British Columbia's coroner says the toxic and unregulated drug supply has claimed more than 2,000 lives in the province in the first ten months of this year. A statement from the coroners' service says in October alone 189 people died from overdoses, which is more than six deaths a day. It is also the 37th consecutive month where at least 150 people died from illicit overdoses. The service says more than 13,300 people have died because of poisoned drugs since the crisis was declared in April 2016. Jennifer Whiteside, minister of mental health and addictions, says in a statement that they recog

Statistics Canada says the economy shrank 1.1 per cent on an annualized basis in the third quarter. A decrease in international exports and slower inventory accumulation by businesses were partially offset by increases in government spending and housing investment. StatCan also revised up its reading for real gross domestic product in the second quarter. It says the economy didn't shrink, but instead grew by 1.4 per cent on an annualized basis.

A large majority of Canadians agree that higher immigration is fueling the housing crisis and putting pressure on the health-care system, a new Leger poll suggests. New federal voting intention numbers from the polling firm also show that the Conservatives are maintaining their sizable lead over the governing Liberals. The polling, conducted from Friday to Sunday, found that about three-quarters of respondents agreed the increase in immigrants is adding strain to both the housing market and health-care system. Nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 63 per cent, said the volume of newcomers is al

Forty-one construction workers have been rescued from a collapsed tunnel in northern India where they had spent the last 17 days. The rescue on Tuesday marked a happy ending to an ordeal that had gripped the country and led to a massive rescue operation that overcame several setbacks. Locals, relatives and government officials erupted in joy, set off firecrackers and shouted ``Bharat Mata ki Jai'', Hindi for ``Long live mother India", as happy workers walked out after receiving a brief checkup by doctors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to some of the rescued workers over the phone. He

A new report from Statistics Canada says life expectancy for the average Canadian at birth has fallen for three straight years, from 82.3 years in 2019 to 81.3 in 2022. The report on deaths shows New Brunswick saw the biggest decline in life expectancy in 2022, dropping to 79.8 years from 80.9 in 2021. Saskatchewan's life expectancy has fallen the most over the past three years combined, dropping a full two years to 78.5 in 2022 from 80.5 in 2019. Cancer and heart disease were the leading causes of death, accounting for 41.8 per cent of all deaths in 2022, while COVID-19 caused about six per

The spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry says an agreement has been reached to extend the Israel-Hamas truce for another two days. The announcement came on the final day of an original four-day truce between the warring sides. A fourth exchange of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel is planned for later in the day. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. The cease-fire came into effect Friday after several weeks of indirect negotiations mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Qatar is the go-to

Hamas released 24 hostages who had been held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire deal. The hostages freed Friday included 13 Israelis, 10 people from Thailand and one from the Philippines, according to Qatar. The agreement opened the way for sorely needed aid to flow into Gaza for beleaguered residents. It was also a moment of hope for families in Israel and elsewhere worried about loved ones taken captive during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war. With the truce's start Friday morning, Gaza

A four-day temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has begun on Friday. Under this agreement Hamas has released 13 Israeli hostages in the first round. This information was given by the Prime Minister's Office of Israel. During the 4 days of the ceasefire, Hamas will release a total of 50 hostages and in return Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners.U. K. Hamas, declared a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, attacked Israel on October 7 and took about 240 people hostage. Qatar played a major role in the ceasefire between the two sides. The International Com

India restored electronic visa services for Canadian nationals, an Indian foreign ministry official said Wednesday, two months after Canada alleged the South Asian nation was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada. The move could ease tensions between the two countries that swapped accusations and expelled each other's diplomats with India introducing a visa ban on Canadian nationals. A diplomatic spat erupted between the two countries after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September that there were "credible allegations" of Indian involvement in the killing