Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says nearly 10,000 businesses have applied for the federal government's wage-subsidy program to help them deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.The emergency measure will cover 75 percent of wages for employers that have seen sharp declines in revenue since the novel coronavirus hit Canada hard in March, up to $847 per worker.Applications opened early this morning and payments can be retroactive to the middle of March.Trudeau says money under the program will start flowing by May 7.It may take longer for the money to arrive for companies that aren't signed up for direct

B.C. has pledged to double its contribution to help support caregivers and seniors as part of its emergency COVID-19 response plan.The province's seniors advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, says B.C. is providing an additional 500,000 to help support caregivers and seniors.She says this doubles the funding to Family Caregivers of B.C. to $1 million for the year and will help expand toll-free support line hours, emotional supports and healthcare navigation.Family Caregivers of B.C. is a not-for-profit organization that supports people who care for senior citizens.

British Columbia is looking to temporarily relocate over 1,000 people from tent encampments in Vancouver and Victoria to hotel and community centre accommodations to protect them from the ongoing pandemic. Shane Simpson, Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister, says 686 hotel and community centre accommodations in Vancouver and 324 hotel spaces in Victoria have been secured by the province. Simpson says people will have their own living space and access to services, such as meals, laundry, washroom facilities, health-care services, addictions treatment and harm reduction, storage for

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing a $62.5-million aid package to help the country's fish and seafood processors protect workers from COVID-19. Trudeau said today the money is earmarked for personal protective equipment and to help fish and seafood companies adapt their plants to comply with health directives. The prime minister says the funding can also help pay for other equipment such as freezers, so that companies can store food products while they adapt their factories to ensure workers can maintain a safe distance from one another. Fish and seafood are among the country's top fo

There are 43,888 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 22,616 confirmed (including 1,340 deaths, 4,724 resolved) Ontario: 13,519 confirmed (including 763 deaths, 7,087 resolved) Alberta: 4,017 confirmed (including 72 deaths, 1,397 resolved) British Columbia: 1,853 confirmed (including 98 deaths, 1,114 resolved) Nova Scotia: 850 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 392 resolved) Saskatchewan: 341 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 280 resolved) Manitoba: 252 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 174 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 256 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 199 resolv

Thirty-five workers at the United Poultry plant in Vancouver have now tested positive for COVID-19. That's up from 29 and in addition to two cases at a sister plant in Coquitlam. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that 10 cases of the virus in B.C. have been connected to the Kearl Lake project near Fort McMurray, Alta. Seventy-eight inmates and staff have also tested positive at the Mission Institution in the Fraser Valley. The province is reporting four more deaths, for a total of 98 deaths, and 29 new cases. The province has a

The BC legislature will be lit in red tonight to honour the 22 victims who died in a killing rampage in Nova Scotia last weekend. A virtual vigil for the victims will be livestreamed on Facebook this evening since large gatherings are banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The BC government says it stands in mourning with all Nova Scotians. Premier John Horgan says in a tweet that he is also wearing red today to show he is standing with the families in mourning.

An online vigil with recorded tributes and music honouring the 22 people who died in a tragic rampage began Friday with a fiddle performance from the massacre's youngest victim. Nova Scotia residents spent the week gathering recorded tributes from public figures, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Stephen McNeil and Governor General Julie Payette. Nova Scotia fiddler Natalie MacMaster recorded herself playing along with a video of 17 year old Emily Tuck performing the waltz ``In Memory of Herbie MacLeod,'' uploaded to Facebook a month before she was killed with her mother and fa

The Manitoba government is promising wage subsidies for businesses that hire students this summer. Premier Brian Pallister says the government will pay half of eligible wages, up to $7 per hour, to a maximum of $5,000 per student aged 15-29. Each employer can get the subsidy for a maximum of five students, and the money will be paid out after summer ends. Pallister says the subsidy should help businesses hurt by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.