British Columbia's coroners service say 153 people died in July from unregulated toxic drugs and another 149 deaths occurred in August. Those numbers are up slightly from the previous two months when the service reported 145 people died in May and 147 people died in June A government statement says the number of unregulated drug deaths in July and August amounted to almost five people a day. The coroners service says the highest number of deaths so far this year were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities, making up more than half of the province's total. More than two thirds o

Mail delivery is set to resume on a limited basis after the union representing Canada Post employees announced it would transition from a countrywide strike to rotating strikes starting Saturday morning. The decision, announced late Thursday night, will get mail and parcels moving again, even as the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says rotating strikes will begin at 6 a.m. local time. Joël Lightbound, the minister responsible for Canada Post, says he's encouraged by CUPW's announcement as "Canadians count on mail delivery, and I’m glad to hear it will be moving again while negotiations bet

The Canada Revenue Agency will prepare pre-filled tax returns for more low-income people with simple tax situations to ensure they get access to benefit programs. That's one of a number of programs Prime Minister Mark Carney said today will be included in the upcoming federal budget. The CRA already runs an automatic filing pilot program, something the Trudeau government first announced in 2023. Carney also announced the government will make the national school food program permanent with $216 million in annual funding. It's also reviving the "Canada Strong pass" for the holiday season and nex

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has won the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel committee praised her as a key unifying figure in the opposition, advocating for free elections and representative government. Machado has faced serious threats and lives in hiding, inspiring many with her courage. President Nicolas Maduro's government disqualified her from running in last year's presidential election. Machado's ally, Edmundo Gonzalez, replaced her but later sought asylum in Spain. Machado becomes the 20th woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, joining a distinguished group of

The labour market added an unexpected 60,000 jobs in September, led by gains in the tariff-struck manufacturing sector. Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent last month. Economists had called for a gain of just 5,000 jobs in September, coming off losses of more than 100,000 positions over the previous two months. StatCan said gains were concentrated in full-time work with 106,000 positions added in September, more than offsetting a drop in part-time work. The agency said total employment is up a modest 22,000 net jobs since the start of the year as U.S. tarif

The New Westminster Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect responsible for drawing swastikas on vehicles. The first incident is believed to have occurred overnight on October 3rd with the victim reporting he found a swastika drawn on his vehicle the following morning. The vehicle was parked in the 1100 block of Nanaimo Street. While investigating the vandalism, officers located an additional vehicle that had been vandalized. The second incident was reported to police on October 6th. A resident called police to say that he located a swastika drawn on his

A weekly Public Health Ontario epidemiology report says the measles outbreak that began in the province almost a year ago is over. The report says Ontario declared the end of the outbreak on Monday using national guidance that says an outbreak is complete 46 days after the onset of a rash in the last case. It says the last person to get measles linked to the outbreak got the rash on Aug. 21. The report says 2,375 people had been infected in the outbreak, spanning 26 public health units. The spread started on Oct. 18 last year after exposure to someone who got measles in New Bru

Police in British Columbia say a six-month investigation into a suspected illicit drug trafficking ring they describe as large and "sophisticated" has led to four arrests and the seizure of more than $1 million in assets connected to the operation.RCMP say the trafficking operation is alleged to have supplied "large volumes" of illicit drugs across the province, from the Lower Mainland to the Okanagan.They say the probe that began last February led police to execute a search warrant last month at a home in Surrey's Guilford neighbourhood, where officers found illicit drugs as well as equipment

Charges have been laid against a man in relation to a hit-and-run in Prince George, B.C., that killed one cyclist and injured another who had been training for a local police and cancer fundraising event. RCMP say the accused, Thomas Phillips, faces multiple charges, including impaired driving causing death and failure to remain at the scene of an accident. The two cyclists were hit on July 7 as they trained for the Cops for Cancer Tour de North fundraising race, and Prince George RCMP confirmed later that one of the riders died. Police say the victim, Shane Kelly, had been involved in multipl