A Wet'suwet'en hereditary chief and senior government ministers say they have reached a proposed arrangement in a pipeline dispute that has prompted solidarity protests across Canada in recent weeks.Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and British Columbia Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser would not give details on the proposal, saying it first has to be reviewed by the Wet'suwet'en people.Fraser says that while the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline at the heart of the dispute is already approved and underway, the talks have helped develop a protocol to deal

Four new cases of the virus were reported in Canada today. The infections- three in the Greater Toronto Area and one near Vancouver- bring the total number of confirmed or presumed cases to 20. The United States also reported the country's first death from COVID-19. Washington state authorities say the man who died was in his 50s and had underlying health conditions. The governor has declared a state of emergency. In Ontario, York Region health authorities say in one case the patient was not wearing a mask when she flew to Pearson Airport from Iran, with transfers in Qatar and Copenhagen. They

Via Rail says most of its services will be progressively back in operation, including routes between Toronto and Montreal and Toronto and Ottawa as of Tuesday. Furthermore, it says a train will run from Toronto to Vancouver on Wednesday and return in the opposite direction two days later, on March 6. The company adds that all current reservations on those segments will be protected and further departures will be announced in the coming days. Blockades across the country, especially in eastern Ontario, have impacted the passenger rail company's service over the past few weeks.

A Tribe Called Red has released a free song in support of the Indigenous led protests against the Coastal GasLink pipeline across traditional et'suwet'en territory. The Canadian music group says their track ``Land Back'' can be used by anyone working to promote Indigenous land sovereignty. Artist Whess Harman designed the ``Land Back'' patch on the cover artwork for the song, which is being sold to help raise money for the legal fund of the protest camp that has been set up near the pipeline work site.

The Conservatives continue to insist that professional protesters are disrupting rail traffic across the country. During Question Period this morning, Conservative MP John Brassard told Parliament that quote ``The prime minister is taking his cues from the granola-crunching, Castro-loving, V-W bus driving, anti-resource, anti-government, anti-everything professional protesters with absolutely no connections to First Nations groups.'' The transport minister's Parliamentary Secretary replied that the Conservatives' exaggerated tone is only making the situation worse.

A 27-year-old teacher at a Winnipeg high school has been charged with sexual exploitation and sexual assault of a student. Police say the offences involving the 16-year-old student at Grant Park High School happened between Dec. 1 and Feb. 8. The Winnipeg School Division is co-operating with police but a spokesperson would not say whether the woman is still employed as a teacher. Const. Rob Carver says in at least one alleged incident the teacher gave alcohol to a group of students. She is also charged with supplying alcohol to a minor. Carver says it's a possibility the teacher may face more

Ontario health officials say the province now has a seventh confirmed case of the novel coronavirus.The chief medical officer of health says the newest patient is a man in his 50s who had travelled to Iran.Dr. David Williams says the man arrived in Toronto on Tuesday and went to the emergency department of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre the next day.He says proper protocols went into place at the hospital and the man was isolated as he was tested for the virus known as COVID-19.The man was sent home the same day to recover and has been in self-isolation since then.This marks the country's

Hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en are scheduled to meet for a second day with senior federal and provincial ministers today as they try to break an impasse in a pipeline dispute that's sparked national protests and led to disruptions in the economy. Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and British Columbia Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser began the long-sought talks Thursday afternoon. They wrapped up after about three hours with Fraser saying the talks were productive and the mood in the room was respectful. Bennett said it was a "very good start." Heredi

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is to visit eastern Europe next week, with stops in Ukraine, Latvia and Poland. Champagne says he will meet with top airline officials in Ukraine as part of his push to secure compensation for families of the 57 Canadians who died in last month's Ukraine International Airlines crash in Tehran. Iran has admitted it fired two missiles at the plane, killing all 176 people on board.