British Columbia has reached new COVID-19 highs with 11 more deaths and 717 new cases. It's the first time new cases have surged over 700 and it has pushed the total case count to 23,661. The 11 deaths is also the largest daily toll and brings the total number of deaths in the province to 310. Almost 11,000 people are under active public health monitoring because they've had contact with someone who tested positive, while 16,469 people are considered recovered.

Walk-in patients are welcome again in Burnaby Hospital's emergency room after fire forced a temporary closure. However, a statement from Fraser Health says patients who must be admitted to the hospital will still be transported to neighbouring health facilities. The fire in the hospital's Cascade building affected several areas of the hospital and while the ER wasn't damaged, it was closed to allow a focus on current patients and staff. The authority had said the fire was believed to be electrical, but now says it's learning more and the source is considered inconclusive.

Elections B.C. says a judicial recount in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky has affirmed incumbent B.C. Liberal Jordan Sturdy as the winner.On election night, the riding went to the B.C. Green party, giving the party its first seat on the mainland, but an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots saw Sturdy win by just 41 votesThe tight margin triggered an automatic judicial recount that confirmed Sturdy beat Green candidate Jeremy Valeriote by 60 votes. Sturdy's re-election confirms the B.C. Liberals have 28 seats after the Oct. 24 election that also gave the New Democrats a majority government with 57

Six positive cases of COVID-19 have forced the precautionary closure of the Abbotsford Christian School. Fraser Health says officials at the private middle school told the authority it would close for two weeks because of staffing challenges. There have been numerous exposure events at schools in the health region which is the centre of the COVID-19 surge in the province. Cambridge Elementary School in Surrey was also closed for two weeks because of an outbreak.

US president-elect Joe Biden has announced top White House staff positions, drawing from the senior ranks of his campaign and some of his closest confidants. Louisiana Representative Cedric Richmond says he will be giving up his seat in Congress to become a senior adviser to Biden and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Biden has also confirmed that former campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon will serve as a deputy chief of staff. Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends "uniform wearing of masks" Dr. Anthony Fauci is recommending "uniform wearing of masks" to help curb the surge of

The father of the man who killed 10 people in Toronto's van attack says he is not tailoring his testimony to help his son. Vahe Minassian is being questioned by the prosecution today at the murder trial of his son, Alek Minassian. The younger Minassian has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. He has admitted to planning and carrying out the 2018 attack, and his lawyer has said Minassian should be found not criminally responsible for his actions due to autism. Vahe Minassian told court yesterday that his son has not shown remorse or apologiz

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is accusing Chinese telecom company Huawei of stealing defunct Canadian firm Nortel's technology. O'Toole made the allegation of industrial espionage as he announced his party is pushing the Liberals to make a decision within 30 days on which companies can provide Canada's next-generation 5-G wireless internet technology. The Tories are tabling a motion in the House of Commons demanding the government decide whether Huawei ought to be banned. O'Toole wants the matter debated in the Commons and is pushing for a new strategy to deal with China, saying the Libera

A border officer who questioned Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou about the company's possible activity in Iran before her arrest will undergo cross-examination by her legal team today. Superintendent Sanjit Dhillon began testifying at an evidentiary hearing in the extradition case yesterday. He told the court that he started asking Meng questions about security concerns surrounding the company's products to help move the immigration examination along. Meng's lawyers allege that Canadian officials unlawfully questioned Meng under the guise of a routine immigration exam but Dhillon says that's jus

Federal privacy legislation introduced today would require companies to get consent from customers through plain language, not a lengthy legal document, before using their personal data.The bill is designed to flesh out the 10 principles from control over data to meaningful penalties for misuse of information that make up the federal digital charter.The Liberal government says the legislation would give consumers the ability to more easily transfer their data from one business to another.People could also demand that a company delete or destroy their information if they withdraw consent.The pr