Global Affairs Canada says reports that detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor had been put on trial in China are not correct. Canadian Embassy officials in Beijing spoke directly with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials to clarify the media report. They determined there has been no new development in the cases and say the confusion was caused by an inaccurate characterization of the process made by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.Kovrig and Spavor are marking two years in separate Chinese prisons.Canada and dozens of its Western allies say the Michaels are b

Over 50 free round-the-clock medical camps have come up at Singhu, one of the multiple Delhi borders, where farmers have been agitating against the three recently enacted farm laws, braving the winters, for the last 15 days. Free medicines and ambulance services are also being provided to the agitating farmers. Dr Kanwar Pal Singh, a volunteer associated with United Sikhs NGO, which has set up many such camps, told ANI people mostly complained of fever and sore throat here. "Protesters, however, are taking all precautions here amid the COVID-19 pandemic," he said on Thursday.Doctors and volunt

British Columbia's top doctor says health-care workers in long-term care facilities and intensive care units will be the first to be immunized against COVID-19 with the Pfizer vaccine starting next week. Dr. Bonnie Henry says immunizations will happen at two clinics in the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health regions, before eventually expanding to 30 sites as part of a process that will ramp up as more doses and vaccines become available. Up to 400,000 B.C. residents can get a shot in the arm by the end of March. Henry says prioritizing those who work at care homes will protect the eld

Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, paving the way for vaccinations to begin countrywide next week. Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser to Health Canada, says the authorization follows a science and evidence-based review. Sharma says there's no significant evidence of severe adverse reactions to the shot.Dr. Sharma says she and other health officials are amazed at the accomplishment in such a short time. Supriya Sharma says they are making the approval process as open and transparent as possible by publishing the technical information for each va

An evidence-gathering hearing in the extradition case of Meng Wanzhou has heard from a senior manager with the Canada Border Services Agency, who told BC's Supreme Court she was instructed not to take notes after the arrest of the Huawei executive. Nicole Goodman testified today that she wanted to create a case summary or timeline of events, but was warned by the agency's then-regional director general that the record could later be obtained through an access to information request. The court is hearing witness testimony that Meng's lawyers will use to bolster an abuse of process claim next y

Five mink on a Fraser Valley mink farm have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. The BC Ministry of Agriculture says the farm has been quarantined and testing to determine the genome sequence of the strain of virus continues. An outbreak was declared at the farm this week when several workers tested positive for COVID-19. Test results from five mink samples taken from a Fraser Valley mink farm have all been confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said then that the outbreak was concerning

US President Donald Trump's campaign is joining an improbable case before the Supreme Court, challenging election results in Pennsylvania and other states that he lost. Trump is apparently trying to look past the justices' rejection of a last-gasp bid to reverse Pennsylvania's certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory. The suit by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, demands the 62 total Electoral College votes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin be invalidated.

The BC government says 194 tickets have been handed out in the last three and a half months to businesses or individuals who have broken the provincial health officer's orders on COVID-19. The tickets include three dozen 2,300 dollar fines to owners or organizers of gatherings or events. Another 142 people received 230 dollar fines for refusing to comply with the direction of law enforcement. The province formally extended its state of emergency yesterday, allowing officials to keep using extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act in response to the pandemic.

The City of Vancouver's 1.6 billion dollar COVID-19 response budget for 2021 has passed after nearly 139 million dollars in pandemic-related losses. Mayor Kennedy Stewart says the budget includes more money for overdose response efforts, supports for small businesses, as well as housing, sanitation and community policing. He says the budget also keeps property tax increases at five per cent and holds the city's largest line item, the police budget, to 2020 levels. Police chief Adam Palmer says he's disappointed the force asked for 322 million dollars to maintain current staffing levels and fi