Canada's first 300,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine are arriving today, a federal official tells The Canadian Press. The official, granted anonymity to discuss matters not made public yet, said that where the doses are coming from is not being disclosed because the government needs to ``protect this new vaccine supply chain.'' J&J has struggled with production problems and has been able to deliver very few doses, even in the United States. Canada purchased 10 million doses, and has the option to buy 28 million more. The doses are expected to be distributed to provin

A former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister who was responsible for gaming for more than a decade is scheduled to testify today at the public inquiry into money laundering.Rich Coleman, a six-term former member of the B.C. legislature and deputy premier, is the latest of several high-profile past and current politicians to appear before the Cullen Commission in recent days.Former premier Christy Clark recently testified at the inquiry, as did current Opposition Liberal MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike de Jong, both of whom were previous ministers in charge of gaming.B.C. Attorney General David Eby, who

People age 30 and older may now receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in British Columbia, starting with hot spots for transmission. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a statement on Tuesday the vaccine will be made available across the province as B.C. receives enough doses to add more pharmacy appointments. Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended last week that the vaccine may be offered to people 30 and up who don't want to wait for an approved mRNA vaccine, and if certain other conditions are met. Those condi

A Quebec woman in her 50s has died of a blood clot that occurred after she received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The province's public health director says officials always knew that rare complications were possible with vaccines. Dr. Horacio Arruda says the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine still far outweigh the risks. Arruda notes there have been four reports of complications out of 400,000 people who have received the vaccines. He says Quebec will continue to offer the vaccine to residents between the ages of 45 and 79. Health Minister Christian Dube a told a news conference that any de

Uniformed police officers will no longer be assigned to Vancouver public schools after trustees voted to end its school liaison officer program.The program has been under review for almost a year due to concerns that uniformed officers make some students anxious or upset, including many identifying as Black, Indigenous or people of colour.Trustees voted eight to one Monday in favour of a motion to halt the program at the end of June.The decision is supported by several groups, including the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council and associations representingelementary and secondary school

British Columbia's top doctor says the province has confirmed that COVID-19 was a factor in the death of an infant from the Interior Health region. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the baby was being treated in hospital in January and the B.C. Coroners' Service has since determined COVID-19 was a factor in the baby's death. Dr. Henry reported the death while addressing concerns raised in Ontario that people are dying at home of COVID-19, saying the coroners' service in B.C. has a process in place to investigate whether the illness was a factor in any unexpected deaths. She says

The cabinet minister who helped set in motion British Columbia's money laundering inquiry says he was getting very different versions about suspicious cash at casinos from officials when he became the minister responsible for gaming in 2017. Attorney General David Eby told the Cullen Commission that there were significant information gaps about suspicious cash at casinos during separate briefings with him from officials at the BC Lottery Corporation and the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch. Eby testified officials at the lottery corporation told him anti-money laundering efforts were working

A first-degree murder charge has been laid in what Vancouver police say was a "shocking and unnerving" shooting in a busy city neighbourhood last week.The victim, 31-year-old Harpreet Singh Dhaliwal of Abbotsford, B.C., was shot and killed outside a popular restaurant last Saturday.On top of the murder charge, 51-year-old Francois Gauthier is also accused of possession of a loaded prohibited weapon.Gauthier remains in custody until his next court appearance.Police say no one else was hurt in the targeted shooting, but safety was at risk for others in the public location.There have been three

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says suspending incoming passenger flights from India and Pakistan for the next month must be done to keep Canadians safe. Trudeau says it's necessary because there has been a concerning surge of COVID-19 cases and the emergence of more variants of concern in certain parts of the world.Also, the federal health minister has said half of the people who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus after arriving in Canada by plane have come from India.The new travel measures were announced yesterday following pressure from provincial leaders, who said not enough w