Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canadians who want to leave Japan where they were stuck on board a quarantined cruise ship, can begin the process of taking a chartered jet today evening. That could mean they will be back in Canada on Friday, when they will be taken to a hotel in Cornwall, Ontario for another two-weeks' isolation. About 500 healthy passengers have been allowed to leave the Diamond Princess. The 47 Canadians who have symptoms of COVID-19 will have to stay in Japan for treatment.

Pargat Singh joined Vijay Saini in 'Sver Wala Show' this morning and expressed hope that there will be some action on issues raised by him in his letter to and meeting with Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh. Singh said he hasn’t considered leaving the party and joining any other front yet. He said he meets Navjot Singh Sidhu often but hasn’t had a chance to meet Sidhu since this meeting with the Chief Minister. The complete audio of this interview will be available on Connect FM’s social media.

Hundreds of passengers began leaving the Diamond Princess cruise ship Wednesday after the end of a much criticized, two week quarantine that failed to stop the spread of a new virus among passengers and crew. Officials still were continuing tests for the coronavirus that has sickened tens of thousands of people in China and more than 540 on the ship. Some passengers said on Twitter they received health check forms asking if they had any symptoms such as headache, fever, cough. Passengers who tested negative and had no symptoms still had to get their body temperature checked before leaving. A J

Budget 2020 moves British Columbia forward by building the infrastructure the growing province needs, supporting thousands of new jobs, strengthening investments in health and education and making life more affordable for everyone. "From new roads, hospitals, housing, schools and child care centres to better, more affordable services in every community, we're seeing fundamental changes that are making life better for British Columbians," said Carole James, Minister of Finance. "Together, we've made a lot of progress and we can't turn back. Budget 2020 keeps our province moving forward by foc

Renowned Punjab politician Sukhpal Singh Khaira today talked about Punjab’s politics in Sver Wala Show with Vijay Saini today. Khaira said that the political realities of Delhi and Punjab are totally different and victory in one state does not translate into an automatic victory in the other. He alleged that Delhi is the first priority of Arvind Kejriwal and he does not care much about Punjab. Complete audio of this interview will be available on Connect FM’s social media pages.

Via Rail says partial service is set to resume between Quebec City, Montreal and Ottawa beginning Thursday.Almost all other Via Rail services remain cancelled with the exception of Sudbury White River and Churchill The Pas, until further notice.Via trains have been disrupted by protests by people showing solidarity with the hereditary Wet'suwet'en chiefs opposing the Coastal GasLink project.Protestors have blocked rail lines across the country and disrupted freight and passenger traffic.Via says the partial resumption of service between Ottawa and Quebec City follows a notification received fr

An emergency meeting of cabinet ministers to discuss anti-pipeline blockades has ended with participants giving no sign of what they are planning to do. Hereditary chiefs are protesting a planned natural-gas pipeline that crosses Wet'suwet'en territory in northern British Columbia. Sympathy blockades of rail lines across the country have shut down train traffic in eastern Canada for about two weeks. After the meeting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had only a brief comment for waiting reporters. The Trudeau government has been criticized for not doing more to end the blockades, which have

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.