Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the Liberals are easing eligibility rules for the government's emergency wage subsidy and changing the amounts businesses can receive. The government had been under pressure to make the subsidy more accessible, specifically by loosening the requirement of a 30 per cent drop in revenues, so more companies under that cut-off can qualify. Speaking in Toronto, Morneau says the rules will be changed so amounts paid out will be proportional to revenue declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is the heart of the Liberals' promise to help Canadians get bac

A newborn intensive care unit at a Vancouver hospital is the site of the latest COVID-19 outbreak in the city.Vancouver Coastal Health, which administers health care services for much of Greater Vancouver region and the inner south and central coasts, issued a notice about the outbreak Thursday.The outbreak covers the neo-natal intensive care unit at St. Paul's hospital in downtown Vancouver.The agency did not say if the outbreak is related to staff or patients at the unit, or how many cases have been reported.Officials with the health authority say a satellite unit has been set up to continu

BC is reporting 21 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths. The province's death toll stands at 189. The province's top doctor says 2,789 people in BC have recovered from the illness out of 3,170 cases in total. Doctor Bonnie Henry says 192 of BC's cases are active. Four cases are now associated with Krazy Cherry Fruit Company in Oliver and Henry says 27 cases have been linked to recent instances of community exposure in Kelowna. Dr. Henry says the next step is more targeted antibody testing to help understand who has been most affected by the virus.

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