The number of active wildfires in British Columbia continues to spike after high temperatures and lightning strikes this week, with about 120 blazes burning in the province. The BC Wildfire Service says half of the active fires were started in the last 24 hours, with 16 declared out during that same time period. The wildfire service says the Cariboo Fire Centre region in central B.C. saw more than 1,200 lightning strikes Wednesday, and they started 13 new fires in the area. One blaze in the B.C. Interior just over 12 square kilometres in size is 10 kilometres south of Lytton, B.C., where an ev

During this spring’s federal election, the Liberals promised to "move aggressively" to implement stricter bail laws by introducing a reverse onus for a number of offences. A reverse onus moves the burden of proof from the prosecutor to the accused — meaning they would have to justify being granted bail. The Criminal Code already has a reverse onus for bail in place for many serious offences, including murder. The Liberals would add new offences to that list, including car thefts involving violence or those conducted for a criminal organization, and home invasions and some human trafficking

A report from British Columbia's seniors' advocate say the province will need almost 16,000 new long-term care beds by 2036 to meet the demands of an aging society. Dan Levitt's report tabled at the provincial legislature pegs the current shortfall at over 2,000 beds, and predicts the gap will "grow exponentially" over the next decade. It says the number of people waiting for beds has grown significantly in the past 10 years to 7, 212 in 2025, and people are also waiting longer. The average wait time for a long-term care bed had almost doubled to 290 days by 2024, according to the report, whic

Prime Minister Mark Carney says that tolls on Prince Edward Island's Confederation Bridge will be reduced starting Aug. 1, along with a handful of other Atlantic travel fees. Starting Friday, the bridge toll for an average vehicle will drop from $50.25 to $20. The government is also cutting fares in half for passengers, vehicles and commercial traffic on federally supported Eastern Canada ferry services, and eliminating all fuel surcharges for those services. Marine Atlantic, a constitutionally mandated ferry service connecting Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, will reduce traveller fares by 50 pe

Prime Minister Mark Carney has expressed displeasure over Israel's move to restrict humanitarian aid in Gaza, calling it a violation of international law. PM Carney stressed the need to shift Israel's control over food distribution amid reports of widespread starvation in the Palestinian territories. He said this work should be in the hands of international organizations. The Prime Minister said that Canada has also provided aid to many of these international organizations for relief supplies in Gaza, but Israel has prevented them from reaching Gaza. Carney also reiterated that Canada sup

Five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team have been found not guilty of sexual assault in an encounter with a woman at a London, Ont., hotel room seven years ago. One of the players, Michael McLeod, has also been acquitted of a separate charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault. Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia delivered her ruling this afternoon to a packed courtroom, capping off a complextrial that captured national attention this spring. The case centred on an encounter that took place in the early hours of June 19, 2018, as many mem

Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to stop today in the town where he was born as he travels across the Northwest Territories. Carney also spent his early childhood in Fort Smith, located south of Yellowknife along the Alberta boundary, before he moved with his family to Edmonton. He is scheduled to talk to locals in Fort Smith about affordability and food insecurity, and discuss wildfires with community leaders, before heading to Inuvik in the territory's northwest corner. He is set to co-host the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee on Thursday with Natan Obed, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanata

Today marks one year since roughly 25,000 tourists and residents of Jasper, Alta., were forced to flee on a single highway, after several runaway fires were discovered in Jasper National Park. There's expected to be solemn reflection in the beloved mountain town, as events are held to remember the evacuation and the flames that incinerated neighbourhoods two days later. A third of the town's structures were destroyed despite firefighters' best efforts. It's estimated about 2,000 people were displaced by the fire. A ceremony is scheduled with Mayor Richard Ireland and federal Emergency Manageme

The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 73 people were killed while waiting for aid at locations across Gaza on Sunday. The largest toll was in northern Gaza, where at least 67 Palestinians were killed while attempting to access aid entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, according to the Health Ministry and local hospitals. More than 150 people were wounded, some critically, hospitals said. It wasn't immediately clear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both. But some witnesses said that the Israeli military shot at the crowd. The Israeli mi