Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is facing many procurement challenges given the intense global demand for equipment and supplies, but the government is taking an aggressive approach to quickly bring COVID-19 supplies to Canada.She says much of the world's supply of these materials are in China, and moving equipment from that country is highly complex.Two planes from China were forced to return empty to Canada on Monday, one a federal charter and the other destined for a particular province arriving in Canada without the protective medical equipment that they were sent there to pic

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing significant rent relief for businesses that can't afford to pay their landlords at a time when their operations are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The federal help, expected to lower rent by 75 percent for affected small businesses, will be provided in partnership with the provinces and territories, which have jurisdiction over rents.The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses will provide forgivable loans to qualifying commercial property owners to cover 50 percent of three monthly rent payments payable by eligible s

Nova Scotia RCMP are confirming a weekend rampage that claimed 22 lives began with the gunman attacking his girlfriend on Saturday night.She was able to escape and hide in the woods during the night.As she hid, shots were fired and several buildings were set on fire.Bodies were found in seven locations.Police say they set up a perimeter to try to capture the gunman and started going door-to-door. More than six hours later, the woman told police that Gabriel Wortman was wearing a police uniform and driving a replica RCMP cruiser.

Punjab Government has requested the Maharashtra government to allow safe passage to over 3000 pilgrims stranded in Nanded. "Punjab Government has requested the Maharashtra government to allow safe passage to over 3000 pilgrims from the state, who are stranded in Nanded due to lockdown in wake of COVID-19," Information and Public Relations Department, Punjab, said. On Wednesday, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has conceded to his request for travel of Sikh pilgrims stuck due to nationwide lockdown at Gurudwara Hazur Sahib in Maharash

A White Rock man says he found out he'd cleaned up in a Lotto 649 draw while checking his numbers in the washroom. Tibor Tusnady says he Googled the numbers for the April 15th draw and then checked again and again after seeing he'd won the 16 million dollar jackpot. He says didn't know how to tell his wife so he took the night to sleep on it and told her the next day after lunch. Tusnady says the family plans to travel once the COVID-19 pandemic is resolved, and he'll let his wife choose the first destination.

The BC government says it will start accepting applications next month for a new emergency benefit for workers affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. It says the one thousand dollar benefit is to help those whose ability to work has been affected by the pandemic. It says those who are eligible for the federal government's emergency response benefits are also eligible to apply for the BC program starting May 1st. Payments are expected to be processed within days of applications being filed.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting a COVID-19 outbreak at a second poultry processing plant in the province. Henry says two cases have been confirmed at the Superior Poultry plant in Coquitlam. She says it's a sister plant to the United Poultry facility in east Vancouver that was closed earlier this week after an outbreak where 29 people have tested positive for the virus. Henry is reporting 29 new cases of the virus and four new deaths raising the total to 1,824 with 94 deaths.

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities is asking the federal government to give local governments billions in emergency funding to stave off financial ruin. The organization says local governments need between $10 billion and $15 billion over the next six months to pay for services while they see revenue declines. Transit ridership, for instance, is down as people stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and municipal councils are considering or have approved delays in collecting property taxes to give residents a financial break. That's why they're asking for $2.4 billion for cities with t

Canada's chief public health officer is reacting to accusations from a Conservative leadership candidate that she is working for China's Communist party, and not Canada, in the fight against COVID-19. Dr. Theresa Tam says she has but one focus during her very long work days. Conservative leadership candidate Derek Sloan says Tam should be fired. He also accuses her of working for China's Communist party, and not Canada, in the fight against COVID-19. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggests Sloan's comments were racist and must be denounced.