BC's Auditor General has issued a new report examining an immigration program that attracts and retains immigrants to help the province meet labour market needs and build the economy.The report finds the B-C Provincial Nominee Program fills labour gaps but needs better safeguards against fraud.It says B-C has done a good job finding nominees to bring to the province to fill vacancies, and more than 90 per cent of those nominees are still employed.But it says despite safeguards to protect against fraudulent activity within the program, the Jobs Ministry has not assessed all the potential fraud

House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota says he is comfortable the technology is in place to safely allow MPs to vote remotely during the hybrid Parliament sittings.Rota tells the procedure and House affairs committee today he is confident the process for public votes is secure and that it's up to MPs to decide which kind of system is appropriate to approve.Security concerns and other barriers to letting MPs vote while attending the House of Commons virtually kept the Liberals and NDP from supporting a return to normal last month.The House of Commons is continuing with hybrid sittings of the spe

The federal government continues to add to the supply of personal protective agreement and related medical equipment needed to fight COVID-19.The prime minister says the race to accumulate what Canada needs requires a balance between shopping all over the world and continuing to bolster manufacturing capabilities at home.Justin Trudeau pointed out that over half the face shields acquired so far have been made by a Canadian company that expanded its workforce to contribute to the effort.He says Canada has what's required to meet the provinces' demands at the moment but as the slow reopening of

American cities erupted in violence and destruction in a seventh straight night of unrest, with several police officers shot or run over, amid boasts and threats from President Donald Trump to send in troops to ``dominate the streets.''The death toll nationwide has risen to at least nine, with over 5,600 arrests in the week since George Floyd's death in Minneapolis touched off protests against police killings of black people.Trump has threatened to deploy the United States military unless states halt the violent protests that have gripped cities from coast to coast.Trump said yesterday he was

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russia is not welcome in the G7 any time soon.Trudeau is flatly rejecting today a suggestion by U.S. President Donald Trump to readmit Russia, which was kicked out of the group of leading democratic countries after its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.Trump was to host the G7 summit later this month but has postponed it to the fall because of the mass protests rocking the United States, and he has mused that he would like to see Russia, India, South Korea and Australia added to what he calls a "very outdated" group of countries.Trudeau says Russia was kicked out o

A newly released survey report suggests nearly two-thirds of candidates in the last federal election felt there was a problem with the spread of false information online.The survey, conducted for Elections Canada by Ekos Research Associates, found that among those who saw false information as a headache during the campaign, 30 per cent said it had a major impact on the election outcome.Over two in five felt that foreign countries or groups were using social media and other means to influence the political opinions of Canadians.Support for online voting among candidates was low, with just over

The Royal Canadian Air Force says it's focusing on a bird strike as the reason a Snowbird plane crashed in British Columbia last month. A preliminary investigation report posted today says a close look at video footage of the plane just before the crash showed a bird very close to the plane's right engine intake ``during the critical phase of take-off.''The crash near Kamloops killed air force Capt. Jenn Casey, a public-affairs officer riding as a passenger, and seriously injured the pilot. Though the plane crashed in a populated area, nobody on the ground was badly injured.The Snowbirds were

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is rushing $2.2 billion in expected infrastructure funding to Canada's cities.He says sending gas-tax funds months sooner than planned should ease municipalities' cashflow concerns, which is why the government is sending the money in one shot.Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau says the money can be used for construction projects to meet local infrastructure needs and put people to work.Municipalities have seen steep losses in revenues through the COVID-19 pandemic as fewer people pay for transit or parking, and recreation ce

BC's Labour Minister Harry Bains says he understands the pressures facing employers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but workers are also struggling and the minimum wage will increase as planned on Monday.The BC government announced a series of minimum wage increases in 2018 and the June 1st wage boost goes up 75 cents per hour to $14.60.Bains says Labour Ministry data shows 60 per cent of people earning minimum wage in BC are female and 93 per cent of the province's minimum wage paying jobs are in the service sector, including cleaning services, grocery stores and restaurants.He says businesses