The Canadian Real Estate Association says buyers are increasingly frustrated by volatile home sales in this country and an expected decline in transactions could underscore their irritation with hot markets like those in Metro Vancouver. The association says home sales fell 7.4 per cent in May compared with the month earlier, and the month-over-month skid affected about 80 per cent of markets across Canada. But the association also predicts sales will hit a new, overall record by the end of the year, leaping nearly 24 per cent compared with 2020 before slipping about 13 per cent next year. As

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Ottawa is in talks with the provinces and territories about creating some type of ``passport'' containing proof of vaccination against COVID-19. LeBlanc says while health information falls under provincial jurisdiction, Ottawa's goal is to provide Canadians with a document to verify vaccinations against the coronavirus if they want to travel outside Canada. But LeBlanc says the government may provide Canadians who want to travel soon with an interim document to verify vaccinations. Non-essential travel into and out of Canada has been sev

Police in Alabama say a worker killed two people and wounded two more at a fire hydrant factory before killing himself. Albertsville Police Chief Jamie Smith says the suspect apparently killed himself in a car found in Guntersville, about 15 miles from the factory. Gunfire broke out at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday at a Mueller Co. plant in Albertville. Smith says it's not immediately known what prompted the shooting. The factory has more than 400 workers, giving the town its nickname of ``Fire Hydrant Capital of the World.'' A worker at the factor said the shooting happened in a part of the plant

As COVID-19 restrictions on non-essential travel within BC are lifted today, police road checks established in the first week of May have also come to an end. RCMP Staff Sergeant Janelle Shoihet says more than 14,000 vehicles were stopped at the checkpoints set up along several highways on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays between May 6th and last weekend. She says just 26 vehicles were told to turn around by police and another 236 voluntarily turned around at the checks established to prevent people from travelling between three regional zones for non-essential reasons. No tickets were handed

The owner of the Budway cannabis dispensary in Vancouver has been ordered to pay 40,000 dollars to Subway for imitating the sandwich chain's branding. The Federal Court ruled the shop was both benefitting from and damaging Subway's brand by infringing on its trademark logo and using a mascot. Justice Nicholas McHaffie described it as ``a submarine sandwich filled with cannabis leaves.'' The pot shop has been ordered to pay 15,000 dollars in damages and 25,000 dollars to cover Subway's legal fees.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent his last day in Europe thanking leaders and local workers for getting COVID-19 vaccines to Canada.Trudeau visited the Pfizer-BioNTech manufacturing facility in Puurs, Belgium, where Canada's vaccine supply was produced until the United States started shipping doses early last month.His main message to those at the plant was ``Thank you.''Trudeau repeated it multiple times to workers during a brief walking tour of the facility, as well as to Pfizer's managing director.He listened as officials showed the deep freezers where vaccines are stored, then walked up

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was detained by Punjab Police during a protest against the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government on Tuesday. Sukhbir Singh Badal and party workers were protesting outside chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh's residence in Siwan and demanding the dismissal of state health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu and a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged selling of vaccines at an exhorbitant price. "If a storm rises, Captain won't be able to stop it, even if he uses all his force. There is a scam in vaccination, there is a sc

Farmers under the aegis of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee protested against Punjab government in Guruwali Village, Amritsar over the power shortage issue during paddy sowing season. They also burnt effigy of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to show their anger. The committee's secretary said, "We were promised 8 hrs of power supply on 10th June but we're getting only 5-6 hrs of supply. This is affecting our crops".

BC is reporting 68 new cases of COVID-19, the lowest daily rate since last August, as the province prepares to enter the second stage of its restart plan tomorrow. The new cases announced are among 277 diagnosed since Friday for a total of one-thousand-537 active infections, including 136 people who are in hospital. Another four people have died, pushing the death toll in BC to 1,734. Just over 74 per cent of all eligible residents aged 12 and up have now had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine out of more than four million shots administered overall. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provinci