Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Ottawa is not trying to block provinces from getting access to new rapid COVID-19 testing devices. Manitoba's Central Services Minister Reg Helwer says Ottawa is forbidding Abbott Laboratories from selling its new ID Now tests directly to the provinces. Helwer says the federal government is insisting on controlling the supply and allocating shipments to the provinces. Health Canada recently approved the ID Now tests, which deliver results in about 15 minutes without having to send the specimen to a lab for processing. Helwer says

The real estate market in Vancouver had its best September on record this year in terms of the number of homes sold. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says 3,643 were sold in September this year, up 56.2 per cent from the 2,333 sold in September 2019. Sales were also up 19.6 per cent from the 3,047 homes sold in August. The MLS home price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties hit $1,041,300 in September, up 5.8 per cent from September 2019. Real estate board chairwoman Colette Gerber says that while a wave of homes hit the market last month, it was not enough

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.Trump tweeted the update early this morning. Trump's positive test comes just hours after the White House announced that senior aide Hope Hicks came down with the virus after travelling with the president several times this week.It also comes after he spent much of the last year downplaying the threat of COVID-19.Trump's White House doctor has issued a statement saying the president will continue carrying out his duties ``without disruption'' after contracting COVID-19.Dr. Sean Conley, the physician to th

A judge has told WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange he will likely have to spend another three months inside a British prison cell before finding out whether he can be sent to the United States to face espionage charges that carry a maximum prison sentence of 175 years. After hearing nearly four weeks of evidence in Assange's extradition hearing in London, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser said she would deliver her decision at 10 a.m. on Jan. 4. The judge's ruling won’t necessarily end the proceedings. Whichever side loses is expected to appeal. By the time the decision is announced, the U.S.

Police say a man has been killed and another wounded in what appears to be a targeted shooting in North Vancouver. Sergeant Frank Jang of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the two men were sitting in a vehicle outside a duplex when they were shot late last night. Jang says neither man lived in the duplex and police don't know why the men were at that location. He is asking the public for any information that may help their investigation.

The federal Liberals have re-introduced a bill that would ban forcing children or adults to undergo therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation or gender identity. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today called on the opposition parties to support the legislation. Justice Minister David Lametti says conversion therapy is based on a false premise that being gay, bisexual or trans is wrong and the legislation will prevent it from happening. The Conservative opposition has already indicated it's prepared to back the bill. PM concerned about the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in QuebecPrime Min

Two people in Metro Vancouver are accused of colluding with foreign nationals to make fraudulent claims for refugee protection in Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency says Roger Bhatti of Delta and Sofiane Dahak of Vancouver face more than two dozen charges, including forgery, counselling misrepresentation of facts and use of forged documents. The agency alleges the offences involved people originating from Central Europe and took place between 2002 and 2014.It says in a news release that Bhatti, who is 61, practised as a lawyer and Dahak, who is 52, was an interpreter when the alleged of

Authorities in Belgium and another three countries have dismantled a criminal drug trafficking network that allegedly relied on corrupt police officers to ship hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Western Europe. The investigation, which started when a container with 2.8 tons of cocaine was found last year in the port city of Antwerp, uncovered an international network with connections in at least four different European countries and South America. Officials said Thursday that, including the Antwerp seizure, police have confiscated a total 3.5 tons of cocaine imported by the

BC NDP candidate Ravi Kahlon has written a letter to B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson on Thursday, to seek clarity on BC Liberal candidate from Surrey-Fleetwood, Garry Thind’s role in his campaign’s alleged plan to illegally request mail-in ballots on behalf of other people. Talking to journalists over telephone, Kahlon said that Wilkinson avoided a direct question about Thind’s knowledge of the plan on Wednesday.Kahlon said that the BC Liberals have fired the campaign worker involved, but have not disclosed any information on Thind’s involvement. The letter seeks the information t