British Columbia health officials say they understand the frustration directed at people who defy COVID-19 restrictions, but urged residents to continue following the guidelines to prevent infection. B.C. reported 617 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 18 more deaths, bringing the provincial toll to 988. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement they know it can be frustrating to hear of people not following the guidelines, such as those travelling for non-essential reasons. But they say those who are making the effort to stick to the

BC's Minister of Jobs, Economy Recovery and Innovation says this province is resisting the pandemic-linked trend to higher unemployment, but Ravi Kahlon says we are "not out of the woods," yet. In a statement issued following release of Statistics Canada's monthly employment data, Kahlon says total employment has bounced back to nearly 99 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, but he says sectors like tourism and hospitality are still struggling. He also says people of colour, both business owners and employees, continue to bear the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 slowdown. Kahlon says BC

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is threatening to extend the current lockdown and bring in more "extreme" measures if COVID-19 rates do not come down. The province has shattered another record for daily COVID-19 infections with a total of 4,249 new infections, including 450 from earlier this week. Ford warns the surging cases are stretching hospital capacity and that could lead to more illnesses and deaths. Ford says new projections that will be released next week are very concerning. Ontario's associate medical officer of health says the province may need to return to a stricter lockdown similar t

The family of the slain Capitol Police officer says they want the public to remember him for being a hero. Brian Sicknick died Thursday night of injuries sustained during the riot at the Capitol. His brother, Ken Sicknick, issued a statement through a family spokeswoman Friday. A native of South River, New Jersey, Brian Sicknick served in the New Jersey Air National Guard and went on to a law enforcement career, which his family said was his lifelong dream. He joined the Capitol Police in 2008. His family said it did not want to make Sicknick's death a "political issue" as many questions rema

Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, the military commander leading vaccine logistics in Canada, says 171,600 doses of the Moderna vaccine are set to be delivered by the end of next week. He says 170,000 more are expected during the first week of February, then delivery will begin to scale up, with 250,000 doses by the end of next month and 1.24 million in March. As for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, 208,650 doses will be delivered to the provinces on a weekly basis for the rest of January, and in February, that will increase to up to 367,000 doses per week. He says that will mean 1.4 million doses of the Pf

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is again condemning violent rioters he says were incited by U.S. President Donald Trump and other politicians on Capitol Hill this week. Speaking outside his residence in Ottawa today, he called Wednesday's events an "assault on democracy" and says such violence has no place in society. He says he discussed the issue during his call with provincial and territorial premiers Thursday evening, when he said that democracy is resilient, but it also takes work. He says it is an accomplishment to have and maintain a political system where the party that loses an electio

The Canadian economy in December posted its first monthly loss of jobs since April. Statistics Canada says the economy lost 63,000 jobs in the final month of the year. CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes says another month of losses could be coming in January. But Mendes says there are brighter days on the horizon as COVID-19 vaccines roll out to Canadians. The loss of jobs in December ended a streak of monthly job gains that began in May, when initial restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the pandemic began to ease.

WestJet is cutting staff and flights, saying new federal COVID-19 testing rules for air passengers have led to a wave of cancellations. The airline's CEO is laying the blame squarely on "incoherent" policy from Ottawa around the new rules. Passengers returning to Canada are now required to obtain a negative PCR test at least 72 hours before boarding their flight. The Calgary-based airline says about one-thousand employees will be furloughed, temporarily laid off, put on unpaid leave or have their hours cut. Trip cancellations and reductions in new bookings began immediately after the federal

A snowboarder has died in an accident at the Whistler Blackcomb resort. RCMP confirm the man, in his mid-20s, fell about 20 metres from a cliff at one of the highest points of the resort, Thursday morning. Ski patrollers provided first aid and the man was airlifted to the clinic in Whistler but could not be saved. Sgt. Sascha Banks says in a statement that the BC Coroners Service, RCMP and Whistler Blackcomb resort are all investigating. This is the fourth death involving snow sports in the Sea-to-Sky region since Dec. 29 when two snowbikers were engulfed by an avalanche near Pemberton. A ski