week to a maximum of two weeks.But Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough says the government is actively looking at all options as questions surface around whether Canadians who have travelled abroad should be allowed to collect the money during their mandatory two-week isolatio

Another round of discussion between the Central government and farmers' representatives will take place after the lunch break at Vigyan Bhawan here on Monday. The farmers' representatives are demanding the government to repeal the three farm laws. Union Minister Som Prakash met them during the lunch. The eighth round of meeting between the Central government and farmers' representatives began at Vigyan Bhawan earlier today.Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Piyush Goyal and Som Parkash along with government officials and representatives of farmers observed a two-minute silence for farmers w

British Columbia's interim Liberal Leader Shirley Bond says the coming year promises to be one of reflection, renewal and rebuilding. The Liberals are looking to elect a new leader in 2021 following the resignation of Andrew Wilkinson after the party's election defeat in October. She says Liberals need to ask hard questions about the election result that saw the party lose seats to the NDP in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, an area once considered a BC Liberal stronghold. Bond says a review of what went wrong during the election and plans for the future direction of the party must be a

BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says she plans to continue working across party lines in 2021 despite the turmoil of October's provincial election. In a year-end interview, Furstenau says she believes political collaboration builds bridges that will help people most in the province. She says she's still disappointed Premier John Horgan called a snap election a year ahead of schedule, but the new year will see the Greens looking to work with all politicians in the legislature. Furstenau says the Greens were committed to ensuring the minority government agreement with the New Democrats would ho

If you've been holding on to old one- and two-dollar bills, today is your last chance to spend them in a store. Starting in the new year, some bank notes made between 1935 and 1986 will no longer have legal tender status. They can still be redeemed or deposited for their face value at a bank. The policy change only covers notes that are no longer being produced, including 25, 500 and 1,000 dollar bills. The Bank of Canada says the affected notes are so rare that they are hardly seen or recognized by store clerks anyway, and some areworth more to collectors than in circulation.

Ontario is reporting 3,328 new cases of COVID-19, setting another single-day case record. More than a quarter of the new cases, 888 are in Toronto, with 431 in Peel, 418 in York Region, 257 in Windsor-Essex County and 194 in Ottawa. The province is also confirming another 56 virus related deaths, matching the highest daily death toll from the first wave of the pandemic. Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliott shared the numbers in a tweet. She is advising residents to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home to curb the spread of infection.

Ontario's finance minister has resigned from his cabinet position after going on a Caribbean vacation during the pandemic. Premier Doug Ford says he has accepted Rod Phillips's resignation as minister. Phillips returned to Ontario this morning after spending more than two weeks in St. Barts despite provincial guidelines urging people to avoid non-essential travel. Ford says he has asked Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy to assume the role of minister of finance and deliver the government's 2021 budget.Earlier today Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips had returned from his Caribbea

Premier John Horgan says economic recovery and health-care reforms are his New Democrat government's priorities for 2021. He says the COVID-19 pandemic has tested him personally as it has the people of British Columbia. Horgan says getting the economy moving next year will be the main goal of the budget in April, despite the recent forecast of a 13.6 billion dollar deficit. There have been almost 900 deaths due to COVID-19 in the province and Horgan says the government is planning health-care reforms that focus on BC's elderly, the hardest hit by the pandemic. The premier says his government

Union Agriculture Minister Singh Tomar on 6th round of talks with farmers' unions at Vigyan Bhawan informed that consensus on 2 out of 4 issues was reached between both sides. "Today's talks were held in a very good environment and it concluded on a positive note. Consensus on 2 out of 4 issues was reached between both sides," said Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.