CanadaJun 26, 2020
Supreme Court sides with Uber driver seeking better pay, benefits
The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for Uber drivers to take the next step in their fight to be recognized as employees.
In a decision today, the high court upheld an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that opened the door to a class-action suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation pay and other benefits for drivers.
The man behind the planned class action, David Heller, is an Ontario driver for UberEats, a service that delivers food from restaurants to customers at home.
He argues that Uber drivers are employees, which entitles them to protections under Ontario's Employmen
BCJun 25, 2020
Teacher in B.C.'s Fraser Health region tests positive for COVID-19 :Dr. Bonnie Henry
BC is reporting 20 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths, both residents of long-term care centres. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says one of the new cases is a teacher in the Fraser Health region but she says no students were exposed to the virus. It's the second case linked to a school since classes resumed earlier this month. Henry notes today is the last day of classes for the current school year and congratulates students for making it through one of the most challenging years anyone can remember. The new cases push the total in the province to 2,869 including 173 deaths
CanadaJun 25, 2020
Trudeau again rejects calls to trade Meng Wanzhou for 'the two Michaels'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is emphatically rejecting calls to drop extradition proceedings against a Chinese tech executive in the hope China would free Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.He says bowing to pressure from Beijing would put many more citizens at risk by signalling Canada can be intimidated.Meng Wanzhou was taken into custody over American allegations of violating sanctions on Iran, and her extradition case is now before a British Columbia court.Trudeau says "randomly arresting Canadians doesn't give you leverage over the government of Canada anywhere in the world."
BCJun 24, 2020
14 new COVID-19 cases, one more death reported in B.C.
Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia: "Today, we are announcing 14 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 2,849 cases in British Columbia."There are 162 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,516 people who tested positive have recovered."Of the total COVID-19 cases, 14 individuals are hospitalized, seven of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation."Si
CanadaJun 24, 2020
Asylum seekers continue to cross Canada-U.S. border despite shutdown
New statistics show 21 people were apprehended by the RCMP crossing into Canada from the U.S. in May, despite the shutdown of the border.That's up from just six who were stopped in April, the first full month the border was closed to nearly everything but essential travel in a bid by the two countries to slow the spread of COVID-19.Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says 1,390 people in total filed for asylum in Canada in May, and 1,570 did so in April.Since 2017, nearly 57,000 people have crossed the border between Canada and the U.S. using unofficial entry points so they are able
BCJun 24, 2020
13 new COVID-19 cases reported in B.C.
British Columbia's top doctor says old-fashioned contact tracing, not an app, is the primary tool that's been helping public health officials find people who could be infected with COVID-19. Dr. Bonnie Henry says officials are accustomed to tracking people who could have come into contact with carriers of other diseases and COVID-19 is no different, except that 600 people have been focused on the task. Henry says an app would be more useful for when people may have spread or contracted the illness in a large crowd of people. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promoted a voluntary app called CO
CanadaJun 23, 2020
Feds prepared to push back against any new U.S. tariffs on aluminum, Duclos says
The federal government will make the case to the Trump administration that Canadian aluminum is no threat to the American market, as the mercurial president reportedly prepares to slap on tariffs anew.Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos says federal officials will push back against any new protectionist effort by the U.S. administration to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum.A report from Bloomberg says the Trump administration is planning to impose a 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports from Canada.Duclos would not say whether the government is aware of a new round of tariffs, but sa
BCJun 23, 2020
British Columbia announces one additional death from COVID-19
British Columbia's top doctor is warning people not to let their guard down against COVID-19 as the province prepares to allow more travel this summer. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the premier is expected to announce later this week when the province will move into the third phase of its restart plan, which allows overnight camping and the opening of hotels, resorts and RV parks. She says travellers have to exercise caution, be respectful of the communities they plan to visit and take the same care they do at home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Henry says trav
BCJun 22, 2020
Man drowns after saving his daughter at waterfall near Kelowna
A man has died after rescuing his daughter during a visit to a waterfall near Kelowna, B.C., on Father's Day. The RCMP say emergency crews rushed to the Mill Creek waterfall area after receiving a 911 call reporting a drowning. Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy says police learned the victim had been at the waterfall with his family and he went into the water to help his daughter after she slipped in. She says the daughter was able to get to shore. Noseworthy says bystanders tried to save the man with CPR. Paramedics took over when they arrived but despite their efforts, she says the 46-year-old man fr