Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand says the government has hired five Canadian companies to deliver tens of thousands of kilograms of dry ice each week to keep COVID-19 vaccines cold. She says provincial governments will be able to order dry ice on demand to make sure vaccines that have to be kept at low temperatures stay usable. Anand says federal government has also ordered more than 400 freezers of various sizes and temperature capabilities. Canada is still finalizing how many doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine will arrive Federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada is still

The Public Safety Ministry is warning about the risk of holiday-related fires from festive lights and other items that may be kept close to heat sources. It says the Office of the Fire Commissioner reports 113 Christmas-related fires in BC in the last decade.These fires have caused multiple injuries, four deaths and 14.5 million dollars in damage. Jennifer Rice, the parliamentary secretary for Emergency Preparedness, says most of the fires over the holiday season are caused by decorative lights being left on, used improperly or being faulty. She says the fire commissioner also had reports of

RCMP have issued a 2,300 dollar fine to the organizer of a protest in Kelowna against COVID-19 restrictions. Police say the march through the city's downtown drew several hundred people on Saturday. Mounties are not releasing the name of the self-identified protest leader at this time. Police say officers attended the event to maintain the peace and help prevent any confrontations between demonstrators and others when the fine was issued.

Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix are expected to provide more details today about the limited availability of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine starting this week. Dr. Henry has said staff at long-term care facilities and front-line health-care workers in hospitals are first in line for the vaccine at two locations, one in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and the other in Fraser Health. The Public Health Agency of Canada said some of the 30,000 initial doses of the vaccine were expected to touch down last night at 14 distribution centres in all 10 prov

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the first shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Canada.Trudeau made the announcement Sunday night on Twitter, and noted that while it's good news, the fight against COVID-19 is not over and Canadians must keep up their vigilance.The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines are bound for 14 distribution sites across the country.There are distribution sites in all 10 provinces, but none in the territories because health officials say the Pfizer shot's -70 C storage temperature make it difficult to stock there.Quebec is expected to be the first province to administ

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is observing a day-long fast today in support of farmers' protest."Annadata, the farmer of the country is on hunger strike demanding the withdrawal of the three laws of the introduced by the Central Government for the sake of saving their pleasant livelihood. In support of the demand of farmers, today I am also observing a fast with all my colleagues in the Aam Aadmi Party office," said Sisodia.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also set to hold a one-day fast in support of the farmers' protest today.In response to a call given by the agitating f

Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson Rakesh Tikait reacted on Jamia Millia Islamia students who reached Ghazipur border to support farmers. He said that few students had come there to extend support to farmers but they were clearly told that this was only a farmers' protest.

In solidarity with farmers protesting against the new farm laws at the gates of Delhi, Lakhminder Singh Jakhar, Punjab Deputy Inspector General (Prisons), on Saturday resigned from the service.The DIG told ANI on Sunday that being the "son of a farmer", he "cannot be blind towards the next farming community". "I have to do that [resign] because I cannot close my eyes to the future of farmers, my son and the future generation. I being the son of a farmer cannot be blind towards the next farming community," the DIG cited his reason for quitting from his post.Jakhar who has served more than 32 ye

During virtual general meeting of FICCI on December 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the new reforms in farm laws will result in more investments in the agriculture sector. He said, "We had seen walls between agriculture sector and other areas associated with it - be it agriculture infrastructure, food processing, storage or cold chain. All walls and obstacles are being removed now. After reforms, farmers will get new markets, options and more benefits of technology. The cold storage infrastructure will be modernised. This will result in more investments in the agriculture sector. F