The federal government has announced enrolment details for a new federal dental plan that resembles typical insurance coverage, down to the benefits card patients show at the dentists' office. But dentists say the new government program isn't the same as the insurance people typically get from employers, and patients should be clear about the differences. British Columbia Dental Association president Dr. Robert Wolanski says the government plan is more of a social program than a typical insurance program.Wolanski says that program has some distinct differences from an employer insurance progra

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Israel and Hamas must work toward "a sustainable ceasefire," starting with another pause in hostilities.The comment comes in a joint statement with Trudeau's Australian and New Zealand counterparts, hours ahead of a United Nations vote on whether to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East. The statement calls for Hamas to release the hostages from its "heinous" Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and notes the group is responsible for sexual violence and "using Palestinian civilians as human shields." The leaders are also calling for "safe and unimpeded humanitarian acc

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he chose to reveal a possible link between the Indian government and the killing of a Canadian to "put a chill" on India amid concerns in the Sikh community over safety. In September, Trudeau told the House of Commons there was credible intelligence linking India to the June 18 shooting death of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the parking lot of his gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. Trudeau says in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press that the sombre message he delivered publicly that day was intended as an extra "level of deterrence" to keep Canadians s

The federal government is planning to launch a catalogue of pre-approved home designs to speed up the home-building process for developers. Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced this on Tuesday. He said that the catalog of pre-approved house designs is being reintroduced. These blueprints were prepared by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation at the time to speed up the construction of houses. The housing minister said the government will start a consultation on the matter in January and our goal is to make them available to developers next fall. The Minister said that hundreds of thous

The Ontario man accused of sending poison to people who later killed themselves is now facing murder charges in those cases. Kenneth Law has been charged with 14 counts of second-degree murder on top of the previous charges of counselling and aidingsuicide. His lawyer says Law plans to plead not guilty to the new charges, which are connected to 14 alleged victims in Ontario between the ages of 16 and 36. Police allege the Mississauga man ran several websites to sell sodium nitrite and other items that can be used for self-harm, shipping hundreds of packages across the globe. British police s

Police have arrested a 23-year-old man from Abbotsford, British Columbia, in connection with the shooting incident that happened on Saturday at a tire business in Brampton. The youth has been identified as Tanmanjot Gill. According to police, shots were fired at a tire business in the Clark Boulevard and Rutherford South area of ​​Brampton at approximately 3:37 a.m. Saturday. The second suspect in the case is still at large. Police said that upon receiving the report, officers rushed to the scene where a suspect was arrested. Gill has been charged with half a dozen charges, including rec

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it has detected the presence of avian influenza at a non-poultry, non-commercial location in the central Okanagan. It is now the 52nd place in B-C where the contagious viral infection has been detected at commercial or backyard bird operations since October. This comes after the C-F-I-A confirmed the presence of the flu at a commercial poultry farm in Abbotsford on Saturday. Commonly known as bird flu, avian influenza can affect several species of food producing birds as well as pet birds and wild birds.

British Columbia has announced a new three-year action plan that includes building more housing for those fleeing violence, adding 75 new sexual assault support programs, establishing new free virtual counselling as well as new 24/7 crisis lines and new policing standards. Amy FitzGerald, executive director of the BC Society of Transition Houses, says the organization welcomes the investments, but it is still not enough. She says the society's research shows that only four per cent of the 80-thousand women and children who access their services move on to long-term, safe and affordable housi

Time is running out for the Liberal government to table pharmacare legislation before the end of the year, but the NDP's health critic says almost-daily phone calls are still giving him hope. Still, if the Liberals need more time, New Democrat MP Don Davies says his party is prepared to give it. The Liberals and NDP signed a supply-and-confidence deal last year that sees the opposition party support the minority government on key votes in exchange for progress on New Democrat priorities. The deal states that pharmacare legislation must be passed by the end of the year. That hope is now dashe