A leap in gas prices is blamed for the steepest climb in the cost of living in nearly 40 years. Statistics Canada says the national inflation rate in May rose to 7.7 per cent when compared with May of last year, and has jumped nearly one per cent since April. BC also saw a sharp hike last month as inflation in this province was set at 8.1 per cent, a 1.4 per cent vault over April's 6.7 per cent setting. Vancouver and Victoria posted identical rates of 8.2 per cent in May, well over a percentage point higher than the month earlier, with Stats-Can saying a nearly 10 per cent spike in food costs

The latest report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is leaking a lot of cash. A new analysis shows the pipeline running between the Edmonton-area and port in Burnaby is worth about 1.2 billion dollars less than its estimated value 18 months ago. Delayed completion, not expected until late next year, plus the ballooning cost of the project which is now set at more than 21-billion dollars, all factored into the troubling estimate. The pipeline was bought by the federal government in 2018 when environmental opposition encouraged Kinder Morgan to

A double shooting on Vancouver Island has left a man dead and a woman in hospital. RCMP in Campbell River say it happened yesterday. The woman is being treated for undisclosed injuries while a police statement says the man appears to have died by suicide. It says the investigation is continuing, but there is no ongoing threat to public safety.

A San Francisco city supervisor says one person was killed and another was wounded in a shooting on a subway train Wednesday. Supervisor Myrna Melgar says the San Francisco Police Department informed her that the shooting happened on a San Francisco Muni train between Forest Hill and Castro stations. She says the perpetrator ran out of the train at Castro station and remains at large. San Francisco police and city transportation officials did not immediately respond to telephone messages seeking more information. Melgar told The Associated Press that San Francisco Deputy Chief David Lazar info

Canadian National Railway Co. announced on Tuesday plans to invest approximately $430 million in Ontario and $365 million in Alberta this year. The Montreal-based company says the investments will be in technology, capacity, rolling stock units and company-wide decarbonization initiatives, as well as network improvements. Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra said in a news release that the announcement will help “improve the fluidity of (Canada’s) rail network against the unprecedented disruptions to service” in the last two years. CN Rail has invested more than $1 billion in Ontario an

Edmonton police are asking the public for help in identifying a man who sexually assaulted a five-year-old girl. Police say that sometime last week, the girl was playing at the Evansdale School playground when she was grabbed by man who sexually assaulted her and ran off. They say the man is described as white with short blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a brown shirt, jeans, black shoes without socks and a black watch. Police say he referred to himself as Kevin.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday sought postponement "by a few weeks" for appearing before the Enforcement Directorate till complete recovery from Covid-19 and a lung infection. Sonia Gandhi had been undergoing treatment at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital from June 12 was discharged on June 20. She had developed profuse bleeding from the nose following the COVID infection and had also underwent a follow-up surgery. "Since she has been strictly advised rest at home following her hospitalisation on account of Covid and lung infection, Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi has

More than 1,000 people were killed in Afghanistan after a powerful earthquake hit the country on Wednesday, media reports said. An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 struck southeastern Afghanistan. A severe earthquake struck in the early hours of this morning near the city of Khost in the southeastern part of the country. The most affected areas are in Spera District in Khost Province, and Barmala, Ziruk, Naka and Gayan districts in Paktika Province. "We have over 1,000 dead and over 1,500 wounded. Many villages were destroyed," Amin Huzaifa, the head of the culture and information department of th

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced several cabinet changes following resignations tied to his party's leadership race. Environment Minister Jason Nixon now taking over permanently as finance minister, handling off his Environment and Parks portfolio to Whitney Issik. Calgary-South East MLA Matt Jones is the new minister for children's services and Calgary-Currie member Nicholas Milliken will head up infrastructure as current Infrastructure Minister Prasad Panda moves to the transportation ministry. The changes come after cabinet ministers Travis Toews (TAVES), Rebecca Schulz and Rajan