Premier John Horgan says B.C.'s plan to fully re-open primary and secondary schools in September will be an ``unprecedented challenge.'' But he says medical experts, who have provided dependable advice throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, believe the plan is workable. Speaking while announcing a new regional cancer centre in Surrey, Horgan says his government would not put children at risk if ``the danger was overwhelming.'' The BC Teachers' Association says in a statement that full re-opening of schools next month ``needs a lot more work'' to keep children and teachers safe.

Global Affairs Canada says the federal government is ``profoundly concerned'' about a Canadian citizen sentenced to death in China. The Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate Court announced Xu Weihong'spenalty today and said an alleged accomplice, Wen Guanxiong, had been given a life sentence. The brief court statement gave no details but local media said Xu and Wen had gathered ingredients and tools and began making the drug ketamine in October 2016, then stored the final product in Xu's home in Guangzhou's Haizhu district. Police later confiscated more than 120 kilograms of the drug from Xu's ho

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has announced he is stepping down as premier and Liberal party leader. The premier said today that after 17 years in provincial politics, it's time to do something else.He says he loves the job, but that he was all set to leave in April, but the COVID-19 pandemic put his plans on hold. McNeil says he will stay on until a new leader is chosen. He was elected premier in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017.

Canada is emphasizing the need for economic and political reform in Lebanon over the long term as it looks at immediate ways to help the country following this week's deadly explosion in Beirut.Canada has so far promised $5 million in emergency aid and International Development Minister Karina Gould says the federal government is committed to helping Lebanon as it begins to recover from the blast.Yet Gould emphasized long-standing Canadian calls for economic and political change in the country to address many of the root problems that have left Lebanon one of the most indebted countries in th

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday assured all possible support to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray regarding the situation prevailing in Mumbai and surrounding areas due to heavy rainfall."PM Narendra Modi spoke to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray regarding the situation prevailing in Mumbai and surrounding areas due to heavy rainfall. PM assured all possible support," Prime Minister's Office said in a tweet. Normal life was disrupted in Mumbai on Wednesday after the city received heavy rainfall at isolated places for the last 12 hours.The India Meteorology Department (IMD) h

There are 118,187 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 60,000 confirmed (including 5,687 deaths, 50,886 resolved) Ontario: 39,714 confirmed (including 2,782 deaths, 35,747 resolved) Alberta: 11,240 confirmed (including 203 deaths, 9,891 resolved) British Columbia: 3,834 confirmed (including 195 deaths, 3,288 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,376 confirmed (including 18 deaths, 1,133 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,071 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,005 resolved) Manitoba: 429 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 342 resolved), 15 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 266 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 resol

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are announcing 47 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 3,834 cases in British Columbia. "There are 351 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,288 people who tested positive have recovered. "Currently, nine individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, six of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolatio

The British Columbia government is offering rebates of up to $50,000 to businesses, regional governments and non-profit groups buying electric passenger vehicles. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston and Environment Minister George Heyman announced Wednesday the money would come from $2 million in additional funding to the CleanBC program. The rebates range from $1,700 to $50,000, covering everything from electric motorcycles to cube trucks and shuttle buses.Heyman says it's the kind of innovation that creates jobs and makes every B.C. resident proud of what's being done to diversify the economy and

With the federal Conservative leadership campaign in its final days, new data from Elections Canada shows how tight the race has been for donor dollars. Between April and June, Erin O'Toole brought in 1.24-million dollars, putting him ahead of rival Peter MacKay, who raised 1.16-million dollars over the same period. In the first quarter of this year, MacKay had the most in donations with 1.04-million dollars, followed by O'Toole with 785-thousand dollars. Leslyn Lewis more than doubled her fundraising totals compared to earlier in the year, raising 996-thousand dollars, up from about 448-thous