BC's top doctor says current provincewide health orders on gatherings will remain in place until at least the end of the month. Dr. Bonnie Henry says just one super-spreader event or a slight increase in contacts could counteract all progress made so far to slow the spread of COVID-19, especially as two variants of the virus have been identified here. She says restrictions must stay so there's a smooth finish as more vaccines are available. Dr. Henry says an easing of restrictions could be considered by the end of February, to allow people to spend time with their safe six. Health Minister Ad

Statistics Canada says the economy lost almost 213,000 jobs in January as employment fell to the lowest level since August last year, wiping out the gains made in the fall.The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4 per cent, the highest rate since August. Financial data firm Refinitiv says the average economist estimate was for a loss of 47,500 jobs in January and an unemployment rate of 8.9 per cent.The losses were almost entirely concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, and mostly in the retail sector as lockdowns and restrictions closed many businesses.Employment declines were heav

The COVID-19 curve is slowly bending downward in British Columbia but health officials are urging caution for those making weekend plans given the presence of new variants. The province confirmed 465 new cases Thursday for a total of 69,245 since the pandemic began. There are 4,447 active cases and of those, 257 people are hospitalized including 76 in intensive care. Six more people have died for a total death toll of 1,240 in B.C., while about 62,078 people who tested positive are considered recovered. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint s

A mega pop star, a beloved activist and a relative of a ground-breaking politician have angered the Indian government by tweeting support for protesting farmers. It took just one tweet from Rihanna to anger the Indian government and supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party. Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting new agriculture laws they say will devastate their earnings. Greta Thunberg and the niece of US Vice-President Kamala Harris are also among those who tweeted their support. Although Greta Thunberg tweeted again in the support of Indian farmers. She wrote "No amoun

The federal government says a ban on cruise ships in Canadian waters will stay in place for one more year. The ban until Feb. 28, 2022 applies to cruise ships carrying more than 100 people as well as pleasure crafts operating in the Arctic, except for those used by residents in the region. The ban was originally put in place last year was to expire at the end of February. A news release from Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the ban in necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable communities. He also says it will allow public health authorities to focus on pressing is

Homicide investigators have identified the victim of a targeted shooting in Langley, B.C. Sgt. Frank Jang with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says 22-year-old Arshdeep Singh died in the late-night attack on Jan. 26. Jang says Singh's name and photo are being released in an effort to further the investigation, but he provided no other information. Singh was in the driver's seat of a car parked in a residential area of Langley when it was riddled by gunfire, killing him and injuring a man in the passenger seat.In the hours after the shooting, Jang confirmed Singh had been known to p

Just a few days after a COVID-19 outbreak was declared over at the hospital in Burnaby, B.C., another flare-up has been reported at the health centre. The Fraser Health authority says nine patients in the medicine unit at Burnaby Hospital have tested positive and it has been temporarily closed to admissions. The emergency department remains open at the hospital and enhanced cleaning and contact tracing has begun. B.C. reported 414 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, for a total of 68,780. There were also 16 more COVID-19-related deaths, 4,426 active cases and 278 in hospital. Provincial healt

The Trudeau government is adding the Proud Boys and three other extreme right-wing groups to its list of terrorist organizations. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says the groups have proven themselves to be violent, as was seen in the United States during the riot at the Capitol building in Washington, DC last month. The four right-wing groups are among 13 additions to the list, which include three groups linked to al-Qaida, four associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and one Kashmiri organization. The government notes the Proud Boys played a "pivotal role in the insurrecti

Canada could get up to 1.1 million additional doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March through the global vaccine-sharing initiative COVAX. That's if and when it's approved by Health Canada, and would be over and above Ottawa's existing agreement with the drugmaker. And since there is the potential for production delays, COVAX is giving countries a range of potential deliveries. Canada was told it would get between 1.9 million and 3.2 million doses by the end of June, with between 500,000 and 1.1 million of those arriving before the end of next month. The vaccine alliance