Canada has a leg up on preparing for a potential outbreak of the novel coronavirus because the country already has a detailed pandemic plan, according to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu. It includes lessons learned from the 2003 outbreak of SARS in Ontario and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. So what is supposed to happen if the virus starts spreading in Canada? Here's a simplified look:Some steps in the plan are already underway, like stepping up surveillance of the disease in Canada and globally, and alerting the public to the potential outbreak. The government has also increased lab c

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the latest actions by protesters on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory are ``extremely concerning.'' Video shared online shows a group of protesters standing on the tracks near Belleville, Ont., as a CN Rail train approaches, then jumping out of the way at the last moment. A few appear to be throwing items at the train. Provincial police say fires were also set near and on the tracks this morning. The prime minister told reporters people should not be endangering their lives and those of others by interfering with the trains. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair made

Medical officials in Ontario are reporting a fifth case of the novel coronavirus in the province.The Ministry of Health says the latest case is a woman in her 60s who had recently travelled to Iran.They say the woman arrived at a Toronto hospital on Monday and has since been discharged to her home where she is in self-isolation.The ministry says Toronto Public Health is following up with the patient and looking into people she had close contact with.This is the 12th case of COVID-19 in Canada, but public health officials say the risk of the virus spreading in this country is still low.The viru

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says it's clear that COVID-19 is spreading around the world and Canadians have to be prepared for that. Currently there are 11 confirmed or presumptive cases of the virus reported in Canada, but most people have recovered and the rest are not seriously ill. She says her message to Canadians is to take the disease seriously and to be prepared for possible disruptions in their communities. Hajdu says health officials do have a plan in place for a pandemic.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau says the CN and CP railways have been co-operating to move freight between Toronto and Montreal despite the blockade of a key CN track. That blockade has been taken down but rail service has yet to resume. Garneau is commending the railways' co-operation in getting some essential goods to Canadians. Meantime in the Commons today, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer continued to accuse Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of weak leadership that has led to the escalating blockade crisis. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair replied that the government is letting police do t

Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says communication has been challenging, but he thinks government ministers are closer to getting a meeting with Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs in British Columbia. That's as more rail blockades are springing up in Quebec and Ontario. Miller says the government is still working to find an agreement on the chiefs' demands that the RCMP leave their territory. On their way in and out of a cabinet meeting today, Miller and several other cabinet ministers maintained the position that rail blockades must come to an end.

Canada's top health official has released the final 195 Canadians and their families who were brought home from Wuhan, China after two weeks of observation for the novel coronavirus.All the Wuhan evacuees were quarantined at Canadian Forces Base Trenton for 14 days the presumed incubation period of the virus to be isolated and observed for signs of the disease now called COVID-19.A group of 219 evacuees were allowed to leave the base last week after passing a final round of health screening.Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says none of the evacuees from Wuhan showed any signs of the

Thousands of commuters couldn't board their usual trains into Toronto this morning because of a blockade near Hamilton.GO Train service has been stopped since last evening by more than a dozen people from a group called Wet'suwet'en Strong: Hamilton in Solidarity.The group posted a message on Facebook reading -- ``It's a new day, and we started it by burning the injunction delivered by CN rail!''Yesterday morning, police moved in on a blockade on a rail line on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ontario that was also in support of hereditary chiefs from BC's Wet'suwet'en First Nation

Federal cabinet ministers are defending the removal of protesters from a rail blockade near Belleville, Ontario. Transport Minister Marc Garneau says the police action will not affect the Trudeau government's commitment to reconciliation with First Nations people. Ontario Provincial Police moved in this morning to remove Indigenous protesters blocking the main rail line between Toronto and Montreal.