British Columbia's minister responsible for multiculturalism says she can no longer remain silent about the rising number of hate crimes toward people of Asian heritage during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Anne Kang says she is deeply saddened by the recent rise in physical and verbal attacks as well as an increase in vandalism. Kang says she is ``compelled as a government representative, immigrant and British Columbian to speak out against these vicious acts.'' The Vancouver Police Department has reported that the number of anti-Asian, hate-related crimes spiked in April, with 11 oc

British Columbia's workplace safety agency has released new guidelines as businesses across the province get set to reopen. WorkSafe BC's guidelines cover sectors ranging from restaurants to office space. It says specific guidelines for sports and recreation as well as child care will be released later. But before reopening, WorkSafe says businesses need to ensure they have a COVID-19 safety plan to protect workers and it must be displayed. The agency says it will continue developing industry-specific guidelines as more businesses across B.C. begin reopening over the coming months. Provincial

Parents in British Columbia will be given the choice of allowing their children to return to class on a part-time basis in June. The government says its goal is for the return of full-time classes in September, if it is safe. Under the part-time plan, the number of students allowed in schools will be reduced. For kindergarten to Grade 5, most students will go to school half time, such as alternating days, while grades 6 to 12 will go to school about one day a week. The province says there are already about 5,000 students in classrooms, including children of essential workers and those needing

Quebec is reporting an additional 50 deaths today linked to COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 3,401. Provincial health authorities also reported 41,420 confirmed cases, an increase of 696 in the past 24 hours. Premier Francois Legault noted it has been some time since those numbers have been that low as he wrapped up a two-day visit to Montreal, the epicentre of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the province. Legault says the province will give Montreal one million masks to distribute and provide $6 million to transit agencies in the Montreal area to make masks more widely available.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is again calling for a return of Parliament.The House of Commons stands adjourned until May 25, though has returned several times in a modified form to pass emergency aid legislation.Committees are also still meeting virtually, and a special one dealing solely with response to the COVID-19 pandemic meets twice a week virtually and once in person.But Scheer says as restrictions begin to lift across the country and a slow economic recovery begins, it is even more important to be able to keep the Liberal government accountable for the billions in aid they've spe

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a federal wage subsidy for employees in businesses hit hard by COVID-19 will last at least until the end of August. The subsidy was set to expire in the first week of June, only a few weeks after the first payments rolled out. Trudeau says the idea is to give employers more runway and confidence to resume operations slowly if they have to. Trudeau also says the government will make adjustments to the program, including changes to the threshold for how much qualifying companies' revenues must have declined, to ensure employers can access the help as business k

International students who would have started their courses in fall this year but are unable to reach Canada due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions, can start their studies online from their home country. Under normal circumstances, any time spent in the home country during course duration is deducted from the eligibility period for Post-Graduation Work Permit Program (PGWPP). CIC announced yesterday that up to 50% of the course can be completed from home country, and that time will not be deducted from the PGWPP eligibility period. This would mean that students can directly apply for work pe

The Canadian Real Estate Association says national home sales fell by more than half in April as the COVID-19 outbreak put a chill on market activity.The association says April home sales were down 57.6 per cent from a year earlier, and down 56.8 per cent on a month-over-month basis, posting the lowest volume for the month since 1984.Activity was down 66.2 per cent in the Greater Toronto Area, 57.9 per cent in Greater Vancouver, 51.5 per cent in Ottawa, and 42 per cent in Winnipeg.Nationally, new listings were down 55.7 per cent from March to April, but inventory levels jumped to 9.2 months i

There are 73,401 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 40,724 confirmed (including 3,351 deaths, 10,829 resolved) Ontario: 21,494 confirmed (including 1,798 deaths, 16,204 resolved) Alberta: 6,457 confirmed (including 121 deaths, 5,205 resolved) British Columbia: 2,392 confirmed (including 135 deaths, 1,885 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,026 confirmed (including 51 deaths, 909 resolved) Saskatchewan: 582 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 398 resolved) Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 252 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 24