A third-party report examining how the British Columbia government responded to COVID-19 in long-term care homes during the first wave of the pandemic reveals confusion over policies and infection prevention. The report, by Ernst & Young, says specific policy orders from the provincial health officer were interpreted differently by health authorities and there were gaps in infection prevention and control as well as emergency preparedness. It also highlighted a lack of consistent provincial policy on how health authorities and facility operators handled residents who tested positive for C

Brampton Centre MP Ramesh Sangha has been kicked out of the Liberal caucus. Government whip Mark Holland says in a statement that Sangha was removed from caucus after making what he calls "baseless and dangerous accusations" against a number of fellow Liberal MPs. He does not specify what accusations Sangha made. Holland says Liberals have been clear that they won't tolerate "conspiracy theories or dangerous and unfounded rhetoric about parliamentarians or other Canadians." Holland adds it's not unusual for many Canadians to "experience suspicions because of their background" and that the Lib

The BC Liberal party and BC Care Providers Association want to know why the provincial government stalled the release of a report examining how BC's long-term care homes handled the first wave of the pandemic. The Ministry of Health says the report, completed last fall, will be released today. More than 40 groups, including the Care Providers Association, were consulted after Ernst & Young was commissioned by the ministry to conduct the study. More than half of BC's deaths from COVID-19 have been in long-term care facilities. A spokesperson for SafeCare BC, says seeing the report earlier

Preliminary lab tests suggest Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine produced a weaker immune response to the South African variant of the virus. So out of an abundance of caution, Moderna will test a possible booster dose against it. Vaccine manufacturers have been testing their shots against variants, including two that first emerged in Britain and South Africa. Pfizer has previously reported that its shot appears effective against the strain from Britain. Although some other research has raised questions about the vaccine's effectiveness on South African variant.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is asking all Canadians to put in their two-cents' worth as she prepares what she calls one of the most important federal budgets in the country's history. Freeland is launching consultations designed to help Canada recover from the pandemic. She says she wants people to share their priorities when it comes to the government supporting families and businesses. The government has set up a website called letstalkbudget2021.ca, where Canadians can fill out a questionnaire and share their views. Freeland says the Trudeau government will emphasize the interconnect

Dentists and bus drivers are among those disappointed they will not be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine in BC. The province had initially considered prioritizing essential workers, but on Friday said it planned to take an age-based approach instead because older people are more likely to die of COVID-19. The British Columbia Dental Association has written a letter to Premier John Horgan urging him to include dentists in stage two of the vaccination plan along with family doctors and specialists. Unifor Local 111, which represents Metro Vancouver bus drivers, is also demanding that its mem

The BC Centre for Disease Control has added eight flights that passed through Vancouver International Airport to its list of COVID-19 exposures. The flights, four of them domestic and the other four international, either took off from or landed at YVR between January 5th and January 19th. They include an Air Canada flight from Los Angeles to Vancouver on January 5th, a WestJet flight from Toronto to Vancouver on January 9th and an Aeromexico flight from Mexico City to Vancouver on January 17th. The full list can be seen on the B-C Centre for Disease Control website. Anyone who was on any of t

Farmers protesting against the Centre's three farm laws on Monday announced that will undertake a foot march towards the Parliament building from various locations on Budget Day, on February 1."On February 1, we will march on foot towards Parliament in Delhi from different locations." Krantikari Kisan Union chief Darshan Pal said here today while addressing a press conference at the Singhu border.Farmers from all across the country are marching towards Delhi to participate the scheduled tractor rally on January 26, Republic Day to protest against the Central Government's three new farm laws.F

It's been exactly one year since the first known case of COVID-19 was detected in Canada.The 56-year-old man had arrived at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto with what seemed to be mild pneumonia. But because he had travelled from China and his X-rays were unusual, the decision was made to admit him.Samples were sent by taxi to Ontario's public health laboratory, which had been working to come up with a reliable test.The lab was soon able to confirm the man was infected with what was then being called the novel coronavirus. Although ``Patient Zero'' eventually recovered, more than 19,000 people