Health Canada has approved the use of remdesivir to treat patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19. The federal agency says the antiviral drug may be used to treat patients who have pneumonia and require extra oxygen to help them breathe. It's the first drug that Health Canada has authorized for the treatment of COVID-19. Health Canada approved its use in adults and adolescents. Remdesivir, which has been shown to shorten hospital stays, is administered intravenously and will be used only on patients that can be closely monitored. Until now, a small number of patients have been treated with

Park board commissioners in Vancouver have voted in favour of allowing alcohol consumption in 22 parks around the city, but relaxing with a cold one likely won't happen soon.Although commissioners capped a lengthy debate by approving a pilot project allowing park concessions to sell beer, cider and coolers, the board is seeking provincial involvement.It says in a social media post that the new bylaw will require an update to B.C.'s Liquor Control and Licensing Act, recognizing the park board as a governing body under a specific section of the act. At least on park commissioner says it means of

The co-founders of WE Charity testified before a House of Commons committee today as part of a parliamentary probe into a $912-million student-volunteer program. WE Charity co-founders Craig and Marc Kielburger say their organization was not tapped to run Ottawa's student-volunteer program because of any close ties to Liberal cabinet ministers. The brothers told a Parliamentary committee they regret not realizing how the deal would be perceived and that they would never have gotten involved if they had known it could jeopardize the work WE has done over 25 years. WE Charity backed out of ad

There are 114,597 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 58,728 confirmed (including 5,667 deaths, 50,886 resolved) Ontario: 38,799 confirmed (including 2,764 deaths, 34,461 resolved) Alberta: 10,390 confirmed (including 186 deaths, 8,774 resolved) British Columbia: 3,500 confirmed (including 193 deaths, 3,043 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,209 confirmed (including 16 deaths, 886 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,067 confirmed (including 63 deaths, 1,004 resolved) Manitoba: 386 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 319 resolved), 14 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 266 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 259 resolve

The law extending the federal government's emergency wage subsidy for employers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic has passed the Senate.The package passed by the House of Commons last week also includes one-time payments for people with disabilities facing higher expenses, and extensions to legal deadlines for some court matters. Bill C-20 passed on a voice vote without changes. The extension to the wage subsidy program is the core of the Liberal government's plan to help the economy get back into shape through the fall.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan says drivers who have out-of-province licence plates on their vehicles should consider taking public transit or riding a bicycle if they're feeling harassed by people.Horgan also suggests drivers change over to B.C. licence plates to avoid trouble from residents who are concerned about the spread of COVID-19.He says he can't tell people how to respond when seeing out-of-province plates but judging people by where their vehicle is registered does not often tell a complete story of their circumstances.Horgan says people with out-of-province plates should be

Legal wrangling over release of documents in the extradition case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou continued this morning in Federal Court via a virtual hearing in Ottawa. The Canadian government says it can't release the documents because they could compromise national security but lawyers for Meng disagree. They say a far more damaging document by a senior Canadian diplomat is already out there, and they also say the US wouldn't expect its correspondence to stay confidential because the FBI deals with law, not security. Meng is wanted on fraud charges in New York but denies the allegations

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to testify Thursday afternoon about his government's decision to get the WE organization to run a summer student-volunteer program. His chief of staff Katie Telford is to follow him for questioning by the House of Commons finance committee. WE backed out of the program in early July, citing the controversy over the Liberals' handing the organization a sole-sourced deal despite its ties to Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Several members of Trudeau's family have been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars between them for appearances at WE events, most

Canada's budget watchdog says the federal government lost at least $439 million so far this year in productivity through a policy that allows civil servants to stay home, with pay, during emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The Parliamentary Budget Office says most of that total was a result of employees at the Canada Revenue Agency staying home, unable to work, between March 15 and May 31. That one department accounted for just over $311 million in paid leave, far ahead of the second-costliest department, Correctional Services Canada, at more than $33.8 million. The PBO report was comp