A new subvariant of Covid-19, HV.1, is spreading rapidly in Canada.According to health experts, it is yet to be seen whether it is more contagious than previous variants.According to Health Canada, HV.1 is a subvariant of Omicron that is one of the fastest growing lineage groups in the country.There was a 2.1% increase in reported cases through August to 34.4% as of October 29, Health Canada said on its website.It also surpassed other variants like XBB 1.16 which were more dominant in late spring and summer.Infectious diseases expert Dr. According to Isaac Bogoch, it currently exists here.He s

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is headed to California for three days of meetings at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco.Trudeau will meet today with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, long a liberal-minded ally in the effort to combat climate change.Officials say he'll attend an APEC reception later in the day hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden before a welcome dinner with tech leaders.Biden sits down today with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an effort to defuse a year of international tensions, a meeting widely seen as the focal point of the summit.Reports suggest the two leade

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says if Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had "any sense of moral decency," he would "admit" that 97 per cent of fuel used by Canadian farmers is already exempt from the carbon price.Guilbeault's comment comes as a new battle over carbon pricing is erupting over a Conservative bill that would take the price on pollution off propane and natural gas used for farming operations.Gasoline and diesel used for farming is already exempt, but many farmers have complained for several years that the carbon price is costing them a fortune when it comes to heating

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced $1.2 billion in funding for 2,600 new rental homes in Toronto.The government says more than 71,000 new rental housing units will be built across Canada by 2027-28.Freeland said the government is taking several steps to make housing more affordable.She said the federal government is working with provincial, territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments to build more and faster housing to make housing affordable for all Canadians.It is worth noting that housing remains a major challenge for the Liberal government.Opposition parti

Canada says nearly 2 million people used food banks in March 2023, the highest number since the group began collecting data in 1989, according to its annual survey.According to Food Banks Canada, food insecurity is increasing due to inflation and the high cost of living, which is why more people are using food banks.One in 10 people in Toronto is using food banks.According to Daily Bread and North York Harvest Food Bank's Who's Hungry report, between April 2022 and March 2023 visits were reported to have increased by 51 percent and show no signs of slowing.The number of visitors to the Toronto

Canadian health organizations have urged the federal government to crack down on flavored nicotine products.Other organizations, including the Canadian Cancer Society, say nicotine products pose a serious risk to children because it is a highly addictive drug.This is the first time in more than 100 years that nicotine products have been legalized to be sold to children in Canada, said Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.Health Canada gave approval for flavored nicotine pouches on October 12, prompting strong reactions from health organizations and demanding the

Canadian Heritage has released its final policy direction for the Liberals' controversial Online Streaming Act, which aims to modernize the country's broadcasting laws.The final direction for the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to implement the legislation was issued today.This marks the end of the government's direct role with the law formerly known as Bill C-11, the Liberal government's second attempt to bring major online streaming services into Canada's broadcasting system alongside traditional media such as TV and radio.The final policy direction explicitly ins

Residents of the Northwest Territories are heading to the polls today, more than a month after the election was originally set to be held.The election had been scheduled for Oct. 3, but was delayed because of a wildfire season that saw about 70 per cent of the territory's population under evacuation order.Legislature members voted unanimously to delay the election during a late August session held in the town of Inuvik, with the capital Yellowknife and its roughly 20,000 residents still under an evacuation order at the time.Premier Caroline Cochrane announced in September that she wasn't runni

The Royal Canadian Mint will soon begin producing Canadian coins bearing the face of King Charles.On the King's 75th birthday, the Winnipeg-based facility is set to showcase its design of the new British monarch that will appear on one side of all its coins, replacing the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.The design by Canadian portrait artist Steven Rosati was chosen from among submissions by 350 artists.It was sent to Buckingham Palace for approval.Earlier this year, the federal government directed the mint and the Bank of Canada to replace the image of the queen with one of the King on c