Six positive cases of COVID-19 have forced the precautionary closure of the Abbotsford Christian School. Fraser Health says officials at the private middle school told the authority it would close for two weeks because of staffing challenges. There have been numerous exposure events at schools in the health region which is the centre of the COVID-19 surge in the province. Cambridge Elementary School in Surrey was also closed for two weeks because of an outbreak.

US president-elect Joe Biden has announced top White House staff positions, drawing from the senior ranks of his campaign and some of his closest confidants. Louisiana Representative Cedric Richmond says he will be giving up his seat in Congress to become a senior adviser to Biden and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Biden has also confirmed that former campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon will serve as a deputy chief of staff. Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends "uniform wearing of masks" Dr. Anthony Fauci is recommending "uniform wearing of masks" to help curb the surge of

The father of the man who killed 10 people in Toronto's van attack says he is not tailoring his testimony to help his son. Vahe Minassian is being questioned by the prosecution today at the murder trial of his son, Alek Minassian. The younger Minassian has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder. He has admitted to planning and carrying out the 2018 attack, and his lawyer has said Minassian should be found not criminally responsible for his actions due to autism. Vahe Minassian told court yesterday that his son has not shown remorse or apologiz

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole is accusing Chinese telecom company Huawei of stealing defunct Canadian firm Nortel's technology. O'Toole made the allegation of industrial espionage as he announced his party is pushing the Liberals to make a decision within 30 days on which companies can provide Canada's next-generation 5-G wireless internet technology. The Tories are tabling a motion in the House of Commons demanding the government decide whether Huawei ought to be banned. O'Toole wants the matter debated in the Commons and is pushing for a new strategy to deal with China, saying the Libera

A border officer who questioned Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou about the company's possible activity in Iran before her arrest will undergo cross-examination by her legal team today. Superintendent Sanjit Dhillon began testifying at an evidentiary hearing in the extradition case yesterday. He told the court that he started asking Meng questions about security concerns surrounding the company's products to help move the immigration examination along. Meng's lawyers allege that Canadian officials unlawfully questioned Meng under the guise of a routine immigration exam but Dhillon says that's jus

Federal privacy legislation introduced today would require companies to get consent from customers through plain language, not a lengthy legal document, before using their personal data.The bill is designed to flesh out the 10 principles from control over data to meaningful penalties for misuse of information that make up the federal digital charter.The Liberal government says the legislation would give consumers the ability to more easily transfer their data from one business to another.People could also demand that a company delete or destroy their information if they withdraw consent.The pr

Health officials everywhere are welcoming Moderna's vaccine candidate as preliminary results show it to be highly effective. But federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says it's no time for Canadians to let their guard down. In the US, top disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says it's wonderful news, but people shouldn't relax. Moderna says its vaccine appears to be 94.5 per cent effective, according to preliminary data from a still ongoing study. A week ago, Pfizer announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective.

BC is reporting 1,959 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days, including a daily record of 659 cases on Saturday. Public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have also been nine more deaths, bringing the total to 299. She says the province has 6,279 active cases with 181 people in hospital, including 57 in intensive care. Dr. Henry says she's been asked many times about why BC hasn't made the use of masks mandatory in public places. She says most people are doing that already and it would not cover private homes.

Canada has reached a grim milestone in the case count for COVID-19. The number of infections has surpassed 300,000, less than a month after Canada crossed the 200,000 threshold October 19th. Health experts are alarmed, but not surprised, by the rapid growth over the last few weeks. Canada's new daily case numbers are also rising, suggesting that even as some cases are being resolved, the spread is quickening. The province added 1,218 new cases of COVID-19 and 25 new deaths. Ontario reported 1,487 new COVID-19 cases, as well as 10 new deaths.