B.C. is expanding the program it uses to help patients kick their dependence on opioids.A statement from the Health Ministry says B.C. will now provide universal coverage for eligible drugs which include methadone that are rated as opioid agonist treatment medications.The statement says the expanded program differs from safer supply which provides alternatives to illicit drugs and will help the roughly 1600 B.C. patients who can't get PharmaCare coverage for the drugs needed to manage their opioid-use disorder.Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says removing cost barriers

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says deportation orders for international students caught up in a fraud scheme have been put on hold while a task force investigates each case.Hundreds of students might have been affected by the scheme, which saw immigration agents issue fake acceptance letters to get international students into Canada.Some students had no idea their documents were forged until it came time for them apply for permanent residency.Fraser says the department is aware of only few dozen who have been ordered to leave the country, and that process will be paused.A task force of seni

Justice Russell Brown is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada effective immediately, ending a probe into alleged misconduct.The Canadian Judicial Council, the body tasked with disciplining judges, says it no longer has jurisdiction to continue investigating allegations of misconduct stemming from an event at an Arizona hotel in January.Brown has vigorously denied accusations that he was intoxicated and harassed a group of friends at an event in Scottsdale, Ariz., honouring another judge.The justice, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2015 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper, had

A Vancouver family known for its philanthropy is making a $20 million donation to a British Columbia substance use treatment centre in memory of their adult son and brother who died of an opioid overdose.Jill Diamond, executive director of Vancouver's Diamond Foundation and sister to Steven Diamond, said in a statement that her brother might still be alive today if he had received the care being offered at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital."No matter where we turned, we never found the help that Steven needed," Diamond said in a news release."We’re speaking out today for the first time because

British Columbia will soon be the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement a licensing requirement for asbestos abatement contractors.The Labour Ministry says workers must be licensed by Jan. 1.This comes following changes to the Workers Compensation Act last year, requiring that contractors who remove the cancer-causing material use only trained and certified workers.The ministry says required training for worker certification is scheduled to begin this summer.It says WorkSafeBC will begin to accept applications from contractors performing asbestos abatement work by September.The ministry sa

WestJet says it will wind down operations at its budget carrier Swoop by October.The move comes after ratification of a new collective agreement that brings pilots of both carriers onto a level pay scale, with a 24 percent pay bump over four years.The airline says it will integrate Swoop's operations into its main banner.WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech says keeping Swoop separate would make little sense financially given the higher labour costs.He says each WestJet flight will offer a portion of ultra-low-cost tickets.

A self-styled spiritual leader and his wife are facing additional charges for alleged sexual assaults between 2012 and 2019.Edmonton police say Johannes (John) de Ruiter, who is 63, has been charged with three counts of sexual assault in three separate cases.Leigh Ann de Ruiter, who is 64, was jointly charged with two counts of sexual assault.Police have said Johannes de Ruiter is the leader of an Edmonton group known as the College of Integrated Philosophy or the Oasis Group.Edmonton police have alleged that he would tell female members that he was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual act

A Senate report released today says Canada can make major strides in addressing suicide prevention if all levels of government develop strategies tailored towards men and Indigenous people, the groups facing the highest suicide rates.The Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology also says the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act has done little to bring down the rate of suicides across Canada since it was adopted in 2016.The report says this is because the current framework does not prioritize evidence-based interventions for suicide prevention and does a poor job at t

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is showing no interest in compromising with Meta and Google over their online news bill that would make tech giants pay for journalism created by others that helps those companies generate revenue.Google says it wants to compromise with the Liberal government over the proposed legislation, known as Bill C-18, which would require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing news content.But Trudeau says Meta and Google's bullying tactics will not work with his government, which he says is ensuring those companies do not weaken Canada's demo