CanadaMay 18, 2021
Canada set to receive largest weekly shipment to date: PM Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is receiving 4.5 million vaccine doses this week, including a shipment from Pfizer-BioNTech that has been moved up ahead of the holiday weekend. He says it is the largest weekly shipment to date, and it will help keep Canada within the top of the G20 on daily vaccinations, where he says it has been for over two weeks. Trudeau also says Canada will receive 9 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in July. That means that between now and at least the end of July, Canada will continue to get over two million Pfizer doses a week. Prime Minister Just
CanadaMay 18, 2021
Brig. Gen. krista Brodie replaces Maj. Gen. Fortin as the lead of national vaccine rollout
The Liberal government has tapped another military officer to take over Canada's vaccine rollout. Brigadier-General Krista Brodie will step into the role, after the sudden departure of Major-General Dany Fortin because of a military investigation. Brodie is a 30-year veteran of the military with extensive logistics experience, who had been working with Fortin since November. The Liberal government has given little details about why Fortin had been removed. The Canadian Press has confirmed the investigation relates to an allegation of sexual misconduct.
CanadaMay 17, 2021
Tories demand more info on investigation into general overseeing vaccine campaign
Federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is blasting the Liberal government for not providing Canadians with more information about why the general overseeing Canada's COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been forced to step aside. The Department of National Defence issued a terse three-line statement on Friday evening announcing that Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin was leaving his role because of an unspecified ``military investigation.'' Some experts have since criticized the lack of details around the nature of that investigation given the importance of his position and recent concerns about a lack of
CanadaMay 17, 2021
Vancouver mayor, police apologize to retired B.C. judge for wrongful detainment
The mayor of Vancouver says he is "appalled" that police officers wrongfully detained and handcuffed a retired British Columbia Supreme Court justice out for a walk on Friday morning.Kennedy Stewart says in a statement he reached out to apologize to Justice Selwyn Romilly, the first Black person appointed to the court.Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison says officers were dispatched around 9:15 a.m. following reports of a man kicking, punching and spitting at people along the seawall near English Bay.He says officers patrolling the area noticed a man resembling the description of the suspect
CanadaMay 14, 2021
Fewer flights land in Canada with COVID-19 since ban on planes from India, Pakistan
The number of planes landing in Canada carrying passengers with COVID-19 was cut by more than half in the two weeks after the federal government barred incoming flights from India and Pakistan on April 22nd. Transport Canada announced April 22 that direct flights from the countries would be halted for 30 days after high numbers of passengers were testing positive for the virus after landing. Health Canada data posted online show between April 10th and 23rd, 135 international flights arrived with at least one passenger who had COVID-19. 36 of those were direct flights from India and 2 were fro
CanadaMay 13, 2021
Lawmaker demands Bloc MP answer for naked screenshot of Liberal colleague
The Liberal government whip says Bloc Quebecois MP Stephen Lemire should answer questions about a screenshot he took of a naked Liberal MP during virtual parliamentary proceedings last month. Liberal whip Mark Holland is calling for Lemire to appear before a House of Commons committee. Quebec MP William Amos has said he was changing his clothes after a jog on April 14th and did not realize his laptop camera was turned on as he was visible on an internal parliamentary feed. Lemire has apologized for taking the screenshot, but has said he has no idea how the image was released to the media and
CanadaMay 13, 2021
Ethics watchdog: PM didn't violate conflict rules over WE Charity, but Morneau did
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not breach the Conflict of Interest Act over failing to recuse himself from cabinet discussions to have WE Charity operate a federal student-volunteer program, Canada's ethics watchdog say in a report released Thursday. In a separate report, federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion found that former finance minister Bill Morneau did violate the rules and should have recused himself. He says Morneau ``gave WE preferential treatment by permitting his ministerial staff to disproportionately assist it when it sought federal funding.'' Dion says he was asked to inve
CanadaMay 13, 2021
Greyhound Canada to cut all routes, end operations
Greyhound Canada is permanently cutting all bus routes across the country, shutting down the intercity bus carrier's operations in Canada after nearly a century of service. The motor coach company says its remaining routes in Ontario and Quebec will cease permanently on Thursday. Its American affiliate, Greyhound Lines, Inc., will continue to operate cross-border routes to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver once the border reopens. The decision comes a year after Greyhound Canada temporarily suspended all service due to a sharp decline in passengers and mounting travel restrictions amid the firs
CanadaMay 11, 2021
Alberta to stop giving first doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot: media report
The Globe and Mail is reporting that Alberta has stopped administering first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in favour of other types of immunization. The newspaper quotes Kristin Klein, the co-lead of the province’s vaccine task force, as saying the province has decided to shift to mRNA vaccines for first doses.The report says the move is partly due to the greater supply of mRNA shots, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna ones, and partly due to concerns over a rare blood clot condition linked to AstraZeneca.Klein says AstraZeneca shots will still be made available to t