International students are not currently eligible for the newly announced Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB), according to Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough, who spoke in an exclusive interview on Connect FM’s Sver Wala Show. Qualtrough confirmed international students can work up to 40 hours per week until the end of August – a temporary relaxation of the 20-hour cap normally in place during the school year. She noted, however, that the legislation for CESB is still being finalized and did not rule out the possibility that eligibility rules could change before it passes Parliament

The number of COVID-19 cases diagnosed in B.C. has jumped by 71, a surge that Health Minister Adrian Dix says reflects the outbreak in workers at the United Poultry Co. Ltd. Twenty eight workers at the Vancouver plant have tested positive for COVID-19. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says employers are expected to pay attention to the health of their staff, without penalizing them for calling in sick. Three more people have died in the province, all from long-term care homes, for a total death toll of 90. There have been 1,795 cases in the province, while 1,079 people have fully re

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is unveiling a $9 billion emergency program aimed at students. It includes a Canada Emergency Student Benefit worth at least $1250 a month from May to August. The benefit can be accessed by those in post-secondary school now, headed to post secondary school in September or anyone who graduated after December 2019.The government is also creating 76,000 job placements for young people in sectors currently dealing with labour shortages.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting 25 new cases of COVID-19 in BC. She says that increases total cases to 17-hundred and 24. Henry says another resident at a long-term care home in Vancouver Coastal Health has died, raising the death toll in the province to 87. 109 people are in hospital, including 51 in intensive care.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says companies whose businesses have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to start applying for a promised wage subsidy on April 27. Trudeau says the Canada Revenue Agency is setting up a calculator so employers can see how much they can expect to receive from the program, which will provide up to $847 per employee per week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government plans to provide $350 million to Canada's charities sector. Charities have seen a severe drop in donations since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, with donors hurting fina

B.C. is reporting 52 new cases of COVID-19 since Saturday, including five more deaths. This brings the death total to 86 and the total number of cases to 1,699. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the testing strategy is now being expanded to determine how and when some of restrictions can be gradually lifted. However, she says that won't begin until mid-May. Henry also says the province is broadening tests to better track community spread of the virus.

The names of victims of the weekend mass killing in Nova Scotia are beginning to emerge.The president of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union says Lisa McCully, a teacher at Debert Elementary School was a victim of senseless violence who was known as a passionate teacher and ``as a shining love'' in the lives of her friends and family.Constable Heidi Stevenson was the first victim to be named.Her husband Dean Stevenson, teaches at Cole Harbour District High School.The couple has two children.Darcy Dobson posted on Facebook that her mother Heather O'Brien, a nurse from Truro, was among the dead.She

Negotiations around re-opening the House of Commons are going down to the wire. Members of Parliament from across Canada are expected to return to their seats tomorrow unless the Liberal government and Opposition parties can agree on an alternative arrangement. The Liberals have proposed one in-person sitting with a limited number of MPs per week bolstered by a virtual sitting to prevent COVID-19 from spreading among MPs and Parliament Hill staff. But Andrew Scheer and his Conservatives are pushing for three in-person sittings per week to hold government accountable for its pandemic response.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the U.S. and Canada have agreed to keep their border closed to nonessential travel for another 30 days. Trudeau says it will keep people on both sides of the border safe amid the pandemic. U.S. President Donald Trump said this past Wednesday that the U.S.-Canada border will be among the first borders to open and says the U.S. and Canada are doing well in handling the pandemic. The U.S. and Canada agreed last month to limit border crossings to essential travel amid the pandemic, but that agreement was due to expire this coming week.