Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu from Punjab has been elected to the Rajya Sabha without any opposition from Rajasthan. His victory was sealed on Tuesday. Bittu's victory was one-sided due to the decision of the Congress not to field any candidate. Similarly, BJP's Kiran Chaudhary from Haryana was also elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed. A total of 7 BJP candidates have been elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed ahead of the elections for 12 Rajya Sabha seats in 9 states. Now only 5 Rajya Sabha seats are left, out of which two seats are in Maharashtra and one Rajya Sabha seat each in Telan

Toronto Public Health says the number of whooping cough cases are more than double the pre-pandemic average. The public health agency is reporting 99 cases in Toronto so far this year compared to the pre-pandemic five-year average of 38. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a cyclical disease that occasionally increases every two to six years in Ontario. It is a highly contagious persistent cough that’s of most concern for infants. Toronto Public Health says 41 per cent of cases are found in 10 to 14-year-olds. Last week, New Brunswick health officials said a whooping cough outbreak h

China on Tuesday accused Canada of protectionism after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's governmentimposed a 100% tariffon imports ofChinese-made electric vehicles, matching U.S. duties on Chinese-made EVs. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement the tariffs would disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains, severely impact China-Canada economic and trade ties and damage the interests of enterprises in both countries. “China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this,” the statement read. “Canada claims it supports free trade and the multilateral trading sy

Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is leading the farmers' protest in Punjab, and his two colleagues were detained at the Delhi airport today. He was on his way to attend a farmers' rally in Tamil Nadu. Dallewal alleged that the airport officials told him that he could not travel in the plane wearing Sri Sahib. In the meantime, Jathedar Singh Sahib Giani Raghbir Singh of Sri Akal Takht Sahib issued a statement and said that taking immediate notice of the Government of India on this matter, the relevant responsible officials of Delhi Airport Immediate action should be taken.

BC Hydro says it has begun filling the reservoir created by the massive Site C dam project in northeastern British Columbia. The provincial electric utility says in a statement that the filling of the reservoir is one of the last steps toward starting operations for the controversial dam project, located about 14 kilometres southwest of Fort St. John, B.C. BC Hydro says it will take between two and four months to fill the 83-kilometre-long reservoir, which will cover about 5,550 hectares of land while totalling about 9,330 hectares in surface area. The utility is warning people to stay away fr

A union representing full-time McGill University law professors launched an unlimited general strike today over what it describes as the school's refusal to negotiate in good faith. Law professor Kirsten Anker says the Association of McGill Professors of Law wants to secure its first collective agreement and stop the university from challenging its right to exist. The union was certified in November 2022 by the province's labour tribunal, but that certification is being contested by the university. Anker, the union's vice-president, says the professors' main demands are around faculty governan

Potential disruption to British Columbia's HandyDART transit service this morning was averted after workers suspended job action to vote on a final contract offer, but strike action remains a possibility. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 says it will give a 72-hour strike notice if the membership votes down the latest offer by Transdev Canada. Local 1724 president Joe McCann called the suspension of all job action "a gesture of goodwill" after what the union described as "months of bargaining and escalating job actions" ranging from uniform refusals to an overtime ban. McCann says the vote

The maximum allowable rent increase in British Columbia next year will be 3 per cent, down from the current 3.5 per cent. The Housing Ministry says the new amount, taking effect on Jan. 1, is tied to inflation, and comes after increases were kept "well below inflation" in 2023 and 2024. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says in a news release that keying rent rises to inflation "saves renters hundreds of dollars" compared to the previous government's policy of allowing increases of inflation plus 2 per cent. He says the inflation-indexed rent cap protects tenants against unfair rent hikes while let

Heavy rain in parts of British Columbia over the weekend has lowered wildfire activity in the southern part of the province, but firefighters say strong winds are creating some tree hazards for crews. The BC Wildfire Service says in its latest update that the number of active blazes in the province has fallen to around 311, continuing a downward trend where about 240 fires were burning entering the weekend. The wildfire service says while much of the southern part of B.C. received rain and some parts had heavy precipitation, it was accompanied by winds gusting up to 102 kilometres per hour. Th