During the hearing of the petitions against the premature dissolution of all the panchayats of the state in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Punjab government had to face a very difficult situation. When the honorable court asked the government to answer why panchayats have been dissolved prematurely, on this occasion the government was caught in a very difficult situation. The lawyer appearing for the government told the court that the decision to dissolve panchayats was taken in public interest. The High Court asked that first it should be told what is the public interest? The court

The Northwest Territories legislature is to meet later today to discuss delaying a territorial election set for October because of wildfires.The territory is scheduled to go to the polls on Oct. 3.But because of massive evacuations in several communities and general safety concerns, the N.W.T.'s chief electoral officer has suggested that be pushed until November.Some members of the territory's legislature say there's clear support for delay.The territory operates by a consensus system without political parties, in which elected members choose the premier from among themselves.Over the weekend,

The number of properties damaged or completely destroyed in B.C.'s Okanagan wildfires has risen to 189.Central Okanagan Emergency Operations made the announcement on Monday.These properties were damaged in the regional district of West Kelowna and Central Okanagan West Electoral Area A.The devastating McDougall Creek fire is still out of control, West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said in a briefing.Chief Administrative Officer Sally Ginter says the center is contacting all affected homeowners and asking them to recheck their property status online at cordemergency.ca/propertyinfo.Ginter sa

According to Statistics Canada, there were 311,640 deaths in Canada in 2021, a 1.0% increase from 2020.More people died in Canada in 2021 than last year.Cancer, heart disease, overdose and Covid-19 are cited as leading causes of death.Male deaths increased by 2.5%, and female deaths decreased by 0.5% compared to 2020.Cancer and heart disease remain the two leading causes of death, Statcan says.Accidental deaths have increased by 14.5 percent in 2021.The fourth leading cause of death was reported to be Covid-19, which also continued to affect the health of Canadians.Statistics show that in the

Persistent heat is expected to continue today in parts of British Columbia as the province continues to battle almost 400 active wildfires.Environment Canada says several communities in northern B.C. are facing heat warnings, with daily high temperatures predicted to reach in excess of 30 degrees.Communities currently under a heat warning include Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge and Terrace.According to Environment Canada data, Fort Nelson is expected to reach 32 C again today after breaking its historic high temperature for August 27 at 32.4 C.Historic daily high temper

A March fire in Old Montreal that killed seven people is now being investigated as a homicide.A press conference will be held by the Montreal Police at 3 pm.In the meantime, the police can lay charges of murder.Most of the seven people who died in the fire were living in illegal short-term rentals.An investigation into the matter was launched by the Montreal Police Arson Squad.According to sources, the case has now been transferred to the Montreal Police Major Crimes Division.If the fire was set on purpose, the police may add charges of murder in this case.

B.C. farmers say they're increasingly concerned about climate change and the impacts of extreme weather on food production in the province.Because of its warm climate, B.C. has a unique agriculture industry.The province's farmers can grow fruit and vegetables that won't grow in other parts of Canada, and B.C. also boasts of Western Canada's only major winery regions.But in the last three years, B.C. farmers have suffered through drought, extreme heat, flooding and fires.These disasters have resulted in crop failures, livestock losses and widespread damage to farmland and infrastructure.Some fa

Montreal police are warning young people to be careful online after the number of sextortion cases they've seen has risen dramatically.The force says its child sex exploitation unit has already received more than 100 complaints this year, compared to about 30 at the same time last year.Police say victims are most often young men between the ages of 14 and 17 who are contacted online by people posing as teen girls.The perpetrator builds the victim's trust before asking for intimate photos or videos, only to threaten to publish the images or send them to family and friends if a payment isn't sen

Sheila Annette Lewis, the Alberta woman who was denied an organ transplant because she refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, has died. In recent months, Lewis had been crowdsourcing funding to travel to the United States to get an organ transplant, but she died before that happened. She was 58. In 2018, Lewis was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease, and was placed on the Alberta transplant wait list. In 2021, Lewis was told she would also need the COVID-19 vaccine to receive the transplant. Given the high risks of death following a transplant, and the immunos