The International Monetary Fund is estimating the Canadian economy will shrink by 8.4 per cent this year- a 2.2% steeper decline than it forecast in April.Globally, the IMF is predicting a drop of 4.9 per cent in GDP, significantly worse than the three per cent drop it had estimated two months ago.The IMF says the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately hurting low-income households and imperilling the significant progress made in reducing extreme poverty in the world since 1990.

New statistics show 21 people were apprehended by the RCMP crossing into Canada from the U.S. in May, despite the shutdown of the border.That's up from just six who were stopped in April, the first full month the border was closed to nearly everything but essential travel in a bid by the two countries to slow the spread of COVID-19.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says 1,390 people in total filed for asylum in Canada in May, and 1,570 did so in April.Since 2017, nearly 57,000 people have crossed the border between Canada and the U.S. using unofficial entry points so they are able

Authorities on Tuesday identified three family members who died in their backyard swimming pool. 62 yearold Bharat Patel, his 33 year old daughter in law Nisha Patel and her 8 year old daughter were found unresponsive in the above ground pool, Monday afternoon by East Brunswick police responding to a 911 call from neighbours who heard screams. Police Lt. Frank Sutter told reporters police performed CPR when they arrived, but all three victims were pronounced dead at the scene. On Tuesday, the Middlesex County Regional Medical Examiner's Office said it had concluded the deaths were by accident

There are 101,963 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 54,884 confirmed (including 5,424 deaths, 23,620 resolved) Ontario: 33,853 confirmed (including 2,619 deaths, 29,107 resolved) Alberta: 7,781 confirmed (including 153 deaths, 7,096 resolved) British Columbia: 2,835 confirmed (including 170 deaths, 2,471 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 998 resolved) Saskatchewan: 753 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 642 resolved) Manitoba: 303 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 293 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths,

British Columbia's top doctor says old-fashioned contact tracing, not an app, is the primary tool that's been helping public health officials find people who could be infected with COVID-19. Dr. Bonnie Henry says officials are accustomed to tracking people who could have come into contact with carriers of other diseases and COVID-19 is no different, except that 600 people have been focused on the task. Henry says an app would be more useful for when people may have spread or contracted the illness in a large crowd of people. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promoted a voluntary app called CO

School trustees in both Vancouver and Victoria have voted to examine the role of police liaison officers in their facilities. The separate, unanimous votes came during school board meetings last night when trustees also rejected calls for immediate suspension of the liaison program while the reviews are underway. Supporters of the liaison program, which sees officers with special training assigned to specific elementary or high schools, say it helps police develop relationships, especially with at-risk youth. But critics question who the program is actually protecting.

The Government of British Columbia is taking action to help stratas better mitigate the rising costs of insurance.Actions include bringing more transparency to the strata insurance industry, closing loopholes related to depreciation reports, ending referral fees paid to property managers and giving strata owners and corporations the tools they need to do their part."The rising cost of strata insurance is a major financial pressure facing thousands of British Columbians during an already challenging time," said Carole James, Minister of Finance. "This is an extremely complex issue playing out i

Final arguments in the extradition case for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou will take place early next year. The BC Supreme Court approved a schedule proposed by the Crown and Meng's defence team. In a letter to Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes, Crown lawyer John Gibb-Carsley says the schedule aims to resolve all necessary evidentiary issues through the summer and early fall. Hearings are to resume on August 17th, when the court will meet for five days to hear arguments over privilege claims in the case.

Rayshard Brooks was remembered at the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. The private funeral for the man who was shot by a police officer was held Tuesday at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The Rev. Raphael Warnock delivered the eulogy. Officer Garrett Rolfe shot Brooks in the back after Brooks fired a Taser in his direction while running away after a struggle with officers outside a Wendy's restaurant on June 12. Rolfe is white. Brooks was Black. King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, also delivered remarks at the funeral.