The federal government has begun accepting applications from Ukrainians and their families fleeing Russian aggression who want to come to Canada while they decide their next steps. The program to allow an unlimited number of Ukrainians to come to Canada was first announced two weeks ago. At the time, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser suggested Ukrainian citizens would be allowed to stay for two years before deciding whether to apply to stay permanently. The government has since extended that period to three years, and extended eligibility to family members of Ukrainian nationals, regardless of

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and the rest of the G-7 ministers have issued a joint statement urging Russia to comply with an International Court of Justice order to stop attacking Ukraine. The ministers say Russian forces are making indiscriminate attacks on civilians and that President Vladimir Putin is conducting an ``unprovoked and shameful war.'' Joly and the other G-7 ministers say those responsible for war crimes, including indiscriminate use of weapons against civilians, will be held responsible and that they are prepared to further increase the pressure of sanctions on Russia

As of April 1st, vaccinated travellers will no longer need to show a COVID-19 test to enter Canada but they could still be subject to random molecular tests when they arrive at Canadian airports. Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says tourists will still need to be vaccinated to visit Canada, and must upload their information to the ArriveCan app.Unvaccinated Canadians will still need to isolate and be tested on arrival, and again eight days later.

The Texas Department of Public Safety says nine people were killed in a head-on collision in West Texas, including six students and a coach from a New Mexico university who were returning home from a golf tournament. Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Steven Blanco says a pickup truck crossed the center line of a highway and crashed into a van carrying members of the University of the Southwest men's and women's golf teams. They had been playing in a tournament in Midland, Texas. Blanco says six students were killed, along with a faculty member. The driver of the pickup and his 13 year ol

British Columbia is reporting another eight deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 2,953.Hospitalization numbers continue to drop in the province, with 329 people in hospital Wednesday compared with 345 a day earlier while 51 people are in intensive care.Surrey Memorial Hospital is reporting a new outbreak.There are nine facilities with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, most of them in long-term care homes.Nearly 91 per cent of eligible people aged 12 and up have had their second vaccine and 56.8 per cent of those have had a third dose.Since December 2020, almost 11.5 million doses of va

Alberta RCMP are warning about an online Ponzi scheme that has cost victims in the province nearly 150,000 dollars. Police say the Aweunion or Awebuy scam involves an app that claims to use investor funds to buy underperforming products on Amazon to drive up consumer popularity and their financial performance. The Mounties say individuals believe they'll receive a commission from their investments but see little to no return and get no response from Aweunion administrators after investing a significant amount. They say people must be vigilant in the investments they make with apps and online

Three people have now been charged after The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia’s (CFSEU-BC’s) Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team (JIGIT) conducted an investigation into an illegal gaming house.In October 2020, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) responded to a residence in the 200 block of W. 45th Ave, after receiving a 911 call. When VPD officers arrived, evidence of an alleged illegal gaming house was observed.CFSEU-BC’s JIGIT was immediately engaged and began an investigation into the alleged illegal gaming house activity and executed several search w

British Columbia's housing minister says a new method for collecting data on homelessness is the first of its kind in Canada and will help the province tackle the issue. David Eby says the government used anonymized data from multiple ministry databases to paint a picture of homelessness across B.C. in 2019 that found trends like high per capita rates in northern rural communities and among men. The report shows that just over half of people experienced homelessness temporarily rather than on a chronic basis. Eby says the province previously relied on data from point-in-time counts in 25 comm

On March 16, 2022, at 3:17 a.m., Surrey RCMP responded to the report of shots fired at a residence in the 11200-block of Lansdowne Drive. Police attended and located evidence consistent with a shooting. A 17-year-old youth who is known to police suffered non-life threatening injuries. They were transported to hospital and have since been released. The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit has taken conduct of the investigation. The investigation is in the early stages, but all indications are that it was targeted. The shooting does not appear to be linked to the Lower Mainland gang conflict."