Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened today's virtual first ministers meeting talking about the need to work together on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. He listed everything his government has done to help the provinces cope with the pandemic, reminding premiers that Ottawa has covered 80 per cent of the costs so far. But Trudeau acknowledged the meeting is an opportunity to discuss the premiers' unanimous demand for at least 28 billion dollars more each year in unconditional federal transfers for health care. He says the government is determined to offer Canadians the efficient, high-qualit

The federal Liberals are proposing to spread voting over three days if there's a federal election during the COVID-19 pandemic.A bill tabled in the House of Commons today would also add nearly two weeks of advance polls in long-term care homes and make it easier to get and deliver mail-in ballots.And it would give the country's chief electoral officer authority to make other adjustments to make balloting safer for both voters and poll workers.Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Democratic Institutions, says the measures are meant to prevent potential crowding at polling places and to

Global Affairs Canada says reports that detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor had been put on trial in China are not correct. Canadian Embassy officials in Beijing spoke directly with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials to clarify the media report. They determined there has been no new development in the cases and say the confusion was caused by an inaccurate characterization of the process made by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.Kovrig and Spavor are marking two years in separate Chinese prisons.Canada and dozens of its Western allies say the Michaels are b

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