The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark five-year mortgage rate to 4.79 per cent, the second cut in three months. The central bank in May had trimmed the rate to 4.94 per cent from 5.04 per cent. Three-year rates now dropped to 3.75 per cent and one-year rates remained unchanged at 3.09 per cent. The Big Six banks had already cut their advertised five-year fixed mortgage rates to the same level, though some special offers reduce rates to as little as 2.19 per cent. Lower rates risk propelling housing demand higher. The Bank of Canada's governor, Tiff Macklem, indicated about a month ago that

Canada's official fiscal watchdog says the federal wage subsidy program might cost $14 billion less than the government predicted. A new report today by Parliamentary Budget Office analyst Ben Segel-Brown estimates subsidizing wages for companies during the COVID-19 pandemic will cost $67.9 billion through the end of December.Finance Minister Bill Morneau estimated in his July fiscal report it would cost $82.3 billion.Segel-Brown says that figure was prudent at the time because of economic uncertainty and ongoing work to update the program's rules.The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy encourages

There are 120,844 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 60,813 confirmed (including 5,709 deaths, 53,270 resolved) Ontario: 40,289 confirmed (including 2,787 deaths, 36,590 resolved) Alberta: 11,893 confirmed (including 217 deaths, 10,632 resolved) British Columbia: 4,196 confirmed (including 196 deaths, 3,469 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,484 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,314 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,071 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,007 resolved) Manitoba: 563 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 368 resolved), 15 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 reso

British Columbia has recorded 85 COVID-19 cases, the third-highest number of new cases in a single day since the pandemic began. A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says many of the new infections are of young people from the Lower Mainland. The statement says the public needs to refocus on measures to flatten the curve and that watching the cases climb is concerning. There has been one new death, bringing the death toll to 196, while 3,469 people have recovered. The latest COVID-19 figures come as the province announced it is hirin

British Transport Police say three people died and six were taken to the hospital with injuries after a passenger train derailed in northeast Scotland amid stormy weather. The train's driver is believed to be among the dead, but formal identification is pending. The British Transport Police force said officers were called to the railway line near the coastal town of Stonehaven on Wednesday morning. Photos from the scene showed several cars of the four-carriage train had left the tracks and tumbled down an embankment. Air ambulances and coast guard helicopters came and went as the rescue opera

Democratic US presidential candidate Joe Biden and his newly chosen running mate Kamala Harris campaigned together for the first time today. The former primary rivals sought to solidify their advantage over President Donald Trump. Biden embraced the significance of naming the first Black woman to a major party's presidential ticket, saying representation matters. Biden says Harris is the right woman to help him defeat Trump and then lead a nation facing crises in triplicate, a pandemic, wounded economy and systemic racism. Biden says it's no surprise President Donald Trump is already attacking

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condoled the death of party spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi due to a cardiac arrest on Wednesday evening. Tyagi, who developed unease in the chest, was taken to hospital. He would have turned 54 in September. Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi, "Congress has lost one of its tigers today. Congress will forever remember his love for the party and struggles. I pay my homage to him and condolences to his family." Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said, "The untimely death of Congress spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi is a matter of personal grief for me. His los

The federal government has announced an additional $305 million to help Indigenous Peoples combat COVID-19.Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says the money is meant to help Indigenous communities prepare for emergencies and prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.He says communities can also use the money for a variety of other measures, including helping elders and vulnerable people, food insecurity, educational and other supports for children and mental health assistance.The new money will flow through the Indigenous community support fund, bringing the total amount to $685 million

The B-C Coroners Service and Vancouver police hope a new appeal will crack a 22-year-old cold case involving the death of a woman at the Broadway SkyTrain station. The woman has remained unidentified since her death in April 1998 and investigators hope someone will recognize her description. They say she was white, aged between 30 and 40, stood between 5-foot-6 and five-foot-seven, with brown hair, blue eyes and unpierced ears.The coroners service website carries an artist's facial reconstruction image of the woman and investigators hope this request for information will lead to details that