The federal Conservatives are asking the official languages commissioner to investigate the government's choice of WE Charity to run a student grant program, saying the move showed contempt toward francophones.Conservative MP Richard Martel alleges in a letter to commissioner Raymond Theberge that the youth group did not have the ability to deliver the multimillion-dollar Canada Student Service Grant program in both of Canada's official languages.Martel, who is making the letter public today, says the Official Languages Act clearly states the government is obliged to ensure any organization c

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues his virtual tour of Canada today, with electronic visits to the Atlantic provinces.He conducted a virtual tour of British Columbia yesterday, meeting with Premier John Horgan and consulting with business and environmental leaders about how to ensure a green economic recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic.Trudeau is planning to unveil what he promises will be a bold recovery plan in a throne speech re-opening Parliament on September 23th.The speech will be put to a confidence vote, which could result in the defeat of Trudeau's minority Lib

There are 129,923 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 62,746 confirmed (including 5,764 deaths, 55,515 resolved) Ontario: 42,554 confirmed (including 2,812 deaths, 38,506 resolved) Alberta: 14,180 confirmed (including 242 deaths, 12,535 resolved) British Columbia: 5,952 confirmed (including 209 deaths, 4,605 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,624 confirmed (including 24 deaths, 1,571 resolved) Manitoba: 1,244 confirmed (including 14 deaths, 776 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,085 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,014 resolved) Newfoundland and Labrador: 269 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 265 resolved) New Bru

A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared in the nephrology unit at a hospital in Surrey, B.C. Fraser Health's interim chief medical health officer says a patient tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin says the unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital has fewer than a dozen patients, and staff are being monitored and screened. She says the nephrology unit is closed to new patients and it is not expecting visitors. Brodkin says an outbreak is defined as a transmission at a hospital site. The new outbreak comes as B.C.'s health minister and provincial health officer announced 104 n

Police say alcohol may have been a factor in a head-on crash in the George Massey Tunnel that killed one person and injured two others. Richmond RCMP say a vehicle travelling south on Highway 99 early Wednesday crossed the centre line, hitting an oncoming vehicle. A 61 year old woman from Richmond who was travelling northbound died in the crash, while a passenger in her vehicle was hurt. The driver of the vehicle that veered into the other lane also has serious injuries. Staff Sgt. Quentin Frewing, with Lower Mainland traffic services, says all possible factors of the crash are being investig

A man who was hiking in Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park in the Okanagan has a warning for other park users. Andrew Nydam says he was taking photos Monday when he came within a metre of stepping on an unexploded World War II mortar. The area was used for military training decades ago. Police say the device wasn't on a public trail and a Canadian Forces disposal unit will collect and dispose of the mortar.

15 year old girl washed off miscreants, who tried to snatch her phone at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Nagar area in Jalandhar on August 30. She was attacked with a sharp weapon. Still she managed to pull down one of the motorcycle borne thieves. The entire incident was caught on nearby CCTV camera. Kusum Kumari, 15, was returning home from tuition when the incident occurred near Jalandhar-Kapurthala road on Monday. The girl, now injured, did not back down. She ran after the bike and dragged the pillion rider, who snatched her mobile phone, off it. Passersby helped the teen sometime later and got h

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is naming Manitoba MP Candice Bergen his deputy. Bergen was first elected in 2008 and was a junior cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government. She has been the Tories' House leader, managing the Conservatives' part in moving legislation through the House of Commons. Bergen follows Leona Alleslev, an Ontario MP who resigned as deputy leader in July to back O'Toole's key rival for the leadership, Peter MacKay. O'Toole is naming Quebec MP Gerard Deltell as the Tories' House leader and Richard Martel as his Quebec lieutenant. O'Toole says he plans to nam

Schools in British Columbia are getting an extra $2 million for mental health programs from the provincial government. Judy Darcy, the minister of mental health and addictions, says the province is spending more on mental health programs this year because children are facing an unprecedented return to school. She says a total of $3.75 million will be spent in the 2020-21 school year to promote mental wellness and provide additional support for students, families and educators.The province says school districts will determine how the funds are used based on their needs. The government says surv