British Columbia health officials are urging residents to celebrate Diwali virtually this year, as the province reports a new daily record number of COVID-19 cases. B.C. recorded 617 new cases on Friday, for a total of 20,985. Officials also reported two new COVID-19-related fatalities, bringing the province's death toll to 290 over the course of the pandemic. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that the number of cases shows it is a critical time for B.C., and residents need to work together to slow the number of infections. They

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's told premiers that while his government will always be there to help, federal resources are not "infinite." Trudeau says he's heard from premiers about the challenges they're facing, but he says making tough choices now will reduce the chance of facing "impossible decisions" later. He says his government is committed to collaborating on the distribution of a potential vaccine, though the fight against COVID-19 is far from over. Trudeau says Canada reached a new daily high of 5,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. Trudeau asks Canadians to do their part and

A Statistics Canada survey reveals 30 per cent of businesses don't know if they can keep going without laying off workers, closing or declaring bankruptcy. Nearly 20 per cent say they will have to take drastic action in less than six months as a second wave of COVID-19 sweeps the country. Canadian Chamber of Commerce chief economist Trevin Stratton is calling for sector-specific support to help the hospitality and arts and entertainment industries. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government is investing another 1.5 billion dollars in the Workforce Development Agreement, which will help

A search has resumed for a Vancouver Island couple missing since Wednesday in a rugged area west of Nanaimo. Police say the search began Thursday for 32 year old Cody Martin, 29 year old Tamara Sandulak and Rex, their black lab-cross dog, when they didn't return from a day of fishing. An RCMP statement says dozens of search and rescue volunteers covered the Nanaimo Lakes area on foot and by all-terrain vehicle late into Thursday evening. More search and rescue crews from neighbouring communities joined the effort on Friday, while RCMP say air support will be added if weather permits. Police h

BC Hydro says an online survey shows many households are stocked up but unprepared to ride out a major winter storm. It found 20 per cent of homeowners believe they are prepared for an extended power outage because they laid in supplies such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer and groceries. But the utility points out that stockpiling toilet paper won't help when storms cut power and leave people without heat, light or the ability to cook food and keep it from rotting for several days. But the online survey of 803 B.C. residents conducted in early October says more than half lack an emergency ki

A new survey by Simon Fraser University and Autism Community Training suggests caregivers for kids with autism are feeling especially squeezed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of 238 families between July and September showed one third reported safety concerns and almost 10 per cent had considered putting their child into government care. The majority of caregivers reported provincial supports in response to the pandemic have been insufficient in meeting their needs and their kids are suffering as a result. Just three families reported the pandemic has positively affected their ch

Cineplex is reporting a 91 per cent drop in customers in its third quarter. Only 1.6 million people went to see a movie after Cineplex re-opened countrywide with limited showtimes and seating on August 21st, down from 17.5 million last summer. The Toronto-based theatre chain posted a third quarter net loss of 121.2 million dollars, down from a profit of 13.4 million a year ago. The company says it had revenue of $61 million in the three months ending Sept. 30, down from $418.4 million during the same period in 2019.

Donald Trump's aides say the US president is showing little interest in the growing COVID-19 crisis as he fumes about his election loss to Joe Biden. That's as new cases are skyrocketing, with 151,000 new infections recorded yesterday. The pandemic has killed more than 240-thousand Americans and infected more than 10 million people in the US. California has become the second state to record 1 million confirmed coronavirus infections. Texas reached the mark earlier this week.

The Prime Minister's Office says Justin Trudeau didn't try to tell the premiers what to do or cast blame as he held his 21st call of the pandemic with leaders. Later this morning at an Ottawa news conference, Trudeau is expected keep pushing the premiers to take tougher measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Aides say Trudeau once again assured the premiers and territorial leaders that Ottawa will provide them with assistance so they can act now to protect everyone as cases surge across the country. Saskatchewan's Scott Moe says it was, ``extremely unhelpful'' for Trudeau to frame the issue