The federal government says a smartphone app meant to warn users if they've been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 is now in beta testing.The app was supposed to be tried in Ontario starting early this month but the trial to look for bugs and other problems was delayed.Now the Canadian Digital Service, an agency that puts federal services online, is asking people to sign up and try the app out.The COVID Alert app is supposed to track phones' locations without collecting personal data anywhere centrally.Then users can be told if their phones have recently been near t

Councillors in Vancouver have voted unanimously toban officers from conducting street checks _ the process ofarbitrarily demanding and recording identification, outside of any sort of police investigation.Mayor Kennedy Stewart praised the outcome of the vote in a social media statement late Wednesday, thanking the almost seven dozen speakers who offered their opinions on his motion. He says street checks disproportionately affect people of colour and the city's Black and Indigenous residents.Stewart, who chairs the Vancouver Police Board, says only the board has the power to abolish the checks

Two people have died in a house fire in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. Surrey Fire Service assistant chief Steve Serbic says crews were called just after 4:30 a.m. An elderly man and woman were pulled from the home a short time later. The blaze destroyed the upper floor of the house in Surrey's northwest corner. Serbic says crews had a difficult time reaching the fire, because the property was surrounded by debris and there was more inside the home. A cause has not yet been determined.

Opposition parties are asking the federal ethics watchdog to widen his probe of Bill Morneau regarding the WE organization as the finance minister continues to face calls for his resignation.Conservatives and New Democrats have written to ethics commissioner Mario Dion to probe trips Morneau took three years ago, part of which were paid for by the WE organization.Morneau admitted Wednesday he had just repaid WE Charity more than $41,000 for expenses the group covered for trips his family took to Kenya and Ecuador in 2017 to see some of its humanitarian work.WE said the Morneau family trips we

There are 112,240 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 57,938 confirmed (including 5,662 deaths, 50,373 resolved) Ontario: 38,107 confirmed (including 2,755 deaths, 33,812 resolved) Alberta: 9,861 confirmed (including 174 deaths, 8,436 resolved) British Columbia: 3,362 confirmed (including 189 deaths, 2,888 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,067 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 1,003 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,030 confirmed (including 15 deaths, 825 resolved) Manitoba: 361 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 318 resolved), 13 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 264 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 259 resolved

A jump in COVID-19 infections in British Columbia has prompted a tightening of restrictions by health officials for bars and nightclubs in the province. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the rise in cases, including 34 more today, is a wake up call that residents need to pay more attention in areas where transmission is spread. The amended health order prohibits liquor self service and dance floors, and says all patrons of bars and clubs must be in designated seats and measures must be in place to reduce lineups. Henry says about 1,000 people are in self-isolation after being in

The 55 year old Abbotsford police officer critically injured when he intervened in a dispute while visiting in Nelson last week, has now died. Constable Allan Young had been on life support since the assault last Thursday and the Abbotsford Police Department says he died last night, surrounded by family. A statement from the department says the smile and character of the Scottish-born officer who immigrated to Canada in 1997 ``can never be replaced.'' A 26 year old was arrested in Nelson after Young was injured and Nelson police say the man remains in custody, currently charged with aggravate

Quebec provincial police say the criminal investigation into the murder of two young sisters by their father earlier this month is complete. Police have provided an update on the investigation into the deaths of 6 year old Romy and 11 year old Norah Carpentier and the discovery of the body of Martin Carpentier, who took his own life. Authorities say Carpentier used a blunt object to kill the girls before an Amber Alert was triggered on July 9th -- two days before their bodies were found. Carpentier's body was found this week, following an intense manhunt.

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook an area about 200 kilometres off the west coast of Vancouver Island early this morning but did not generate a tsunami. It happened at 4:33 and seismologist John Cassidy says in a social media post that it was not strong enough to be felt on the Island. It occurred in the Cascadia subduction zone which Cassidy says is one of the most seismically active areas in Canada, ``with earthquakes every day.'' About five hours earlier an unrelated quake measuring 7.8 struck off the Alaska Peninsula and was strongly felt across the state but no damage has been reported an