A coalition of about 200 Quebec gym, yoga, dance studio and martial arts business owners say they intend to reopen their doors on Thursday in defiance of provincial health restrictions. The businesses are calling on Quebec Premier Francois Legault to lift COVID-19 restrictions that were imposed on fitness facilities Oct. 8. In a statement, they say their facilities were not the source of COVID-19 outbreaks and they contribute to the overall physical and mental health of the population. They say the lockdown measures will force them out of business after they've made significant investments to

Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand says a proposed parliamentary investigation of the Trudeau government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic could trigger the release of commercially sensitive information. She says that could risk the health of Canadians by scaring off manufacturers and drug companies that would otherwise do business with Ottawa. Opposition parties are poised to approve the probe this afternoon despite growing objections from industry and experts. Canada's procurement minister says a Conservative motion to probe the government's pandemic spending will put federal contra

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to offer Canadians modest hope about progress in testing and vaccine development after Canada notched an all-time high of new COVID-19 cases in a day. Trudeau told a news conference today that the government is spending $214 million towards the development of COVID-19 vaccines, signing deals with Quebec's Medicago and British Columbia's Precision NanoSystems. Trudeau says the Medicago contract includes the rights to buy 76 million doses of its vaccine, should it meet health and safety standards, as well as funding for a production facility in Quebec Cit

The case of a Newfoundland and Labrador man who recently went missing in British Columbia reached the prime minister Wednesday during a virtual town hall with members of Memorial University.Memorial graduate Jordan Naterer, 25, was reported missing on Thanksgiving weekend after he didn’t return from a hike in E.C. Manning Provincial Park, 175 kilometres east of Vancouver.Justin Dearing, the school’s sustainability officer, said he felt compelled to ask Justin Trudeau for help convincing police to resume their search for Naterer.Authorities called off the search Saturday, but Naterer's fath

The Royal Canadian Navy says it is investigating an unexplained breakdown on its brand-new, $400-million Arctic patrol ship.The problem first emerged last week as HMCS Harry DeWolf's crew was training off the coast of Halifax, two and a half months after Irving Shipbuilding delivered the vessel to the Navy.Commodore Richard Feltham, commander of Canadian Fleet Atlantic, says the ship was forced to return to port after its freshwater generator and communications systems didn't work.It was while the ship was docked that the crew discovered the cooling pumps on two of ship's four diesel generator

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam is concerned that the number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 keeps rising as flu season approaches. Two-hundred of the nearly one-thousand Canadians being treated in hospitals are in intensive care and Tam expects those numbers to keep rising. Quebec reported one-thousand and 33 new cases today while Ontario reported 841. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has tested negative for COVID-19, but is isolating at home because he attended events with his municipal affairs minister, who has tested positive

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is brushing off concerns his party is setting up Parliament for yet another confidence vote.The Conservatives are using another chance they get this week to set the House of Commons agenda to propose a motion calling for a sweeping probe by the House of Commons health committee of a host of issues relating to the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.The motion is so broad and the demand for documents so massive that the Liberals are expected to argue that its passage would paralyze the government the same argument used to declare an earlier Conservat

Toronto police say the Special Investigations Unit is investigating after several people, including two teen boys, allegedly opened fire on officers who were searching a home. Police say the incident happened early Wednesday morning in the city's east end. They say that while officers were in the home, as many as five occupants fired multiple rounds at police. Two boys, aged 14 and 15, and three 19 year olds have been charged with discharging a firearm with intent to wound, endanger life or prevent arrest. Toronto police did not provide any details about injuries, but they note that officers

The federal Green party will vote against a Conservative motion to form a committee to investigate Liberal spending on COVID-19. The three Green votes would all but assure defeat of the Tory motion. The Liberals said the motion meant the Trudeau government had lost the confidence of Parliament. When a government loses a confidence vote, an election quickly ensues. The Bloc Quebecois earlier indicated its members would back the Tories. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh would not say if his party will vote with the Liberals. But he did say he would not allow the Liberals to be able to hold an election.