British Columbia's deputy provincial health officer is encouraging residents to register for a second dose of vaccine as the province heads toward a return to normal life with declining COVID-19 cases and rising vaccination rates. Dr. Reka Gustafson says B.C. recorded 481 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths over three days while 199 people are in hospital. A total of 511 people were in hospital at the height of the pandemic, with 183 patients in intensive care. Gustafson says 72 per cent of residents 12 and over have now received a first dose of vaccine as the province pushes to get second doses

The mayor of London, Ontario says a man who allegedly drove a car into a family standing on a street corner committed an act of ``mass murder.'' Police say the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith and they have assigned a special team of investigators who deal with hate crimes. Mayor Ed Holder says such an act of hatred must be followed by acts of compassion and solidarity with Muslims. Two women aged 74 and 44, a 46 year old man and a 15 year old girl were killed, and a 9 year old boy was seriously injured. Police have charged 20 year old Nathaniel Veltman with four counts of

Moderna is applying to Health Canada today for its COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in teenagers. The Massachusetts-based company says a trial of 2,500 youth aged 12 to 17 in the United States indicated the vaccine was 93 per cent to 100 per cent effective against COVID-19.Moderna is the second vaccine maker to apply for approval for youth; the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for kids as young as 16 in December and for youth 12 to 15 years old in May. Both companies continue to test their vaccines on children as young as six months with hopes to apply for authorization by the fa

Health officials in British Columbia say they are gearing up for a busy month as the province works on the rollout of its second doses of COVID-19 vaccinations. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that 72.4 per cent of all adults in B.C. have received a first dose of a vaccine. They say clinics will be busy dealing with second doses as well as the province's vaccination program for those 12 and older. B.C. recorded 183 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, for a total of 145,049 cases since the pandemic began. It's the fourth straight

Statistics Canada says the economy lost 68,000 jobs in May as lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19 continued.The losses marked the second consecutive month of declines after 207,000 jobs were lost in April.The unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent in May, little changed from the 8.1 per cent in April because the number of unemployed people in Canada overall stayed relatively steady.What changed is that more people dropped out of the labour force in May, including workers who simply got discouraged and gave up looking for work.The statistics office says there were 49,700 discouraged job-searc

British Columbia residents who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be able to choose if they want to stay with the same shot or take one of the other options. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine earlier this year made ``the right choice'' in getting vaccinated, and helped to ease the COVID-19 caseload in the province. She says research has shown that it is safe and effective to mix and match the COVID-19 vaccine options. Dr. Henry also said the province is having issues maintaining a steady supply of the Moderna vaccine, meaning

Police say a suspect is in custody after customers in a bank in British Columbia refused to obey orders from a shotgun-brandishing robber and tackled him. A statement from Abbotsford police says a man entered the Scotiabank branch just before noon yesterday and ordered customers to the floor. As he threw bags onto a counter and demanded money, police say one customer confronted him and three more stepped up. The four tackled the man, disarmed him and held him until officers arrived minutes later. No one was hurt and Sgt. Judy Bird says a 46-year-old man is facing robbery and firearms-related

Health officials say British Columbia's COVID-19 restart plan will be a slow, cautious progression to normal life, but they acknowledge it may cause anxiety or fear in some people. In a news release Wednesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say many others are excited about the transition and people will be able to progress along with the restart plan or in a slower, more gradual process. Dix and Henry say people must be mindful of communities that are assessing their own risks and take time to welcome back visitors. They also say businesses will be r

The United Nations Human Rights Office is calling on all levels of Canadian governments to investigate the deaths of Indigenous children at residential schools and to intensity efforts to find those who are missing. A spokeswoman for the human rights office says the detection of what are believed to be 215 bodies of Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., is ``shocking and reopens painful wounds.''Marta Hurtado says Canada must ensure ``prompt and exhaustive investigations'' into the deaths and search any unmarked graves. She says healing will only be possible on