Royal Canadian Navy commander Vice-Admiral Art McDonald has been named as the next head of the Canadian Armed Forces. This announcement has ended the months of speculation about who would succeed General Jonathan Vance. The appointment also ends a long drought for the Navy, which has been passed over numerous times in favour of appointments from the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says McDonald will oversee the role of the Canadian Armed Forces in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he knows the country's top experts have upheld the highest standards in Health Canada's approval of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. The Moderna shot is the second to be greenlit in Canada, following the approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 9th. Trudeau says deliveries from Moderna should arrive in the coming days. He says between the earlier doses of the Pfizer vaccine and the upcoming shipments, Canada is on track to have at least 1.2 million doses of the two shots by the end of January. Health Canada says the COVID-19 vaccine from U.S. biotech f

Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.4 per cent in October, its sixth consecutive month of growth. The increase followed growth of 0.8 per cent in September. Economists had expected an increase of 0.3 per cent for October, according to financial data firm Refinitiv. Both goods-producing and service-producing sectors were up overall in October, but Statistics Canada report notes declines in manufacturing and food services. Despite the growth, the Canadian economy remains about four per cent below where it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics Canada says its preli

Eleven partying teenagers in Nanaimo are the latest to be fined 230 dollars each. Tickets were issued for ignoring public health rules aimed at fighting COVID-19. RCMP say officers saw a large group of youth late Saturday in the parking lot of the Dover Bay High School and asked them to break up the event. When police went back a while later, there were even more vehicles and people in the parking lot who weren't social distancing or wearing masks. Police say the youth were respectful, apologetic and understanding of why they were getting tickets.

Health Canada has approved a second COVID-19 vaccine for use in Canada. Up to 168,000 of the drug developed by US biotech firm Moderna are due to arrive in Canada before the end of the month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said deliveries could begin within 48 hours of approval. The vaccine approval follows the greenlighting of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on December 9th. Moderna anticipates starting shipments to Canada within the next 48 hours. Up to 168,000 doses are set to arrive by the end of December, and two million by the end of March.

COVID-19 vaccine clinics are now underway in every health region in BC and more than 4,100 people have received the shot so far. BC health officials say Pfizer has explained how to safely transport its vaccine, while Moderna has also done the same. Health officials say that means the vaccine will be available at more locations across the province in the coming weeks. They urged people to continue following public health rules while reporting 12 more deaths and 444 new cases of COVID-19. 777 lives have been lost related to COVID-19 in British Columbia since the beginning of the pandemic.

Congress MP K Suresh on Wednesday said that former party chief Rahul Gandhi will lead a demonstration tomorrow at 10:45 am from Vijay Chowk to Rashtrapati Bhavan and will submit a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking his intervention over farmers' protest."Rahul Gandhi along with Opposition leaders met President and submitted the memorandum to resolve farmers' issue. But there was no action from the President and the government. Rahul Gandhi will lead demonstration tomorrow at 10:45 am from Vijay Chowk to Rashtrapati Bhavan with Congress MPs," Suresh told ANI. "After that, he and ot

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting 444 new cases of COVID-19, including five epi-linked cases, for a total of 47,510 cases in British Columbia. "There are 9,481 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. There are 357 individuals currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 84 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. "A total of 36,094 people who tested posit

Police say they are investigating the sudden death of a child. Incident took place in Tofino, B.C. The Integrated Major Crime Unit says the Mounties were called to help BC Ambulance workers on Dec. 13 after it was reported a child had suffered injuries on the Ty-Histanis Reserve. Police say the child died on Dec. 16. A news release from the RCMP says the BC Coroners Service is also conducting a fact-finding investigation into the unexpected death.