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.

There are 31,927 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 16,798 confirmed (including 688 deaths, 3,068 resolved) Ontario: 9,525 confirmed (including 478 deaths, 4,556 resolved) Alberta: 2,397 confirmed (including 50 deaths, 1,124 resolved) British Columbia: 1,618 confirmed (including 78 deaths, 966 resolved) Nova Scotia: 606 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 177 resolved) Saskatchewan: 306 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 228 resolved), 1 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 256 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 176 resolved) Manitoba: 239 confirmed (including 5 deaths, 132 resolved), 11

British Columbia is reporting 43 new COVID-19 cases, but no new deaths. A joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. now has a total of 1,618 COVID-19 cases. The statement says 119 people are in hospital with 52 of those people in intensive care. It says 966 people have recovered from COVID-19. Earlier Friday, Henry and Dix released modelling data showing B.C. is flattening the COVID-19 curve to the point where plans are underway to loosen some provincial restrictions.

Ottawa is going to spend $1.7 billion to help clean up orphaned wells.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says dealing with abandoned oil and gas wells is good for the environment, landowners and for the thousands of workers needed to do the job.He's also announced the government is creating a $700 fund to cut methane emissions.In addition, $962 million in funding is in the works for regional development agencies to help more businesses.

B.C. is reporting two new outbreaks of COVID-19, one at a long-term care facility in Cranbrook and one at an acute care unit at the Ridge Meadows Hospital in Maple Ridge. In a statement, the province said new cases have also been identified at four long-term care facilities where outbreaks had previously been declared over. Outbreaks are now confirmed at 26 long term care and assisted-living facilities and one acute care unit in the province. There have been three additional deaths in B.C., bringing the provincial death toll to 78, along with 14 new confirmed cases of the disease for a total

An inmate has died from an apparent complication related to COVID-19 at a prison in British Columbia. Correctional Service Canada says in a statement it is the first death related to the novel coronavirus among federally sentenced inmates. It says in a statement the inmate died at Abbotsford Regional Hospital Wednesday. The correctional service says the inmate, who has not been identified, was serving time at Mission Institute where 54 people have tested positive for the virus. It says the inmate's next of kin has been notified and the BC Coroners Service will review the circumstances of deat

WestJet Airlines Ltd. says it will lay off 1,700 pilots as the company continues to struggle with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.The Air Line Pilots Union says 700 employees received layoff notices effective May 1, with 1,000 more kicking in on June 1, depending on seniority.The layoffs come amid an ongoing collapse of global travel triggered by border shutdowns and tanking demand, with WestJet and Air Canada slashing the vast majority of their flights through April and May.WestJet calls the impact ``colossal'' and says the layoffs are a ``last resort'' that make up part of broader cost re

British Columbia is reporting three more deaths and 44 new cases of COVID-19 today. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says one of those deaths represents the first in the Interior Health region, a man in his 60s who had been recovering at home. The province's death toll is now up to 75 and the total number of cases is 1,561. Henry says 131 people are in hospital, including 59 in critical or intensive care, while 955 people in B.C. have recovered from the disease. She says three additional cases have been identified amid an ongoing outbreak at a West Kelowna nursery, where 26 people h