A complete overhaul of how Canada processes immigration applications is in the works as the federal government braces for a post-COVID-19 surge in demand for migration to Canada. The federal Immigration Department says the "new normal" that will emerge after the pandemic requires a revamp of the technology used to handle millions of applications a year. It says new strategies for managing those applications are also needed to limit the amount of in-person contact within the bureaucracy and between officials and potential newcomers. The department included its plan in an "urgent request" issue

Ottawa will spend a further $133 million on helping Indigenous businesses suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government has heard from First Nations, Inuit and Metis business owners who have said the last few months have been extremely difficult. Of the total amount announced today, $117 million is to help small and community-owned Indigenous businesses. The remaining $16 million is to support Indigenous businesses in the tourism sector, which supports thousands of jobs across the country. This money adds to $306 million in f

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has tested negative for COVID-19. His office said Wednesday he would get tested after learning that Education Minister Stephen Lecce had come into contact with someone who was infected. Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott held a joint news conference the day before with Lecce to announce a child-care reopening plan. Lecce's test result came back negative, and the premier's office says today that Ford's and Elliott's were negative as well. Ontario is reporting 203 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the province to a total of 31,544. The province also reported

Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari said that India's territorial security is strong and the country has diffused border tension with China diplomatically. "Internal and external security of the country is strong. We have resolved the matter with China diplomatically. You also know what we have been doing continuously to the terrorists coming from Pakistan," said Gadkari during Jan Samwad rally in Madhya Pradesh via videoconferencing. The Union Minister had also slammed Congress party, saying that BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi di

There are 97,125 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 53,341 confirmed (including 5,081 deaths, 19,841 resolved) Ontario: 31,341 confirmed (including 2,475 deaths, 25,380 resolved) Alberta: 7,276 confirmed (including 151 deaths, 6,754 resolved) British Columbia: 2,680 confirmed (including 167 deaths, 2,328 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,061 confirmed (including 62 deaths, 994 resolved) Saskatchewan: 658 confirmed (including 13 deaths, 624 resolved) Manitoba: 289 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 285 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3

The B.C. Supreme Court has granted an injunction against a tent city set up at a park on property owned by the port authority in Vancouver. The encampment was established in CRAB Park mid-May in a parking lot owned by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority after a tent city at nearby Oppenheimer Park was shut down. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled on Wednesday that campers have three days to pack up their belongings and leave the property, but he did not include an enforcement order. Hinkson says allowing campers to stay on the port's land would lead to the same health and safety conc

British Columbia's premier says the province and its top doctor have approved a proposal for the NHL to make Vancouver a possible playoff hub city in Western Canada during the pandemic. John Horgan says he has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to advance the initiative put together by all three sides based on a modification of quarantine measures that would allow a team to remain together as a family or bubble. Horgan says a team would stay in a hotel and travel together to Rogers Arena for games using private transportation, be responsible for any COVID-19 testing and agree to not

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia: "Today, we are announcing 12 new cases who have tested positive for COVID-19, for a total of 2,680 cases in British Columbia. "There are 185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 2,328 people who tested positive have recovered. "Of the total COVID-19 cases, 12 individuals are hospitalized, four of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self

A pedestrian in Surrey is recovering in hospital after being knocked down by a car that veered onto the sidewalk following a crash. RCMP say the unnamed woman suffered serious injuries when the two cars collided just after 6 last night in northeast Surrey, and one of the vehicles ricocheted into her. Neither driver was badly hurt and both remained at the scene to speak with police. The intersection was closed for several hours and police say a cause of the crash is still under investigation.