Start of wildfire season better than last year, but risk is high as drought continues
The start to wildfire season has been far less dramatic than it was last year but the risk of hot, dry weather and severe fires remains high, officials warned Thursday.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre reported around 90 fires burning as of noon on Thursday, including 12 classified as being out of control.
"At the same time last year the situation was quite different," said Jean-François Duperré, the director of emergency planning for the government operations centre at Public Safety Canada.
Dozens of London Drugs stores reopen after cybersecurity shutdown
London Drugs is gradually reopening its stores across Western Canada more than a week after a cybersecurity breach forced the retailer to close.
The company says it is working with independent cybersecurity experts to securely bring its systems back online after it was discovered April 28.
The Richmond, B.C.-based pharmacy and retailer operates about 80 London Drugs locations across Western Canada.
The retailer says on its website more than two dozen stores are back in operation in B.C., while six are open in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan and one in Manitoba.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, says not criminally responsible
A man has admitted in court that he killed four women in Winnipeg, but his lawyers are asking he be found not criminally responsible because of mental illness.
Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal said Monday the question of Jeremy Skibicki's mental capacity and intent will now be the focus of the trial.
Canada, Manitoba to develop Red Dress Alert for missing Indigenous women and girls
Canada and Manitoba are partnering to launch an alert system that would inform the public when an Indigenous woman or girl goes missing, they announced Friday in Winnipeg, ahead of a national day to mark the crisis.
The long-awaited Red Dress Alert system is a bid to prevent deaths and increase safe reunions with loved ones.
Statistics Canada concluded in a report last year that the homicide rate for Indigenous women and girls was six times higher than the rate for their non-Indigenous counterparts.
Older adults' brains 'rewarded' by music they don't even like, B.C. researcher finds
The brains of older adults feel a sense of reward when listening to music, even if it's a song they don't particularly like, a researcher at British Columbia's Simon Fraser University says.
Sarah Faber said her work on how healthy brains respond to music as they age creates a baseline for future research on people who have Alzheimer's or dementia to better understand those diseases.
Foreign interference may have changed 2021 result in one riding, inquiry finds
Foreign meddling attempts didn’t change who won the last two federal elections in Canada but they may have changed the result in one riding in 2021, a public inquiry concluded Friday.
A preliminary report by commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue said the extent of the impact of foreign interference in particular ridings is uncertain, though the number of races involved is small.
"The ultimate effects of foreign interference remain uncertain," she said in her interim report.
London Drugs phone lines working, stores still closed after cybersecurity incident
London Drugs says its phone lines are working again after being taken offline in response to a cybersecurity incident.
A statement from the Richmond, B.C.-based pharmacy and retail chain says Canada Post offices inside London Drugs stores are also up and running again.
The company closed all of its stores across Western Canada until further notice after the incident was discovered on Sunday.
Ottawa will appoint commissioner to oversee treaties with Indigenous Peoples: Trudeau
The federal government is planning to create a new agent of Parliament to oversee modern treaty implementation, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says will ensure Ottawa is held to account no matter who is in power.
He announced the plan to appoint a commissioner for modern treaty implementation Tuesday in Gatineau, Que., at a second annual meeting of self-governing Indigenous governments.
"This is a lasting commitment to be a better treaty partner," he said.
Trans Mountain pipeline expansion gets green light to open for May 1
The long-awaited Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is complete and the Canada Energy Regulator has given the go-ahead for the project to open.
The regulator said Tuesday it has approved the last remaining "leave to open" applications submitted by Trans Mountain Corp., the Crown corporation behind the project. Approval of these applications was required before the expanded pipeline could begin shipping oil.
Also on Tuesday, Trans Mountain confirmed that Wednesday, May 1 will mark the commercial start date for the expansion.
Montreal police have been asked by McGill to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
Officials at McGill University are awaiting word from Montreal police, following a request to help clear a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school grounds.
The call for assistance comes after efforts to persuade the protesters to end what the school has called an illegal action failed.
The demonstrators say they have no intention of dismantling their tents until McGill, as well as nearby Concordia University, divests from all companies that are "profiting from genocide."