Healthy Canadians from the Diamond Princess cruise ship will shortly be heading home, according to Canada's foreign affairs minister, after weeks under quarantine for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.The ship, docked in Yokohama, Japan, contained the largest outbreak of the virus outside China, with hundreds of passengers having tested positive. Among the infected are 47 Canadians who will have to remain in Japan for treatment.Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday that passengers would be screened before boarding a chartered flight Thursday evening, Japan time.T

Two people are dead in a crash that involved about 200 vehicles on Highway 15 in La Prairie south of Montreal. The confirmation comes from the Surete du Quebec, which says the victims are two people who were trapped in the wreckage near a diesel spill. Whiteout conditions likely triggered the massive pileup that sent a dozen people to hospital with minor to serious injuries. The crash occurred around 12:30 p-m on a stretch of the highway that runs along the St. Lawrence River. Quebec Transport Minister Francois Bonnardel says the pileup took place in an area where heavy winds come off the riv

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canadians who want to leave Japan where they were stuck on board a quarantined cruise ship, can begin the process of taking a chartered jet today evening. That could mean they will be back in Canada on Friday, when they will be taken to a hotel in Cornwall, Ontario for another two-weeks' isolation. About 500 healthy passengers have been allowed to leave the Diamond Princess. The 47 Canadians who have symptoms of COVID-19 will have to stay in Japan for treatment.

B.C.'s medical health officer, Doctor Bonnie Henry, says the first person in the province who developed a case of the new coronavirus after returning from a trip to China earlier this year is now fully recovered and out of isolation. Five cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in this province since the outbreak began late last year in China and Henry says four of the five other sufferers are also likely to be declared free of the disease when tests are expected to come back negative later this week. She says B.C.'s most recent case a woman identified in the Interior Health region on Friday re

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab chief Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said that there have been no official talks with Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu regarding the former cricketer's joining his party. "He is an honest man. Every person who loves Punjab and wants to work for the welfare of the State is welcome. There have been no official talks with him so far," Mann told reporters here when asked if there are any chances of Navjot Singh Sidhu joining the party. In June last year, the Congress leader was stripped off the portfolios of local government and Tourism and Culture Ministry by Chief Mini

Three federal Opposition parties are calling on the Trudeau government to halt expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline from the Edmonton area to port in Burnaby. Members of the N-D-P, Green party and Bloc Quebecois made the joint appeal this morning, arguing a recent poll shows Canadians are alarmed at the multi-billion dollar price hike for the work. The federal government bought the unfinished project from Kinder Morgan in 2018 for 4.5-billion dollars and planned to complete the twinning at a total cost of 7.4-billion dollars but recent estimates have pushed completion costs to nearly 13-b

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government's approach to ending rail blockades across the country might cause economic pain in the short term. But Trudeau told the House of Commons today the Conservative call for hard-line police action to end the protests would cause even more, longer term disruption. Via Rail announced this afternoon that it is laying off close to one thousand employees, calling the disruption an unprecedented situation in its 42-year history. CN Rail announced yesterday that it was laying off 450 of its employees. Quebec Premier Francois Legault is urging Trudeau to

Via Rail says it is temporarily laying off 1,000 employees due to blockades that continue to stop service on CN tracks in Eastern Canada. The Crown corporation has suspended passenger trains on its Montreal-Toronto and Ottawa-Toronto routes for about two weeks in the wake of protests that have disrupted rail service across the country. Via says it commends ongoing dialogue efforts between government and demonstrators at rail blockades in support of Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs who oppose a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia. Via says it is proceeding with temporary suspensions of the

The Conservatives may introduce a non-confidence motion linked to the Liberals' response to the rail blockades that have virtually shut down freight and passenger service across the country. Via Rail announced this afternoon it will temporarily lay off close to one-thousand employees due to the rail line closures. Conservative House Leader Candice Bergen says party members don't believe the Trudeau government's strategy of dialogue instead of issuing deadlines to protesters is going to solve the crisis. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says we are a nation of peace, order and good gov