Negotiations between the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) and the provincial government are scheduled to resume today, marking the first formal talks since thousands of teachers walked off the job on October 6. The provincewide strike has now entered its sixth day, leaving more than 740,000 students across 2,500 schools out of classrooms. The dispute centres on wages and class sizes. The government’s last proposal, which teachers decisively rejected late last month, offered a 12 per cent salary increase over four years and a plan to hire 3,000 additional teachers. Finance Minister Nate

British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says trails in the McGregor Mountain area, northeast of Prince George, will be closing after two hikers were attacked by a grizzly bear. It says in a post to social media that the attack happened on Saturday. The service says its so-called Problem Animal Team Specialists are investigating the bear attack and "in an abundance of caution" it recommends people cancel any hikes planned in the Pass Lake area. It says the area will be closed until the investigation concludes, but did not include any additional details about the status of the hikers and

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is in India, marking the first visit by a Canadian cabinet minister after two years of diplomatic strain. Anand will address media this morning after meeting with her Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and with plans to meet business leaders in Mumbai. On Monday Anand met with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying in a statement the meeting was about building on the momentum gained earlier this summer when Modi was visiting Canada at the G7 summit and met Prime Minister Mark Carney. Anand also released a joint statement Monday wi

The Canada Super60 cricket series lit up Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium this weekend - and the excitement reached a new level when former Indian cricket star Yuvraj Singh was spotted in the stands alongside B.C. Premier David Eby. The two appeared together on the stadium’s big screen during the women’s match between Vancouver Thunderbirds and Toronto Sixers, drawing loud cheers from the crowd. Cricket fans in the arena - many from Surrey and the Lower Mainland’s South Asian communities - welcomed the moment as a sign of the sport’s growing stature in Canada. Premier Eby’s office had

Vancouver Police are investigating a series of stabbings that occurred early this morning along the Yaletown seawall. Just after 7:30 a.m., officers responded to reports of multiple people stabbed along the seawall near David Lam Park. Three victims were located and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect fled the area before police were called and has not yet been located. Initial evidence suggests the attacks were random and unprovoked. The suspect is described as an Indigenous woman in her late 20s or early 30s. She is between 5’3” and 5’7”, has a slim bu

British Columbia jails have been added to the growing list of sites behind picket lines as public service workers escalate job action. The B.C. General Employees' Union says in a release that all its remaining unionized staff at adult correctional facilities across the province are now on strike. The union says the escalation brings the total number of work sites behind pickets to more than 470, with about 25,000 workers taking strike action across 20 ministries, Crown corporations and agencies. Union president Paul Finch says the escalation is due to the government's "lack of urgency" in comi

British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service is warning residents after a bear attack this week in the Squamish area north of Vancouver. The service says a woman was walking her dog in the Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area on Wednesday when she was attacked by a sow with its cubs. The woman only got a minor injury. The Conservation Officer Service says people should avoid the trail network at the Squamish Wildlife Management Area and, if they go, keep their dogs on a leash. The public has also been reminded to make noise while hiking, to carry bear spray and to never approach or fee

An explosion at a Tennessee military munitions plant has left multiple people dead and missing. The blast occurred Friday at Accurate Energetic Systems, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville. Authorities say secondary explosions have prevented rescuers from approaching the site. The cause of the explosion is not yet known. Emergency crews have been unable to enter the plant due to ongoing detonations. Residents miles away reported feeling the explosion, and video shows flames and heavy smoke rising from the debris. The company has not responded to requests for comment. Local officials describe

British Columbia's coroners service say 153 people died in July from unregulated toxic drugs and another 149 deaths occurred in August. Those numbers are up slightly from the previous two months when the service reported 145 people died in May and 147 people died in June A government statement says the number of unregulated drug deaths in July and August amounted to almost five people a day. The coroners service says the highest number of deaths so far this year were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities, making up more than half of the province's total. More than two thirds o