Canada & World

The Canadian Real Estate Association reported that the national average home price hit $713,500 in December, up almost 18 per cent from the same month one year earlier. File photo

Canada’s housing ministers meet as MPs ready for more hearings on pace of price gains

Low mortgage rates and consumer demand for larger spaces outstripping supply

In this photo provided by the Australian Defence Force, pallets of aid bound for Tonga are secured on a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft at an airbase at Amberley, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. The first flights carrying fresh water and other aid to Tonga were finally able to land after the Pacific nation’s main airport runway was cleared of ash left by a huge volcanic eruption. (LACW Kate Czerny/Australian Defence Force via AP)

First aid flights finally arrive in Tonga after big volcano eruption

Pacific island nation has so far avoided the widespread devastation many initially feared

A bottle containing the drug remdesivir is held by a health worker at the Institute of Infectology of Kenezy Gyula Teaching Hospital of the University of Debrecen in Debrecen, Hungary, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests the antiviral medication remdesivir could have a “modest but significant effect” on COVID-19 patient outcomes, including decreasing the need for mechanical ventilation by approximately 50 per cent. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Zsolt Czegledi/MTI via AP)

Officials optimistic treatments will help ease COVID strain on Canada’s health system

Some provinces hopeful fifth pandemic wave peaking or will soon

In this photo provided by Ukrainian National Guard Press Office Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, right, greets Ukrainian soldiers during her visit to the National Guard base close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ukrainian National Guard Press Office via AP

Russia faces severe sanctions if it moves further into Ukraine, says Canada’s Joly

Joly to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

In this photo provided by Ukrainian National Guard Press Office Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, right, greets Ukrainian soldiers during her visit to the National Guard base close to Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Ukrainian National Guard Press Office via AP
A health-care worker looks out of a window at Maison Herron, a long-term care home in the Montreal suburb of Dorval, on Saturday, April 11, 2020. The physical and mental health impacts of isolation periods are high for seniors living in care facilities.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Advocates say lengthy COVID isolation for seniors in care may do more harm than good

Authorities asked to reconsider guidelines as to when residents must isolate

A health-care worker looks out of a window at Maison Herron, a long-term care home in the Montreal suburb of Dorval, on Saturday, April 11, 2020. The physical and mental health impacts of isolation periods are high for seniors living in care facilities.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney shakes hands with Kaycee Madu, Minister of Municipal Affairs, after being sworn into office in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Suspended Alberta justice minister says he wasn’t distracted driving, phone in pocket

Kaycee Madu says he paid ticket fully and promptly, understands how call to chief might be perceived

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney shakes hands with Kaycee Madu, Minister of Municipal Affairs, after being sworn into office in Edmonton on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
HMCS Montreal departs Halifax for a six-month deployment on a NATO mission in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, families weren’t permitted on the navy wharf for the traditional sendoff as the frigate pulled away from the jetty and its 240 crew members set off for its deployment. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Trudeau promises to support Ukraine as Canadian warship departs for Black Sea

Ukraine on edge as 100,000 Russian troops sit on their country’s eastern border

HMCS Montreal departs Halifax for a six-month deployment on a NATO mission in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, families weren’t permitted on the navy wharf for the traditional sendoff as the frigate pulled away from the jetty and its 240 crew members set off for its deployment. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Commons Finance committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

PBO report questions need for Liberals’ planned stimulus spending

Budget officer says benchmarks largely met, stimulus should be wound down before fiscal year ends

Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux waits to appear before the Commons Finance committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
People wait in line at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Montreal, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada. The Omicron-fuelled fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be peaking in some provinces, while others say the worst is likely still to come. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

COVID-19 antiviral pill on its way across Canada, as some hospitalizations dip

Canada has purchased one million courses of Paxlovid for delivery this year

People wait in line at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Montreal, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada. The Omicron-fuelled fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be peaking in some provinces, while others say the worst is likely still to come. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar poses a picture in Toronto, November 29, 2016. For eight days in January 1992, Bondar circled the Earth aboard the Shuttle Discovery, becoming Canada's first woman in space. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

‘It gets better’: Roberta Bondar reflects on being first Canadian woman in space

Bondar spent 8 days aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1992 mission

Canadian astronaut Roberta Bondar poses a picture in Toronto, November 29, 2016. For eight days in January 1992, Bondar circled the Earth aboard the Shuttle Discovery, becoming Canada's first woman in space. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch
Chief public health officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Dec. 22, 2020. Tam appeared Tuesday at the House of Commons health committee to answer questions from MPs on the COVID-19 situation in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Latest research shows Omicron infectious up to 10 days: Tam

Canada still recommends people infected with COVID-19 isolate for at least 10 days

Chief public health officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam speaks during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa on Dec. 22, 2020. Tam appeared Tuesday at the House of Commons health committee to answer questions from MPs on the COVID-19 situation in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Children wearing shark outfits join a protest of a group of animal conservation activists near a local Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, Saturday, April 21, 2018. The activists demanded Chinese restaurants to stop providing sharks fin soup on their menu from the endangered species as for centuries, shark fin, usually served as soup, has been a coveted delicacy in Chinese cooking. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

B.C. company fined $75,000 for importing fins of protected sharks

Feds say Hang Hing Herbal Medicine Ltd. imported 22 bags of processed shark fins in September 2017

Children wearing shark outfits join a protest of a group of animal conservation activists near a local Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, Saturday, April 21, 2018. The activists demanded Chinese restaurants to stop providing sharks fin soup on their menu from the endangered species as for centuries, shark fin, usually served as soup, has been a coveted delicacy in Chinese cooking. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Saturnino de la Fuente García died Tuesday at the age of 112 years and 341 days. (Guinnessworldrecord.com photo)

Spaniard said to be world’s oldest man dies at 112

Saturnino De la Fuente passed away at home in Leon, a city in northwest Spain, Jan. 18.

Saturnino de la Fuente García died Tuesday at the age of 112 years and 341 days. (Guinnessworldrecord.com photo)
A shipment of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, sits on a pallet on arrival at Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

A Paxlovid primer: what to know about the new oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19

Here are some answers about the new COVID anti-viral treatment just approved for use in Canada

A shipment of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pill, Paxlovid, sits on a pallet on arrival at Ben Gurion International airport near Tel Aviv, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A man delivers fliers to homes during a winter snowstorm in Montreal on Monday, January 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Another snow day for Toronto kids, Prairie provinces brace for storms, ice and snow

Winter storm and wind warnings in place for much of Alberta

A man delivers fliers to homes during a winter snowstorm in Montreal on Monday, January 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Alberta premier Jason Kenney shakes hands with Kaycee Madu, Minister of Municipal Affairs, after being sworn into office in Edmonton on Tuesday April 30, 2019. Madu, who is currently the province's justice minister, is being called on to resign for phoning Edmonton’s police chief with concerns about a traffic ticket. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Kenney relieves justice minister of duties, orders investigation into police call

CBC reported Madu given $300 ticket for distracted driving while using a cellphone in a school zone

Alberta premier Jason Kenney shakes hands with Kaycee Madu, Minister of Municipal Affairs, after being sworn into office in Edmonton on Tuesday April 30, 2019. Madu, who is currently the province's justice minister, is being called on to resign for phoning Edmonton’s police chief with concerns about a traffic ticket. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Registered nurse Cayli Hunt puts on her personal protective equipment prior to entering a COVID positive room in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul's hospital in downtown Vancouver, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. nurses, doctors exhausted as next COVID-19 peak comes this week: spokespeople

B.C. infections may have peaked but there’s a lag between infections and hospitalizations

Registered nurse Cayli Hunt puts on her personal protective equipment prior to entering a COVID positive room in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul's hospital in downtown Vancouver, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
FILE - Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. The seditious conspiracy case filed this week against members and associates of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group marked the boldest attempt so far by the government to prosecute those who attacked the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

For Oath Keepers and founder, Jan. 6 Washington DC was weeks in the making

Rare indictment of seditious conspiracy levied against members of group in U.S. capitol riot

FILE - Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. The seditious conspiracy case filed this week against members and associates of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group marked the boldest attempt so far by the government to prosecute those who attacked the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
The Canada Post logo is seen on the outside the company’s Pacific Processing Centre, in Richmond, B.C., on June 1, 2017. A claim by Chinese health authorities that the Omicron variant was introduced to a resident of Beijing through a piece of regular mail from Canada is being dismissed as ludicrous. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

China’s claim that Omicron came from Canadian mail dismissed as ‘ludicrous’

Beijing reports 1st local Omicron case last week as Olympics loom in the near horizon

The Canada Post logo is seen on the outside the company’s Pacific Processing Centre, in Richmond, B.C., on June 1, 2017. A claim by Chinese health authorities that the Omicron variant was introduced to a resident of Beijing through a piece of regular mail from Canada is being dismissed as ludicrous. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (NICT via AP)

Flights sent to assess Tonga damage after volcanic eruption

Towering ash cloud since Saturday’s eruption prevented earlier flights, communications limited

This satellite image taken by Himawari-8, a Japanese weather satellite operated by Japan Meteorological Agency and released by National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), shows an undersea volcano eruption at the Pacific nation of Tonga Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. (NICT via AP)