It will no longer be easy for repeat offenders to get bail in Canada, with changes to the bail system made by the government under pressure from the opposition coming into force on Thursday. Bail system Amendments to the Criminal Code have made it more difficult for repeat offenders involved in serious violent crimes to obtain bail. These amendments focus on reverse onus provisions, which mean that the accused will be held in custody before trial until he proves that his release will not endanger the public and that he will not escape. There is no risk. Courts will also need to consider the cr

TransLink says its new R-6 Scott Road RapidBus is now cruising the streets on what it calls the busiest bus corridor south of theFraser. TransLink says the R-6 is geared toward Surry and Delta residents and Kwantlen University students, who can expect to shave a few minutes off their trips between Scott Road station and the Newton bus exchange.The transit operator says the R-6 can carry more riders than past services as Surrey and Delta lead the way in growing ridership numbers in the region.TransLink says ridership on Surrey and Delta buses is now 16 per cent higher than in 2019, and the new

A union representing more than 180 transit workers in B.C. has issued a 72-hour strike notice.CUPE Local 4500 represents workers employed by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, which runs transit operations for all of Metro Vancouver. The notice is effective at 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The union says it is still available to negotiate a collective agreement that avoids service disruptions.It says job action could begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday with an overtime ban that would affect all operations in the Coast Mountain system. The union says the last collective agreement expired at the end of 2

The federal government says a maximum of 1,000 Palestinian relatives of Canadian citizens will be able to apply to escape the Gaza Strip with Canada's help. The special extended family program for people in Gaza is set to launch next week, after Palestinian Canadians pleaded for months to get help from the government to rescue their loved ones as the Israel-Hamas war continues. The policy details released last week says the program will stop taking applications either after it receives 1,000 requests, or after a year has elapsed. The program would offer Palestinians visas allowing them to take

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says only four of Canada's 100 highest-paid CEOs are women. Those CEOs broke records with their compensation in 2022, making 14.9-million-dollars, up from an average of 14.3-million in 2021. That's 246 times more than the average Canadian worker. Restaurant Brands International executive chairman J. Patrick Doyle topped the list, followed by Dye & Durham CEO Matthew Proud. The head of Restaurant Brands International was the highest-paid Canadian CEO in 2022, according to the latest findings by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Topping

Canada won't be coming home from the World Junior Hockey Championship in Sweden with a medal.Czechia scored with 11.7 seconds left in third period to post a 3-2 win and knock the Canadians out of the tournament. The quarterfinal game was a rematch of last year's gold-medal game in Halifax, which Canada took 3-2 in overtime.

Almost half of the thousands of international students accepted by Canadian learning institutions have faced rejection from visa authorities in recent years. This has been revealed in a report which says that between January 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023, the Department of Immigration approved only 54.3 percent of the 866,206 study permits approved by learning institutions, i.e. 470,427 applicants. Immigration officials say applications are considered on a case-by-case basis based on the information provided by the applicant for a study permit. Some applicants do not meet the financial requiremen

A spokeswoman for an Ottawa school board says its community is feeling the tragedy deeply after local police confirmed the deaths of two teens who fell through ice on the Rideau River in the city's south end. Diane Pernari of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says both Ahmed Ahmed and Riley Cotter were students at John McCrae Secondary School, which she says will have mental-health supports available for students when they return in the new year. Two graduates of the school came to the area where police were searching on Thursday and said they knew both of the teens. Police said emerge

Officials say Russia has launched 122 missiles and dozens of drones against Ukrainian targets, killing at least 30 civilians in what an air force official calls the biggest aerial barrage of the war. Ukraine's military chief says the Ukrainian air force intercepted most of the cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones overnight. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his official Telegram channel that it was ``the most massive aerial attack'' since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukranian officials say at least 144 people were injured and an unknown number wer