Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked that flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast in honour of the lives of 215 children whose remains were found at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.Trudeau says he has made the request, which will include the Peace Tower flag, to honour all Indigenous children who "never made it home", the survivors of the school and their families.Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia said the remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were confirmed last weekend with the help of groun

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada has confirmed shipments of 15 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines from three suppliers. She says every eligible Canadian will have access to a second dose by the end of the summer. She says 2.4 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech will arrive each week over five weeks in June and nine million more will arrive in July. As announced yesterday, she says Moderna has provided an updated delivery schedule for the first part of June, with 500,000 doses in two shipments starting next week. She also says 1.5 million doses of Moderna are arriving the week of

Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says the COVID-19 situation has taken a turn for the better in the country over the past month. She says more than 22 million doses of vaccines have been administered across the country and Canada's efforts have gotten it over the peak of the third wave nationally. Dr. Tam says average case counts are now less than half of what they were during the peak of the third wave in mid-April, with under 3,400 cases being reported daily over the past seven days. Dr. Tam says the number of people experiencing severe or critical illness is also decrea

Canada's expert advisory panel on vaccines says increased supply of COVID-19 vaccines means that people should be offered a second dose as soon as possible. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says priority for second doses should be given to those who are at the highest risk of getting seriously ill or dying from the virus. NACI has also issued new guidance recommending that people who are pregnant, breastfeeding or have an autoimmune condition be vaccinated against COVID-19. It says mRNA vaccines, such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, are preferred for pregnant people. Since the

The federal government says its preliminary deficit for the last fiscal year was $314 billion, an unprecedented figure caused by an equally unprecedented economic shock.The early deficit figure for the 12-month period between April 2020 to March 2021 compares to a deficit of $21.8 billion over the preceding fiscal year.The government says in its monthly fiscal monitor that the deep deficit reflects the unexpected shift in economic activity and emergency spending in response to the pandemic.The government said in its April budget that the deficit in the last fiscal year would be $354.2 billion,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he supports the call by the United States and others to better understand the origins of COVID-19. He says these efforts will not only ensure accountability but also full understanding of how to protect the world from any future pandemics. Trudeau says he knows there are ``a lot of theories out there,'' but a full and complete airing of the facts is necessary to actually understand what happened and prevent it from happening again. President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence officials to ``redouble'' their efforts to investigate the origins of COVID-19

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Italian Canadian community has carried the weight of the unjust policy of internment during the Second World War. Trudeau delivered a formal apology in the House of Commons this morning to Canadians of Italian descent. He says more than 600 men were arrested and sent to internment camps, and four women were detained and sent to jail. Trudeau points out they did not face formal charges, have the ability to defend themselves in a fair trial or a chance to present or rebut evidence. He says 31,000 Italian Canadians were labelled ``enemy aliens'' after Canad

A federal audit says the Trudeau government was able to get desperately needed medical equipment to provinces and territories last year despite long-standing stockpile issues. Auditor General Karen Hogan says before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public Health Agency ignored warnings that its supply of emergency medical equipment wasn't properly managed. But she says when the pressure mounted, Ottawa got the supplies to the provinces anyway. The government spent more than seven-billion dollars on medical supplies and personal protective equipment last year. The federal auditor general says the gov

Canada's vaccine milestones continue today, with the country surpassing 20 million people getting at least their first dose. Ontario reports that 135,308 people got vaccinated yesterday, 81 per cent of them receiving their first dose. Those vaccinations put Canada up to 20.05 million people vaccinated. That is about 63 per cent of eligible Canadians over the age of 12, and almost 53 per cent of everyone, including children under the age of 12 who won't become eligible to be vaccinated for several more months. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has set a marker of 75 per cent of e