Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is making a plea to European leaders to come together as democracies in the face of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Trudeau is addressing the European Parliament for the first time since 2017. He says Putin's attack on Ukraine is an attack on the values that form the pillars of all democracies. Trudeau says Western countries must provide more humanitarian aid, send military equipment and lethal aid to Ukraine, and further tighten economic sanctions on Putin. Trudeau says democracies face a new threat from Russian President Valdimir Putin. Trudeau will joi

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Liberals have reached an agreement that would see the New Democrats support his minority government through to 2025. Trudeau says the deal is a ``confidence and supply'' agreement and it takes effect today. This kind of agreement, which is a version of the deal the B.C. NDP struck with the Greens in that province in 2017, generally involves an opposition party agreeing to support the government on confidence motions and budget or appropriation votes for a certain period of time. Trudeau says it is about focusing on what each party agrees on, rather than

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will address the European Parliament in Brussels this week before meeting with other NATO and G7 leaders about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister's Office shared news of the coming speech to European lawmakers as Trudeau prepares to leave for his second trip across the Atlantic this month. Trudeau is set to arrive in Brussels Wednesday, where his speech will stress the importance of ties with North America and both continents working together to defend democracy. The prime minister will then join other NATO leaders on Thursday to co-ordinate the mil

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada will soon impose new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.Joly made the comments to reporters today after delivering a speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations.She says more economic sanctions are forthcoming against Russian nationals and Russian companies in an effort to further isolate the country.Joly says Russian President Vladimir Putin is unpredictable and his invasion of Ukraine is a threat to world stability.She saluted the courage of Russians who have dared to demonstrate against the war, and she says she apprec

B.C. is reporting 199 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 353,578 cases in the province. The new cases include:Fraser Health: 52Vancouver Coastal Health: 18Interior Health: 72Northern Health: 14Island Health: 43People who reside outside of Canada: zeroThere are 290 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 46 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, six new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,966.There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreak at Sidney Care Home (Island Health) has been declared over, for a total of seven facilities with ongoing outb

Premier John Horgan has released the following statement on Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colours:"This week, on the last full moon in the lunar month of the Hindu calendar of Phalguna, people and communities here in British Columbia and around the world will be celebrating Holi."Known as the Festival of Colours, Holi marks the end of winter and the start of spring. It is a time for new beginnings and renewal, for hope and optimism."After two of the most challenging years we have ever faced, British Columbians are coming back together to reconnect, recover and rebuild stronger than ever."For tho

The federal government has begun accepting applications from Ukrainians and their families fleeing Russian aggression who want to come to Canada while they decide their next steps. The program to allow an unlimited number of Ukrainians to come to Canada was first announced two weeks ago. At the time, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser suggested Ukrainian citizens would be allowed to stay for two years before deciding whether to apply to stay permanently. The government has since extended that period to three years, and extended eligibility to family members of Ukrainian nationals, regardless of

British Columbia is reporting another eight deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 2,953.Hospitalization numbers continue to drop in the province, with 329 people in hospital Wednesday compared with 345 a day earlier while 51 people are in intensive care.Surrey Memorial Hospital is reporting a new outbreak.There are nine facilities with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, most of them in long-term care homes.Nearly 91 per cent of eligible people aged 12 and up have had their second vaccine and 56.8 per cent of those have had a third dose.Since December 2020, almost 11.5 million doses of va

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says NATO continues to look at ways it can help support and protect Ukrainians, and continue to prevent the war from expanding and escalating elsewhere. He says that involves making heartbreaking decisions, including turning down Ukraine's request for a no-fly zone. Trudeau says Canada is providing Ukraine with lethal weapons, humanitarian aid and refugee support. He says and there will be further talks on how to support Ukraine when he flies to Brussels next week for a NATO summit.