As of April 3, 2023, BC Public Service employees will no longer be required to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19.The decision to rescind the policy was made based on the high level of vaccination among public-service employees and the current state of the pandemic.More than 98% of employees met the requirement, which helped keep everyone safe.Rescinding the vaccination policy means a small number of employees on administrative leave due to non-compliance will be provided the opportunity to return to the workplace.The Public Service Agency has provided direction to ministries and wi

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says he is clawing $82 million in federal health transfers to the provinces for charging patients for services that should have been covered by the public purse.Eight provinces will see reductions in their next health transfer from the federal government over fees charged to patients in 2020 and 2021.Most of the deductions are related to fees for diagnostic services such as MRIs and CT scans.The federal Liberal government enacted a new policy on diagnostic services in 2020 ensuring fees for such tests were covered by the Canada Health Act's single-payer policy.

A Liberal bill to delay the planned expansion of Canada's medically assisted dying regime has passed third reading in the Senate.The expansion, which was originally slated for March 17, would include people whose sole underlying condition is a mental disorder.Justice Minister David Lametti announced the delay in February, saying more time was needed to ensure health-care professionals and Canadian society were prepared for the expansion.That will now happen one year later, in March 2024.Federal officials say the delay will allow more time to develop practice standards and assessment guidelines

The Supreme Court of Canada has overturned a British Columbia court ruling and restored two voyeurism convictions against a former Metro Vancouver minor hockey coach.Randy Downes had coached minor hockey and children's baseball in Burnaby and Coquitlam for 30 years when he was charged in 2016 after border agents found images on his phone as he returned to Canada from Washington state.All the images involved youths who were clothed and none were deemed pornographic, but Downes was convicted of two counts of voyeurism in 2019 for separate events where surreptitious cellphone photos were taken of

Canada is banning the import of Russian steel and aluminum as part of its sanctions regime.Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says this will help undermine Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.The Department of Industry says Canada imported $208 million in steel products from Russia in 2021 and $79 million last year.Canada also imported $44 million in aluminum from Russia in 2021, followed by $16 million last year.Russia's trade with Canada plummeted in the first 10 months after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, with a 78 per cent per cent drop in exports from the same period one y

The B.C Civil Liberties Association is the latest to strip an award from a once powerful advocate and educator whose claims of Indigenous ancestry have been discredited.The association says it has rescinded the Reg Robson civil liberties award granted to Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in 2020.A statement from the association says Turpel-Lafond, B.C's former representative for children and youth has not explained allegations about her claim to Cree heritage and remains quiet about professional accomplishments that are now being questioned, such as her reported designation as a Queen's Counsel in Sask

Alberta has introduced legislation that would require it to keep a tight rein on spending and continue to pay down its debt.Finance Minister Travis Toews says Bill 10 proposes a new fiscal framework that mandates balanced budgets, limits expense increases and set policies for surplus cash.It would also enable the United Conservative Party government to keep all investment income within the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund.Toews says if all the earnings from the fund had been kept in it over the years, it would now be worth 300-billion dollars.The legislation would also tie future municipal

The committee of parliamentarians that oversees national security says it has begun a study of foreign interference, following a request from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.In a statement, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians says it will examine the state of foreign interference in Canada's democratic processes since 2018.The review will continue the work done in its previous review of the government's response to foreign interference, which covered the period from 2015 to 2018.The committee says it will also consider the independent report by former public serv

The Quebec RCMP say they are investigating two alleged secret police stations operated by Chinese authorities in the province.In a statement, the federal police force says its Integrated National Security Team has opened investigations into the suspected police stations in Montreal and Brossard, a suburb just south of the city.Sgt. Charles Poirier says Canadians of Chinese origin were victims of activities carried out by the stations, adding that any type of intimidation, harassment or targeting of diaspora communities will not be tolerated.Poirier says the RCMP are carrying out actions aimed