B.C. Indigenous Relations Minister Scott Fraser is set to meet with Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett today in Victoria amid ongoing rail blockades and protests for Indigenous land rights. The two were invited last week to meet by Gitxsan chief Norm Stephens after members of the First Nation erected a blockade near New Hazelton in support of neighbouring Wet'suwet'en chiefs who oppose a pipeline through their territory. The invitation was also extended to Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. Today's meeting only involves Fraser and Bennett but they are sending a letter to heredita

The prime minister is calling off a planned trip to the Caribbean this week. His office announced the cancellation less than 24 hours before Justin Trudeau was scheduled to fly to Barbados, where he was expected to sell Canada's bid to get a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Back home, the P-M has been facing harsh criticism in the wake of anti-pipeline protests that have disrupted rail service. He'd been accused of ''running around'' Africa and Europe as protesters opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline project blockade rail lines in B-C, Ontario and other parts of the country.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canadian health workers are assisting in Japan after 12 Canadians contracted the novel coronavirus while on a cruise ship.Champagne says three members of the Public Health Agency of Canada and two medical personnel from the Canadian Armed Forces have been sent to Yokohama, the Japanese port city where the Diamond Princess has been docked since last week.Some 3,500 passengers on the ship are under quarantine and 218 people have tested positive for the coronavirus.Champagne says the Japanese government will allow some elderly people to co

The RCMP's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is appealing to the public for help in its investigation into a fatal shooting in Langley last Friday night. Police say first responders found 42 year old Ravinder Singh Sandhu shot inside his vehicle at the parking lot of the Langley Crossing Shopping Centre around 9:30 pm. They say he was transported to hospital, where he remained in critical condition until just recently, when he died of his injuries.Sandhu was known to police and his murdered is believed to be targeted, and investigators are looking for witnesses and requesting dash cam vi

Bombardier is selling its remaining stake in the A-220 jet for nearly 600 million dollars in a deal that involves Airbus and the Quebec government.The Montreal based company is transferring its shares to Airbus and the province as it tries to emerge from more than 9 billion dollars in debt.Quebec Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon calls the agreement a ``win-win'' for all partners.This morning Bombardier also reported a 2019 loss of 1.61 billion dollars.Rumours persist that it will sell one of its two main divisions later this year.

China is reporting 254 new deaths and a spike in virus cases of more than 15,000, after its hardest hit province applied a new system that broadens the scope of diagnoses for the outbreak, which has spread to more than 20 countries.Japan is also reporting its first death.The hardest hit Chinese province has replaced its top officials in an apparent response to public criticism of local authorities' handling of the epidemic.The total deaths in mainland China now are more than 1,300, with confirmed cases exceeding 59,000.That number now includes patients who have been diagnosed with a doctors'

Magsaysay Award winning journalist Ravish Kumar joined Vijay Saini in Sver Wala Show this morning.He said that Non Resident Indians (NRIs) living in Canada need to start asking relevant questions from Indian politicians when they visit and hold stadium-size events here.Kumar alleged that the BJP-led Indian government is treating Muslims the same way the Congress-led government treated Sikhs in 1984.

The operators of a cruise ship that was barred from docking by four governments say it will finally land and disembark passengers in Cambodia. Thailand had said it would not allow the MS Westerdam to dock at a Thai port after it had already been turned away by the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. The ship has been unwelcome because of fears that those aboard could spread COVID-19, the new viral disease that originated in China. Holland America Line says no cases of the disease have been confirmed among the more than 2,200 passengers and crew on board. The ship is due to arrive in Sihanoukville,

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Senegal, Africa for an official visit that will test his commitment to gender equality with one of Canada's closest francophone partners.He was greeted at the airport near last night Dakar by Foreign Minister Amadou Ba.Trudeau's visit includes a meeting with President Macky Sall and a moment of reflection at Goree Island where slaves being taken to the Americas were held.Dalhousie University political science chair David Black, who studies Canada's role in sub-Saharan Africa, says Senegal and Canada have long-standing links, mostly through their shared Frenc