Organizers of an unofficial worldwide referendum on Punjabi independence have added a question to the ballot in British Columbia asking if India's high commissioner was responsible for the killing of a prominent provincial Sikh leader in June.The group Sikhs for Justice, which has been staging a series of non-binding votes in several countries on the independence issue, says the first stage of balloting in B.C. on Sunday attracted more than 135,000 voters.It says the second stage will be held on Oct. 29 and will add a second question about whether High Commissioner Sanjay Verma was responsible

The Libyan Red Crescent aid organization says that the death toll from floods in the eastern Libyan city of Derna has soared to 11,300.The Secretary General of the group says a further 10,100 are reported missing in the coastal city.Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many eastern towns, but the worst-hit was Derna.Residents said they heard loud explosions Sunday night when dams outside the city collapsed.Health authorities previously had put the death toll in Derna at 5,500.

Alberta is spending an extra $16 million to fix up aging government-owned affordable housing units to make them inhabitable once again. Social Services Minister Jason Nixon says the money is on top of the $94 million already allocated in this year's budget. The money will be used to replace windows and repair roofs along with other rehabilitation projects. Nixon says the government is working with housing providers to identify which units should get priority. He says over the next eight years, the government aims to invest $9 billion to build 25,000 new affordable homes. But he

Quebec Premier François Legault will be attending a United Nations climate summit in New York next week.Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres invited Legault to attend the UN General Assembly and to participate in the first Climate Ambition Summit.The premier's office says Legault was the only Canadian premier invited to the summit, describing it as recognition of the province's efforts to address climate change.Legault often boasts that Quebec emits the least amount of greenhouse gases per capita in North America and that 99 per cent of its electricity comes from renewabl

Montreal police have announced the death of a 42-year-old woman who was one of eight people who overdosed on Sunday in the city's downtown.Const. Jeanne Drouin says the woman died in hospital Tuesday and that the coroner's office will investigate the cause and circumstances of her death.Six people were sent to hospital Sunday, and police have said the lives of the five others are not in danger.Paramedics treated eight people for overdoses in the same area of downtown Montreal after they responded to two separate calls placed just over an hour apart.Luc Fortin, a spokesman for Montreal public h

RCMP say they've arrested a youth after a bear-spray attack on a Sikh teenager who was riding a bus in Kelowna, B.C.Corp. Michael Gauthier with Kelowna RCMP says in a statement that video shows the suspect assaulting and spraying the victim during an attack that took place both on and off a B.C. Transit bus on Monday.Gauthier says the suspect remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a bail hearing.In a previous statement, the Kelowna detachment said the 17-year-old Sikh student had been attacked by another teenage male and the motive was unknown.The World Sikh Organi

British Columbia has banned the use of illegal drugs on playgrounds, spray pools, wading pools and skate parks.The British Columbia government says it has received approval from Health Canada to ban the possession and use of illegal drugs in certain public places where families and children gather.In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction said that the ban will come into effect from September 18.It shall be illegal to possess drugs within 15 meters of a playground, wading pool or skate park.Police will be able to enforce the B.C. Controlled Drugs and Substances Ac

Residents of western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick are being warned to prepare for power outages and localized flooding as hurricane Lee is expected to become a powerful post-tropical storm on Saturday when it makes landfall in the region.The Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax issued a tropical cyclone statement this morning saying Lee's track could take the storm through an area anywhere between New Brunswick's Grand Manan Island and Nova Scotia's Shelburne County on Saturday night.The centre has repeatedly stressed that even though Lee is expected to transition from a Category 1 h

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will travel to New York next week to take part in the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.The Prime Minister's Office confirmed today that Trudeau will be at the UN Sept. 19-21, with the climate crisis and sustainable development at the top of his agenda.The delegation will include Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen.Trudeau will take part in a summit of leaders on sustainable development, a group he co-chairs, and an event promoting the virtues of puttin