After photos of Toronto park this weekend showed people packed together with little regard for physical distancing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians have a responsibility to follow public health rules to slow the spread of COVID-19. He says any reopening of public spaces and restoration of economic activity will have to happen gradually and carefully, with each community tailoring restrictions to local circumstances. PM Trudeau avoids responding to a few questions directly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau avoided responding directly to questions about why the Liberal party is using

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he'll push the provinces to give workers 10 days of paid sick leave a year as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. That appears to meet a key demand from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in exchange for the New Democrats' support for a motion to limit sittings and votes in the House of Commons through the summer. Singh laid out the demands on Monday morning, shortly before a small number of members of Parliament returned to the House of Commons to begin debate over the future of parliamentary sittings for as long as several months. The debate will revolve

Three-time Olympic gold medallist hockey player Balbir Singh on Monday passed away at the age of 95 after battling multiple health issues."Balbir Singh passed away this morning," Balbir's grandson Kabir said in a statement.The veteran player suffered a cardiac arrest on May 12 and after that, he suffered two more cardiac arrests during the course of his admission to the hospital.Balbir Singh was a three-time Olympic gold champion.He played a key role in India's Olympic victories in London (1948), as a vice-captain in Helsinki (1952) and as the captain in Melbourne (1956). In his illustrious p

Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged people to get tested for COVID-19 if they wanted to, while admonishing Torontonians who crowded into a popular downtown park yesterday. Ford said the only way to reach testing capacity in the province is for people to get tested, and said asymptomatic people will not be turned away at assessment centres during a televised address today. The new directive for asymptomatic people to get tested is a marked change from earlier guidelines that said only people displaying symptoms are able to be tested. Ford said the province will also unveil a new testing strategy th

Federal political parties are tapping into the emergency wage subsidy program to avoid laying off their staff as donations dry up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Liberal and Conservative parties have both been approved to receive the 75 per cent wage subsidy. The NDP and Greens have both applied but have not yet been approved. The Bloc Quebecois says it has not applied for and does not need the subsidy. Under the $73-billion program, the federal government will cover 75 per cent of wages, up to $847 per week, per employee, for eligible companies and organizations. The program was initially i

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government will fund provinces' efforts to test people for COVID-19, track the contacts of those who test positive, and help different jurisdictions share data.Trudeau says the measures are essential because COVID-19 remains a serious health threat and the economy can't fully recover until Canadians are confident that the novel coronavirus will be contained anywhere new it breaks out.He says federal contact-tracers are helping public health authorities in Ontario and are ready to make thousands more calls a day when any province asks.He says Ottaw

Pakistan's civil aviation authority says at least two people survived the crash of a Pakistan International Airlines plane in a neighbourhood close to the airport in Karachi.There were 91 passengers and seven crew members aboard the Airbus A-320 flight from Lahore.A recording of the flight's final moments indicates it was trying to land when one of its engines failed.Karachi's mayor says five or six houses were destroyed.The pilot of Pakistani International Airlines Flight 8303 was heard transmitting a mayday to the tower shortly before the crash of the Airbus A320, which was flying from Lahor

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says chances are that a second wave of COVID-19 could sweep back into BC along with other colds and flu in the fall. Dr. Henry says they've been watching a similar pattern elsewhere and because the virus hasn't been wiped out in the province, there is potential for it to rapidly take off. She says in South Korea the virus spread to hundreds of people through nightclubs. 12 new COVID-19 cases reported Twelve more people have tested positive for the virus in BC for a total of 2,479, while2,020 have fully recovered. Three more people have died, bri

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will be speaking with the premiers today about how Ottawa can help provinces massively scale up their COVID-19 testing capacity to fend off a potential second wave of the novel coronavirus. He says testing needs to increase immediately in Ontario and Quebec, where the economies are starting to reopen but the number of new COVID-19 cases remains high. Trudeau first offered provinces a national framework on testing and contact tracing last week. He says he's received positive responses from across Canada so far and is set to further discuss the offer during