The World Health Organization says a viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people is not yet a global health emergency. The decision came after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three cities on Thursday and cancelled major events in the capital, Beijing, during the Lunar New Year holiday period to try to contain the new virus. The United Nations health agency announced the decision after independent experts spent two days assessing information about the spread of the newly identified coronavirus. WHO defines a global emergency as an ``extraordinary event'' that constitu

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are being monitored for signs they may have contracted a coronavirus from China.Hajdu says five or six people, including at least one in Quebec and another in Vancouver, are under observation but stresses the risk to Canadians remains low. She says there are no confirmed cases in Canada yet.At least 500 people in China are infected with the virus and 17 people have died.The city at the centre of the outbreak, Wuhan, is under quarantine as health officials scramble to understand the virus and keep it from spreading.The World Heal

British Columbia Premier John Horgan has made changes to his cabinet, filling a vacancy and swapping a few portfolios.Anne Kang has been appointed minister of citizens' services, replacing Jinny Sims, who resigned from her post last October amid an RCMP investigation into allegations that haven't been made public.Sims has said she is confident her name will be cleared.Michelle Mungall and Bruce Ralston have traded portfolios with some job exceptions.Mungall has been appointed the minister of jobs, economic development and competitiveness, which was formerly the cabinet post of minister of jobs

Chinese health authorities are urging people in the city of Wuhan to avoid crowds and public gatherings after warning that a new viral illness infecting hundreds of people in the country and causing at least 17 deaths could spread further. A national health official says 500 cases are confirmed in China. The 17 deaths are all in Hubei province, where the first cases were reported last month. The illness comes from a new coronavirus that experts say may be spread through the respiratory tract and may be mutating. An expert meeting convened by the World Health Organization on Wednesday will det

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will move next week to formally approve North America's new, long-delayed free trade pact.Trudeau says the government will introduce a ways and means motion Jan. 27 when Parliament resumes, and will table legislation to ratify the deal two days later.Trudeau says millions of Canadians depend on stable, reliable trade with their largest trading partners.That will effectively remove the final legal hurdle in preserving continent-wide trade after President Donald Trump foisted the acrimonious renegotiation of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agre

Three possible cases of a new type of viral pneumonia have been investigated in Canada and ruled out as coronavirus, the country's chief public health officer said Monday.The World Health Organization, meanwhile, announced plans to hold an emergency meeting to decide whether the illness linked to three deaths in China is an international emergency.Dr. Theresa Tam declined to say where in Canada the potential cases were located, but she said the individuals had travelled to Wuhan, the Chinese province where coronavirus is believed to have originated in a now-closed seafood market before being d

It's now Day 5 of the state of emergency in the St. John's, N.L., as cleanup continues from Friday's massive blizzard that dumped 76 centimetres of snow in the area.Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says 450 troops including about 175 reservists will be in Newfoundland today to help the province dig out from the storm.Travel remains difficult across eastern Newfoundland, and some residents are relying on each other for food. The City of St. John's says some stores will be allowed to reopen today to sell "basic foods."Most other businesses have to remain closed, with exceptions for gas stations a

All eyes will be on BC Supreme Court today as an extradition hearing for arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou begins.The United States is seeking Meng's extradition on fraud charges linked to the alleged violation of sanctions against Iran. The hearing in Vancouver will consider the legal test of double criminality, meaning that if the allegations are also a crime in Canada then she should be extradited to the US. Meng denies the allegations and her arrest has soured relations between Canada and China.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Ottawa will provide $25,000 to the families of the 57 Canadian citizens and 29 permanent residents who died when Iran shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet last week. Trudeau says the money is intended to cover the cost of funeral arrangements or travel, which comes on top of an earlier commitment to waive fees and speed up processing times for visas for those affected by the tragedy. Trudeau also made it clear that Canada still expects Iran to compensate victims, but that he knows families cannot wait any longer for support.