The British Columbia government has announced a three-year, $10 million grant program to provide swift access to compassionate and comprehensive care for survivors of sexual assault. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenging times and gender-based violence, including sexual assault, is known to increase during periods of crisis. He says the grant program will provide funds to front-line organizations across the province, including those working in Indigenous communities. Ending Violence Association of B.C. will administer the program to help orga

John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia; Brian Pallister, Premier of Manitoba; and Sandy Silver, Premier of Yukon; have issued the following joint statement regarding a proposed national sick leave program: "We're pleased that the federal government is looking at a sick leave program that protects people and businesses, and we look forward to advancing this initiative. Paid sick leave is crucial for the safe restart of our economy.""Yukon has already implemented a paid sick leave program for employers. A national program would ensure people can stay home from work when they are sick without f

Two people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries following a stabbing on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Constable Tania Visintin says officers were called at around 6 am to a report of a multiple stabbing. She says the two victims are expected to survive. No arrests have been made but investigators say there is no threat to the public. They say the stabbings appear to be isolated. Hastings Street just east of Main Street remains closed. Visintin says police will update the traffic situation via social media as conditions change.

A military report on five long-term care homes in Ontario details troubling allegations such as rooming COVID-19 positive patients with uninfected ones, insect infestations and aggressive resident feeding that led to choking. Ontario Premier Doug Ford called in military assistance last month for five long-term care homes dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has seen the report, calls it ``deeply disturbing.'' The allegations detailed by Canadian Armed Forces members also include failure to isolate COVID-19-positive patients and allowing them to wander outside of

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says in the last 10 weeks alone, over 40 flights have arrived in Canada carrying much needed personal protective equipment.He says it represents hundreds of thousands of items everything from masks to hospital gowns that have been shipped to our front line workers.The equipment has been in high demand world-wide, with every country competing for scarce supplies from a limited number of suppliers. Trudeau says his government is also continuing to invest in production here at home.He says Ottawa has signed a contract with General Motors to provide 10 million face m

A heat wave engulfing large swaths of Ontario and Quebec is forcing cities such as Toronto to rethink how they offer relief in light of restrictions meant to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.Libraries, community centres and pools spaces where residents can traditionally go to cool down remain closed due to COVID-19 related health measures as temperatures are expected to soar above 30C for several days.In Toronto, where hundreds of such spaces were identified as a heat relief network last year, officials say they will open six emergency cooling centres across the city.They say the cent

The Canadian Forces say 36 members working in long-term care homes in Ontario and Quebec have now become sick with COVID-19. That's up from 28 cases of the novel coronavirus among those troops less than a week ago.The military has been deployed to nursing homes in the two provinces to reinforce workers overwhelmed by the illness, unable to keep up with residents' needs because of all the protective measures they need to take, or off work because they're ill themselves.Much of their work is tasks such as food service and moving and maintaining equipment, with some medical staff also serving in

As flights restarted in India after two months because of the coronavirus lockdown, a 5 year old boy travelled all alone from Delhi to Bengaluru to meet his mother after 3 months. Five year old Vihaan Sharma walked into the arms of his overjoyed mother at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport. He travelled as a special category passenger. The boy's pictures are going viral on social media.

There are 85,711 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 47,984 confirmed (including 4,069 deaths, 14,654 resolved) Ontario: 25,904 confirmed (including 2,102 deaths, 19,698 resolved) Alberta: 6,879 confirmed (including 138 deaths, 5,979 resolved) British Columbia: 2,530 confirmed (including 161 deaths, 2,102 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,051 confirmed (including 58 deaths, 974 resolved) Saskatchewan: 634 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 546 resolved) Manitoba: 281 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 268 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 25