Quebec universities and public colleges say they should be exempt from the government’s plan to reduce the number of international students in the province, but the immigration minister says that’s unlikely. The schools say a bill tabled last month would hurt their ability to attract top talent from around the world. But Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge says it’s “not reasonable” to think the government could cut the number of foreign students in Quebec without including universities and public colleges. The bill would give the government new power to cap foreign student e

Doctors say they are seeing a spike in walking pneumonia cases in parts of Canada, particularly in kids, at a time when respiratory viruses typically circulate. Walking pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia that often presents as a fever, cough or fatigue, but a small subset of severe cases can leave patients short of breath or with high fevers. Dr. Earl Rubin, director of the Infectious Disease Division at Montreal Children's Hospital, says he’s noticed more cases in toddlers, which is younger than the typical school-age and young adult demographic the bacterial infection usually impacts. A

British Columbia's Crown utility says crews have restored power to 95 per cent of some 290,000 businesses and homes that were in the dark at some point Monday as strong winds battered coastal areas and parts of the central Interior. BC Hydro says crews have been working around the clock to replace dozens of spans of power lines as well as power poles knocked down by toppled trees. Environment Canada had issued now-lifted wind warnings for most of the south and central coast, including Metro Vancouver, where the weather office said gusts of wind were expected to reach speeds of up to 100 kilome

The shutdown at BC ports is expected to impact $800 million in cargo per day. The BC Maritime Employers Association announced that, in light of foreman workers going on strike yesterday, it has also suspended union members from work. Among the most concerned are business owners, who are still recovering from the disruption caused by the railway strike earlier. Additionally, the 13-day strike by port workers last year had halted billions of dollars in trade. Bridget Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, stated that the latest port closures will disrupt the movement of $8

New Brunswick's Zone 3 has been declared a measles epicenter, including areas in Fredericton and the upper St. John River Valley. The number of measles cases here has more than doubled since last week. According to the health department, seven more cases have been confirmed since Thursday, bringing the total to twelve. The public health agency says it is closely monitoring the situation and working with healthcare partners to reduce the risk of further spread. Measles is a highly contagious disease. Although people born before 1970 are generally considered immune to measles, the Public Health

The ever-increasing pollution in Pakistan may affect the air quality in Haryana and Punjab. Two days ago, Lahore's air quality index reached around 1700, and it was recorded at 666 on Tuesday morning. If the wind direction changes, the air quality in Punjab and Haryana, India, may deteriorate, making it hazardous to breathe. After Diwali, the air in most cities across both states has already turned toxic. The most polluted cities in Haryana are currently Fatehabad and Hisar. While there has been some improvement in the pollution levels in Punjab's Amritsar and Ludhiana, incidents of stubble b

An 11-year-old boy died after he was hit by a truck Monday evening in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. Police say they received numerous calls at around 7:30 p.m. about the collision at the corner of Parc and Bernard avenues. Early information collected by police indicates the driver was heading south down Parc when he turned right on Bernard and struck the boy, who was crossing the street. The child suffered serious injuries and was transported to hospital where he died. The 28-year-old male driver of the delivery truck was uninjured. He remained at the scene and was questioned, and pol

Former British Indian home secretary Priti Patel has been appointed shadow foreign secretary to the Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch, who replaced Rishi Sunak and became the Conservative leader. The shadow foreign secretary will join the opposition benches in the House. Indian-origin Priti Patel was among the initial contenders in the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak as the leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition. With Robert Jenrick and Mel Stride appointed as shadow justice secretary and shadow chancellor, respectively, Badenoch’s choices for her frontbench are v

Alberta premier Danielle Smith is not holding back in response to the federal government’s planned oil and gas emissions cap. Ottawa unveiled details Monday on how it plans to cut emissions from the oil and gas sector fulfilling a 2021 election promise from the Liberals to force the oil and gas industry to do its share in battling climate change. The new regulations will require producers in Canada to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about one-third over the next eight years. In a news conference in response to the plan, a clearly angry Smith called the plan a “production cap” that will