Union Minister and founder of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ram Vilas Paswan passed away on Thursday following illness. He was 74. Chirag Paswan, MP, paid condolences to his father. "Papa, you are no more in this world now but I know that wherever you are, you are with me. Miss you Papa," Chirag Paswan said in a tweet. Ram Vilas Paswan was Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the Narendra Modi government. He was also a minister in the previous NDA government. He had undergone heart surgery in a Delhi hospital.Paswan was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977 o

British Columbia's Liberal and NDP leaders squeezed in campaign promises of small business tax breaks and transit expansion before they square off at a board of trade event later today. Speaking in Langley, NDP Leader John Horgan says his party will complete the SkyTrain expansion to Langley during a campaign stop there. He says he would make construction of the $3.1-billion Surrey-Langley SkyTrain a provincial capital project, ensuring it moves forward quickly and project funding is secured with the federal government. Responding to BC NDP's announcement Surrey's MayorDoug McCallum states, "

A BC Liberal government will immediately eliminate the 2% small business income tax in a move to give more help to businesses, workers, and families at a time when it is needed most, promised BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson today. "Small businesses represent the best of British Columbia and are the backbone of our economy. They need our support now more than ever, which is why a BC Liberal government will immediately eliminate the small business tax," said BC Liberal Andrew Wilkinson. Wilkinson was in Delta Thursday morning for his election campaign. The BC Liberals have also committed to d

COVID-19 numbers continue to surge in Ontario, Quebec ahead of Thanksgiving weekend Canada's largest province is reporting the most new cases of COVID-19 it's had in a single day since the beginning of the pandemic. Ontario has announced 797 new cases of the virus, and Health Minister Christine Elliott says 57 per cent of those infected are people under the age of 40. Quebec's surging numbers continue with 1,078 new cases. The province is also reporting nine more deaths, and Premier Francois Legault says hospitalizations have increased by 16. Legault says his government was right to recently

The federal and Ontario governments are each chipping in more than $250 million to mass produce electric vehicles and the batteries that power them at Ford Motor Co.'s plant in Oakville, Ont. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are to announce the joint investment today. It is part of a three-year agreement worth nearly $2 billion that was announced last month between the automaker and Unifor, the union that represents autoworkers in Canada.The Oakville plant employs 3,400 Ford workers and Unifor president Jerry Dias has said retooling the plant to produce electric veh

BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau has released a plan to help tourism operators and small businesses battered by the COVID-19 pandemic get through the winter. Furstenau says if the Greens win the election later this month, the targeted plan will get help more quickly where it's really needed. It includes a 300-million dollar rent subsidy program that would cover 25 per cent of rental costs for qualifying small businesses. Furstenau is also promising to retool the provincial grant program to focus on supporting small tourism operators and to ensure grant money can start to flow immediately.

As of tomorrow, romantic partners of more than one year, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren and those seeking entry on compassionate grounds can apply to enter Canada. Ottawa is lifting cross-border travel restrictions for a wider range of family members. Specific details on who qualifies, what documents are required and how to apply will be released tomorrow. The closure of the border between Canada and the U-S has left many couples and families stranded on opposite sides for the past eight months.

Residents of a Vancouver neighbourhood want the city to shut down a homeless encampment at a park where people have been living in about 400 tents since the summer. Kelsey Mulyk says families in Strathcona have lost use of the park in June. Data from police show calls to the area more than tripled between June and September compared with the same period last year. Mayor Kennedy Stewart has called a special council meeting for tomorrow night on the city's homelessness problem. He wants councillors to approve his 30-million-dollar plan to buy or lease hotels and vacant commercial buildings to h

A seven-year-old girl will be honoured for helping rescue her mother after a car crash. Squamish RCMP say Adelaide Prince and her mom were driving on Highway 99 near Squamish early last month when they were both hurt after their car veered down a steep embankment. With her mom trapped, Adelaide managed to get out of the car and crawl back up to the road where she flagged down a driver who called for help. Now that daughter and mother have recovered, Squamish RCMP and the Britannia Beach Volunteer Fire Department plan to recognize the Grade Two student for her bravery and quick thinking in a ce