Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, paving the way for vaccinations to begin countrywide next week. Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser to Health Canada, says the authorization follows a science and evidence-based review. Sharma says there's no significant evidence of severe adverse reactions to the shot.Dr. Sharma says she and other health officials are amazed at the accomplishment in such a short time. Supriya Sharma says they are making the approval process as open and transparent as possible by publishing the technical information for each va

An evidence-gathering hearing in the extradition case of Meng Wanzhou has heard from a senior manager with the Canada Border Services Agency, who told BC's Supreme Court she was instructed not to take notes after the arrest of the Huawei executive. Nicole Goodman testified today that she wanted to create a case summary or timeline of events, but was warned by the agency's then-regional director general that the record could later be obtained through an access to information request. The court is hearing witness testimony that Meng's lawyers will use to bolster an abuse of process claim next y

Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, the first to be given the green light for national use. Canada is set to receive four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by March, including up to 249,000 doses this month, with the first shipment set to arrive next week.The federal government has purchased 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires people to receive two doses each, and has the option to buy 56 million more.Pfizer needs to store its vaccine at ultracold temperatures below -70 C and so the company is planning to ship the doses directly to pr

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised that the first COVID-19 vaccines will be administered next week. But health officials say the first doses will be highly localized to 14 sites where the vaccines are initially being delivered. Doctor Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, says initially the plan is to move the doses as little as possible because of their complicated storage requirements. Canadian officials are also assuring they don't expect disruptions in the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines as a result of actions taken by US President Donald Trump. Trump is expected to sig

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the first COVID-19 vaccine doses are on track to arrive this month, as tough new measures took effect in Prince Edward Island and Ontario hit a new daily case record today. Trudeau says Ottawa has reached an agreement with Pfizer to have up to 249,000 doses delivered, pending Health Canada approval, and that the first shipments could come next week. In Atlantic Canada, Prince Edward Island entered what it's calling a two-week "circuit-breaker" lockdown after seven new cases of the virus were reported over the weekend. The province reported four new ca

The military, health workers and government officials will go through a practice run today of the complex plan to deliver COVID-19 vaccines across the country.The first vaccine, made by Pfizer-BioNtech, could be approved for use in Canada as early as this week. And Major-General Dany Fortin, who's leading the military through the vaccine distribution process, says the dry run is intended to get everyone involved comfortable with the intense requirements of handling a vaccine that has to be kept below minus 70 Celcius at all times.The national operations centre quarterbacking the effort is loo

Canada hit another milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic reaching 400,000 cases. The speed at which Canada reached the 400,000 mark is the latest sign of the accelerating pace of the second wave across the country. Canada recorded its 300-thousandth case of COVID-19 just 18 days ago. Canada's national death toll from the virus currently stands at 12,470.

Three people have been charged with supplying ammunition to the gunman who killed 22 people in the April 18-19 mass shooting in Nova Scotia. RCMP say 64 year old James Blair Banfield, 52 year old Lisa Diane Banfield and 60 year old Brian Brewster are charged with unlawfully transferring ammunition, specifically .223 calibre Remington cartridges and .40 calibre Smith and Wesson cartridges. Lisa Diane Banfield is listed on court probate documents as the common law spouse of the killer, Gabriel Wortman, who was killed by police on April 19. The RCMP say the charges against 52 year old Lisa Banf

The prime minister is not commenting on a Wall Street Journal report that the US Department of Justice has approached Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou with a plea deal of sorts. When pressed today, Justin Trudeau would only repeat what he has said in the past: that he is hopeful of winning the release of two Canadians caught up in the diplomatic standoff that started with Meng's arrest. Meng's 2018 arrest at Vancouver's airport at the behest of the US sparked the diplomatic standoff, and is widely believed to be behind China's decision days later to detain Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kov