Quebec Premier Francois Legault's request for the military to stay on in nearly two-dozen long-term care homes until September is raising several concerns. Legault wants to buy time so the province can hire and train as many as 10,000 orderlies to take over when the troops leave. Instead of tying up hundreds of trained military medical personnel for another four months, sources say Ottawa is looking at whether the Canadian Red Cross can step in. Officials are also looking at how to speed up the hiring of workers in Quebec. Quebec reported 74 new COVID-19 deaths today for a total of more than

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa is angrily denouncing a ruling in the case of tech executive Meng Wanzhou, who is wanted on fraud charges in the US. Experts are warning two Canadians imprisoned in China could face retaliation because the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the charges Meng faces in America could also be a crime in Canada and the case should proceed. But Canada is holding firm, with Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne calling for the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

The first two COVID-19 patients in Canada to receive plasma transfusions rich in antibodies are showing signs of improvement as the experimental treatment expands to trials in more than a dozen sites in Ontario and Quebec. The outlook is ``favourable'' for a female patient in Montreal who was the first to receive a transfusion on May 15th. She has been released from intensive care.In Toronto, a 78-year-old man who received a second transfusion on May 22nd, is expected to make a full recovery.The patients are part of a controlled, randomized trial testing whether a transfusion of plasma donated

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened a major United Nations' conference this morning saying a co-ordinated response is necessary for the global economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.The UN estimates without such a plan, the pandemic could slash nearly $8.5 trillion from the world economy over the next two years and force 34.3 million people into extreme poverty this year.Trudeau told more than 50 heads of state and government that "our citizens need to have confidence in international institutions that leave no one behind and are capable of overcoming global challenges."Earlier this we

The Canadian Armed Forces says it has located the remains of some of the military members who died last month when the helicopter they were in crashed in the Mediterranean.Six Canadian service members died April 29 when the Cyclone helicopter crashed within sight of HMCS Fredericton, which is participating in a NATO mission.Early this morning Canadian military and United States Navy search-and-recovery teams deployed a remotely operated vehicle to a depth of more than 3,000 metres, and discovered a large piece of the fuselage and the remains of fallen military personnel.Remains of only two of

There are 87,519 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada. Quebec: 49,139 confirmed (including 4,228 deaths, 15,319 resolved) Ontario: 26,483 confirmed (including 2,155 deaths, 20,372 resolved) Alberta: 6,926 confirmed (including 141 deaths, 6,106 resolved) British Columbia: 2,550 confirmed (including 161 deaths, 2,144 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,053 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 975 resolved) Saskatchewan: 637 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 559 resolved) Manitoba: 281 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 271 resolved), 11 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 2

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there are many health and safety issues to be tackled before there can be an in-person gathering of G-7 leaders. President Donald Trump is pushing the idea of having leaders meet in or near Washington sometime next month. While Trudeau says that would be more effective than a virtual meeting, he wants to make sure the US has a plan to deal with the potential COVID-19 risk first and consider whether he'd have to quarantine for two weeks afterwards.

The military's report into its mission inside Quebec's long-term care homes reveals many facilities in the network continue to struggle to bring down the number of COVID-19 infections.Members of the Canadian Armed Forces noted that upon arrival they found a widespread lack of personnel and high absenteeism, which they said negatively affected patient hygiene.Other issues they found included problems with distribution of personal protective equipment, disappearing medical supplies and residents circulating within facilities without protective equipment.But the report released today is less crit

Twenty-nine national parks, including Banff in Alberta and Pacific Rim in B-C, will reopen to visitors on June 1st.Minister of Environment Jonathan Wilkinson says the parks will open for day use, and washrooms will be open.All national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas have been closed for weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19.In Banff, the town and many of its businesses have been preparing to reopen June 1st.The town's council recently decided to close two blocks of its often-crowded main street, Banff Avenue to vehicle traffic to make more room for pedestrians.Banff is the