Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal, provincial and territorial governments have reached a deal on billions of dollars in transfers to continue reopening economies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the federal government will contribute $19 billion to the effort. The money is to help the lower-tier governments with needs such as funding child care, bailing out cities whose expenses have soared and revenues plunged, increasing contact-tracing capacity, and buying personal protective equipment. The pandemic is a health crisis, but Trudeau says it has a deep economic dimension. He s

The first of multiple parliamentary investigations of the federal government's aborted deal with WE Charity to run a volunteering program begins this afternoon.The House of Commons finance committee is set to hear from Youth Minister Bardish Chagger and some senior public servants as it probes how WE got a sole-sourced contract to administer the $900-million program.The Canada Student Service Grant is aimed at students who haven't been able to find work this summer, offering up to $5,000 toward education costs in exchange for 500 hours of volunteering.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitte

BC health officials say they're concerned about the increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the province. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a joint statement that they're worried COVID-19 is silently circulating in communities. The province has logged 21 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of three-thousand 149. While infections early in the pandemic were concentrated in long-term care and assisted living facilities, health officials say most of the new cases are in the broader community. The statement says residents need to do their part by layering

Leader of the Federal NDP, Jagmeet Singh shared his views on important political issues, on Connect FM's 'Sver Wala Show' this morning.Singh says that Public Services and Procurement Canada is a highly capable agency, and government should have undertaken the responsibility of administering Canada Student Service Grant on their own instead of giving it away to WE Charity.He says if substantial relevant evidence emerges out of the WE Charity probe, then police should also investigate the issue.About Canada's China policy, he agreed with government's decision to not swap Meng Wanzhou for the two

The Bank of Canada is holding its key interest rate at 0.25 per cent in response to what it calls the ``extremely uncertain'' economic outlook from the COVID-19 pandemic, and plans to keep it there until the picture improves.In its updated outlook, the bank expects the economy to contract by 7.8 per cent this year.The central bank's report pegs the annual inflation rate at 0.6 per cent this year, rising to 1.2 per cent in 2021 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.Its inflation target is 2 per cent, and the bank says it will maintain the current rate until that target is achieved.The forecasts come with a

British Columbia's top doctor says she's pleased a travel ban between Canada and the United States has been extended but anyone seeing American licence plates north of the crossing should not be quick to judge. Dr. Bonnie Henry says some Canadians living in the US may be returning to care for family members and given the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases south of the border it's not surprising they're in BC. The border closure has been extended by another 30 days for a fourth time, to Aug. 21, but Henry says considerations may need to be made for students who contribute to research programs at uni

BC Finance Minister Carole James is forecasting the province will run up a 12.5 billion dollar deficit this fiscal year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That's a sharp reversal from the balanced budget James predicted before COVID-19 hit. She says the province has lost more than 230,000 jobs and seen a staggering decline in economic growth since February. That includes a 15.9 per cent drop in retail sales due to lockdowns ordered in March to flatten the curve of the pandemic that are now being gradually lifted.

Federal opposition parties are demanding to know why the Liberal government created a $900-million program to help students find volunteer positions rather than putting the money into an existing summer jobs program.The government says the new Canada Student Services Grant is intended to reward tens of thousands of students who are having a hard time finding work and want to help with the COVID-19 pandemic.Opposition parties say the Liberals could have accomplished the same task by putting the money into the existing Canada Summer Jobs program, through which thousands of jobs for students are

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are providing case updates for three 24-hour reporting periods. In the first reporting period from July 10 to July 11, we had 21 new cases. From July 11 to July 12, we had 20 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we have had a further 21 new cases."This represents 62 new cases since we reported on Friday, for a total of 3,115 cases in British Columbia."There are 208 active cases of CO