A leading Canadian expert on government-funded basic incomes says the oft-debated idea could have averted much of the economic effects of COVID-19. Evelyn Forget says a basic income program would have automatically provided help to hard-hit Canadians instead of forcing governments to set up emergency aid in a rush. Basic income is essentially a no-strings attached benefit governments provide to citizens that sets a financial floor for individuals and families. Advocates of such a program have pointed to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit as an example of how the country could make basic in

The B.C. Liberal party says it would implement a new economic response plan to the COVID-19 pandemic within 60 days if it wins the Oct. 24 provincial election. In the party's platform, the Liberals say the plan would involve eliminating the PST for a year, launching a comprehensive review of regulatory processes to ensure more timely approvals and establishing an emergency pandemic response committee to work with all parties and the provincial health officer. The party says it would also appoint an independent Fair Tax Commission to review all provincial taxes and recommend adjustments, reduc

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says opposition parties can keep digging into the WE Charity issue, but his government is focused on helping Canadians through the COVID-19 pandemic. Before Trudeau prorogued Parliament in August, two House of Commons committees spent months investigating a multimillion-dollar federal program for students awarded to WE Charity in the spring. But the federal Conservatives are calling for a new anticorruption committee to roll those two probes of the now-defunct Canada Student Services Grant into one. Sidestepping questions about whether he supports the creation of

The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will meet Tuesday in a televised debate that political experts say could be one of the few events where voters get a chance to truly assess the leaders in what has been a largely scripted online election campaign. New Democrat Leader John Horgan called a snap election last month during the global COVID-19 pandemic and the debate comes with less than two weeks remaining before election day on Oct. 24. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau and Horgan will appear live on television, radio and online for the 90-minute deba

The federal Conservatives want MPs to create an anti-corruption committee to investigate the WE Charity issue. Tory ethics critic Michael Barrett says the new forum would press for answers to lingering questions about the controversy. In the meantime, the Conservatives plan to press the House of Commons ethics and finance committees this week to resume looking at the matter. They say the proposed new anti-corruption committee could soon take over the probe of the Liberal government's choice of WE Charity to administer the the multimillion-dollar Canada Student Service Grant program. Oppositio

The federal government says technical difficulties that prevented some Canadians from applying for new financial supports have been solved. The Canada Revenue Agency reported the issues hours after applications for the benefits opened today. The new Canada Recovery Benefit a replacement for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit promises 500-dollars per week. The federal government also anticipates about 700-thousand Canadians will apply for the new caregiver benefit, which offers added support for parents and others who are forced to miss work to care for a dependent due to COVID-19.

Facebook is banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust. The move is the latest attempt by the company to take action against conspiracy theories and misinformation.The company says people searching for information about the Nazi genocide will be directed to authoritative sources. Holocaust survivors around the world had lent their voices to a campaign targeting C-E-O Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to take action to remove Holocaust denial posts from the site.

The B.C. New Democrats have announced a renter's rebate as the latest plank of their election platform as parties prepare for the first televised debate of the provincial campaign. NDP Leader John Horgan says his party's plan also includes making a cap on rent increases permanent. Under the rebate plan, households that earn up to $80,000 a year will be entitled to $400 a year. Horgan also reiterated his party's support of freezing rents until the end of 2021. He accused the B.C. Liberals of giving tax breaks to the rich and says the NDP benefit would help those who need it most. The leaders o

BC is reporting 119 new cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are 1,406 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. 68 of those patients are being treated in hospital, including 19 in intensive care. In a statement, Dr. Henry continues to urge people to do all they can to ensure they have safe celebrations over the Thanksgiving long weekend. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is being awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Royal Roads University in Victoria. The university says it will bestow the honour on what it describes as