British Columbia's worker safety agency is moving to address "gaps" in construction crane safety after recent accidents, including fatalities. WorkSafeBC says in a statement that it developed safety plans after bringing together 130 groups and individuals, including tower crane operators, unions, employers, contractors and the B.C. Association for Crane Safety. It follows a series of incidents and accidents involving tower cranes in B.C., including the death of a worker in Vancouver in February when a load fell on them, and a crane collapse in Kelowna in 2021 that killed five men. WorkSafe's T

British Columbia Premier David Eby says construction of an $85-million expansion of kidney hemodialysis services in Surrey is set to start in August. Eby says a new unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital will add 21 renal hemodialysis beds to treat patients with kidney disease, bringing the hospital's total to 60 stations. The stand-alone unit is expected to open in 2025 and the province will pay $84 million, while the Surrey Hospitals Foundation will pay $1 million. Health Minister Adrian Dix says kidney concerns are one of the leading health issues in Surrey, where residents are already having to

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has resigned from Kerala's Wayanad Lok Sabha seat on Tuesday. Lok Sabha Secretariat has issued a notification in this regard. Rahul Gandhi gave a formal notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker's office about retaining the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat and leaving the Wayanad seat. Earlier on Monday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had announced the candidature of Priyanka Gandhi from Wayanad. If Priyanka Gandhi wins the election from Wayanad, then three members of the Gandhi family will be in Parliament. Sonia Gandhi will be seen in the Rajya Sabha and Rahul Gandhi and

Bikram Majithia, who is facing investigation in Punjab's multi-crore drug racket case, had challenged the summons of the Special Investigation Team in the Punjab-Haryana High Court, which the court accepted and exempted him from appearing before the court till July 8. has given Majithia had argued that SIT was harassing him by repeatedly sending summons. SIT has questioned him three to four times in the drug case. The drug case against Majithia was registered in December 2021 during the Congress government. He also had to spend 5 months in jail and currently he is on bail. Bikram Majithia sa

McGill University says it is ending negotiations with pro-Palestinian activists who are occupying the lower field of its downtown Montreal campus. The university is also planning disciplinary action against people participating in the encampment, which began in late April. "Despite our ongoing efforts to discuss in good faith, the representatives of the encampment have maintained that their demands are non-negotiable while accusing the university of unwillingness to engage in fair discussions," McGill president Deep Saini said in a statement Tuesday. "As it has become clear that no fruitful ou

Federally regulated workplaces will soon be banned from bringing in replacement workers during a legal strike, after the Senate passed a government bill Monday that is now set to become law. The bill known as "anti-scab" legislation also sets a fine of up to $100,000 a day for employers who have replaced striking workers. The legislation was a key element of the Liberals' political pact with the New Democrats, and passed through the House of Commons with unanimous support. Union leaders have lauded the changes as a win for workers' protections and bargaining power. But the Canadian Chamber of

Fines for illegal hunting and fishing in British Columbia are more than doubling as the province cracks down on offences against wildlife. The Ministry of Forests says the new scale of fines effective Tuesday under the Wildlife Act ranges from $345 to $1,495, up from the current range of $115 to $575. The biggest fines apply to people who hunt or possess big game out of season. The ministry says in a news release the new penalties “better reflect the serious nature" of wildlife offences and acknowledge the importance of wildlife to B.C. Other offences subject to the fines include unlawful tr

A Sikh activist marking the anniversary of the killing of British Columbia temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says the past year has shown they are vindicated in their claims that India targeted separatists overseas. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based activist who himself was targeted by India according to U.S. authorities, says Nijjar's murder a year ago was "not the kind of publicity" the Sikh independence movement was seeking. Pannun says Nijjar's death and subsequent revelations by Canadian and U.S. officials have "uncovered" India's plans to silence overseas dissidents with violenc

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann says that drugs are coming to Punjab from Gujarat but the state is being defamed in this matter. He also said that the election code in the state has now ended and the government is ready to take action against the alliance between police officers and smugglers. The Chief Minister today told reporters after a meeting with the SSPs and other senior police officers of all the districts that I am the DGP. Punjab has been asked to immediately transfer the lower level officers in each police station. He said that more than 10,000 such officers have been transfe