The B.C. Wildfire Service is launching its new wildfire app, aimed at providing consistent, accurate and timely information about wildfires when they occur.A statement from the wildfire service says the app can provide real-time wildfire information and an interactive map that can be customized to display specific data.It could include everything from current fire danger ratings, active fires and evacuation orders or alerts to BC Parks closures and advisories or closures listed on DriveBC, the province's website providing road conditions.The map can also be customized to provide a ``near me''

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising a $252 million aid package for Canada's agriculture and food industries in the COVID-19 pandemic.He says $77 million of that will go to measures to keep workers in food processing safe with protective equipment and by supporting physical distancing in workplaces.Meat-packing plants, in particular, have seen large outbreaks of the virus that causes COVID-19.The package includes money for beef and pork producers holding animals they can't sell, a credit program for the dairy industry and a $50 million fund to buy food that spoils and send it to groups

British Columbia is reporting 53 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths since Saturday. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. now has a total of 2,224 positive COVID-19 cases, with 1,417 people having recovered. She says the provincial death total is now at 117 people. Henry says the three most recent deaths are people who were residents of long-term care centres. She says B.C.'s most recent COVID-19 modelling data continues to show dramatic decreases in cases since the province introduced physical distancing and other measures in March to slow the spread of the virus, but it cont

World leaders are pledging billions of dollars for research into a vaccine against the new coronavirus.During a video conference of leaders this morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged $850 million to bolster international efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment, as well as to aid developing countries.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the funding target of $11.5 billion to help find a vaccine, new treatments and better tests for the disease would be merely a downpayment on the tools that will be needed to fight the virus.

A much anticipated new phase in the COVID-19 pandemic starts today with several provinces beginning the process of slowly loosening some of their lockdown restrictions.Quebec, which accounts for more than half of Canada's coronavirus cases, including deaths from the illness, is reopening retail stores outside Montreal while those in the greater Montreal area are to reopen on May 11.Ontario, the other epicentre for the virus, is allowing a small list of mostly seasonal businesses to reopen, including garden centres with curbside pick-ups, lawn care and landscaping companies, and automatic car w

The RCMP say the bodies of two children have been recovered after an accident in a rural part of Chilliwack, B.C.Sgt. Krista Vrolyk said police were called Sunday afternoon after a side-by-side vehicle went off Foley Creek Forest Service Road, east of downtown.She said five people, all believed to be related, were in the vehicle when it became submerged in water about 4.5 metres deep.Two adults and a child escaped from the vehicle, but two youths went missing, and a dive team was sent in to search for them.In a statement issued late Sunday night, Sgt. Vrolyk said ``It is with deep sorrow, tha

The federal government is investing millions to boost online access to health services and to support a Vancouver biological company's research into treatment and prevention of COVID-19. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the new funding during his daily news conference in Ottawa this morning as provinces across the country prepare to start re-opening on Monday. The government is spending $240 million to boost access to online health services, including mental-health support and virtual access to doctors for primary care. Ottawa is also providing $175 million to AbCellera Biologics Inc.,

British Columbia is reporting another 33 cases of COVID-19 and one more death. The province has 2,145 cases of COVID-19 and 112 deaths since the pandemic began. The death occurred in the region covered by the Fraser Health authority, which has also seen the highest number of cases. The province says 1,357 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Finance Minister Carole James says thousands of people applied for British Columbia's $1,000 tax-free emergency benefit in the first minutes of the program going online today.She says more than 16,000 people registered to receive the one-time B.C. Emergency Benefit for Workers in the first 45 minutes. James says the program is part of the province's $5 billion plan to help people, businesses and organizations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.It is also available to people in B.C. who are receiving the federal Canada Emergency Response Benefit of $2,000 a month.To get the B.C. benefit, people