The federal government ran a deficit of $148.6 billion during the first four months of its 2020-2021 fiscal year, the result of unprecedented spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The result compared with a deficit of $1.6 billion for the same period in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. In its monthly fiscal monitor, the Finance Department says program expenses for the four-month period of April to July hit $215.7 billion, up $111.1 billion, or 106.2 per cent, from the same period a year earlier. Major transfers to persons which consists this fiscal year of seniors benefits, employment insur

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is very disappointed that Sikh RCMP officers have been reassigned during the pandemic because their religiously mandated facial hair makes it difficult to properly wear a face covering. The World Sikh Organization of Canada says officers have been placed on desk duty for almost six months, as the RCMP found the N100 mask does not seal with facial hair. The organization says no attempt has been made to accommodate Sikh officers with other protective coverings that would work with facial hair. Trudeau says health and safety regulations are extremely importan

The federal Conservatives say they want the House of Commons to sit this weekend to debate new COVID-19 aid legislation. Opposition House leader Gerard Deltell says the provisions in the bill demand detailed and urgent scrutiny. Past COVID-19 legislation has passed fairly swiftly with all-party consent but at the time, Parliament was not sitting as normal. Now it is, and Deltell is suggesting that putting the new bill through the ordinary legislative paces will take too long. Among other things, Bill C-2 would create a new benefits regime to support those who have lost jobs due to the COVID

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join Canada's top public health officers today for their daily update on the worsening COVID-19 health crisis.Trudeau is expected to have an announcement about his government's ongoing efforts to protect Canadians and combat the novel coronavirus.But he's also expected to start joining chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and her deputy, Howard Njoo more regularly at their daily briefings.It's a sign of how serious the second wave of COVID-19 has already become. During the first wave, Trudeau held daily news conferences outside his home, Rideau Cottag

BC is reporting 148 new cases of COVID-19 as well as two more deaths. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says both deaths were in the Fraser Health region and she also revealed an Indigenous elder died last weekend in the northern region. Dr. Henry acknowledged it's taken some time to develop a consistent reporting system of all cases in schools and says she has full confidence in reporting by Vancouver Coastal Health. British Columbia's top doctor is thanking supporters after revealing she has faced abuse and death threats related to her public health orders during the COVID-19 pand

Authorities are pleading for calm while activists are vowing to fight on in Kentucky's largest city after a gunman wounded two police officers during anguished protests over the decision not to charge officers for killing Breonna Taylor. A new round of demonstrations in U.S. cities was set off by outrage over a grand jury's failure to bring homicide charges against the officers who burst into the Black woman's apartment six months ago. The state attorney general said the investigation showed officers were acting in self-defence when they responded to gunfire from Taylor's boyfriend. Louisvill

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau is disputing her NDP counterpart's claims that her party stood in the way of improving child care in BC. John Horgan says his minority government couldn't fulfil the NDP's 2017 platform promise of providing daycare for 10 dollars a day because it couldn't get support from the Greens. But in a statement, Furstenau says she has been pushing the New Democrats for the legislation. Instead, she says Horgan chose to call an election. The Green leader also spoke to the Union of BC Municipalities today, telling the local politicians the election was unnecessary. Furstenau

Health Canada says it can't provide any information about the status of any of the rapid-testing devices for COVID-19 it is reviewing. Pressure is mounting on the federal government to approve tests that can provide faster results as hospitals and public health agencies across Canada struggle to keep up with the demand for COVID-19 testing. Deputy Conservative leader Candice Bergen says the government promised in March that getting rapid tests was a priority and yet half a year later, there are still none in use in Canada. At least 14 such devices are under review by Health Canada but the dep

President Donald Trump was booed as he paid respects to late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Trump and first lady Melania Trump, both wearing masks, went to the court Thursday and stood silently at the top of the steps of the court and looked down at Ginsburg's flag-draped coffin. Ginsburg's death has sparked a controversy over the balance of the court just weeks before the November presidential election. Trump is expected to name a replacement on Saturday. Moments after Trump arrived at the court, booing could be heard from spectators who then chanted ``Vote him out.''