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Quebec anti-corruption unit says 90 per cent of convictions from fake COVID passports

QUÉBEC - Quebec's anti-corruption unit released its annual report today, saying the past 12 months were busy. The unit, know as UPAC, says 19 people were charged in criminal cases and 18 people were convicted during the 12 months ending March 31, 2024, while 265 individuals or companies were fined. The number of...

Focus on vulnerable communities, improve data sharing before next pandemic: report

TORONTO - An expert panel of doctors and researchers say Canada needs to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and take action before the next health emergency strikes. One of the six experts, Dr. Fahad Razak, says most scientists believe it's "only a matter of time" before another global health crisis hits. The p...

Nuremberg and Nazi comparisons to COVID-19 measures 'unacceptable': Rustad

VANCOUVER - British Columbia's Conservative leader says comparing the Nuremberg trials or Nazi Germany to public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic is unacceptable and "deeply disrespectful to the memory of those who suffered" in the Holocaust. That's after video surfaced of Rustad saying his pa...

Canadian government not ordering Novavax's protein-based COVID-19 vaccine this year

TORONTO - The Public Health Agency of Canada says it is not providing Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine this respiratory virus season, citing low demand. It says the manufacturer requires a minimum order of its updated protein-based vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, which far exceeds the uptake by Canadians last year. The agency say...

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Liberals launch pandemic preparedness agency, seeking faster vaccine development

OTTAWA - The federal Liberals are creating a new agency to beef up Canada's ability to handle rapidly spreading infectious diseases and protect from future pandemics. Health Emergency Readiness Canada is tasked with boosting Canada's life-sciences sector and ensuring Canadians get faster access to vaccines, medical the...

Health Canada approves Pfizer's updated COVID-19 vaccine, manufacturer says

Pfizer Canada says Health Canada has approved its updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against one of the most recently circulating variants of the virus. The Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, called Comirnaty, targets the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron, replacing the previous version which targeted the XBB.1.5 Omicron subva...

Health Canada approves updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

Health Canada has authorized Novavax's updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus. The mRNA vaccine, called Nuvaxovid, has been reformulated to target the JN.1 subvariant of Omicron. It will replace the previous version of the protein-based vaccine, which targeted the XBB...

Health Canada approves updated Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

TORONTO - Health Canada has authorized Moderna's updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus. The mRNA vaccine, called Spikevax, has been reformulated to target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron. It will replace the previous version of the vaccine that was released a year ago...

PHAC explains reason for pulling COVID-19 vaccines before new ones approved

The Public Health Agency of Canada says it asked provinces to get rid of existing COVID-19 vaccines to avoid confusion with new formulations that will have the same drug identification number. Health Canada says it is reviewing updated COVID-19 vaccines that essentially modify the current shot to target a more recent s...

Woman pleads guilty to leaving cash bribe for Minnesota juror in COVID-19-related fraud case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Seattle woman pleads guilty to attempting to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for an acquittal in one of the country's largest COVID-19-related fraud cases in federal court Thursday. Ladan Mohamed Ali, 31, was accused of tracking a juror to her home and dropping of...

Woman pleads guilty to leaving cash bribe for Minnesota juror in COVID-19-related fraud case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Seattle woman who attempted to bribe a Minnesota juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash in exchange for an acquittal in one of the country's largest COVID-19-related fraud cases changed her plea to guilty in federal court Thursday. Ladan Mohamed Ali, 31, was accused of tracking a juror to her home an...

B.C. residents can still get COVID shots until arrival of updated vaccines: province

British Columbia says its current supply of COVID-19 vaccines will remain available until new formulations are approved, unlike other provinces that say they're following instructions from the Public Health Agency of Canada to remove and destroy existing doses. A spokesman for the provincial health officer says B.C. re...

Toronto's whooping cough cases more than double pre-pandemic average: public health

TORONTO - Toronto Public Health says the number of whooping cough cases are more than double the pre-pandemic average. The public health agency is reporting 99 cases in Toronto so far this year compared to the pre-pandemic five-year average of 38. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a cyclical disease that occa...

Bank of Canada names experts to assess its internal review of pandemic policy actions

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada has named three experts that will assess its internal review of the central bank's policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The experts are Pablo Hernández de Cos, former governor of the Bank of Spain, Kristin J. Forbes, a former member of the Bank of England's monetary policy commit...

Murder-conspiracy trial tied to Coutts, Alta., COVID-19 blockade set to go to jury

LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA - A jury is set to begin deliberating today the fate of two men accused of conspiring to kill police at the Coutts, Alta., blockade in 2022. The panel has been hearing testimony for seven weeks in Court of King's Bench in the case of Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert. The two were charged a...

Quebec government has only recouped about one-third of pandemic-era fines so far

MONTREAL - More than two years after Quebec lifted most of its COVID-era public health measures, the province has only recouped a little over one-third of the $68 million it issued in pandemic-related fines. Quebec had some of the strictest public health measures in the country during the pandemic and was the only prov...

B.C.'s top doctor ends COVID-19 public health emergency

VICTORIA - British Columbia's top doctor says she is ending the public health emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says any remaining restrictions, including the vaccination requirement for health-care workers, are being rescinded. Henry says ...

Accused in Coutts blockade trial feared food shortages, questioned COVID-19 vaccine

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. - One of two men accused of conspiring to kill police at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., says he was worried about government overreach, food shortages and the COVID-19 vaccine. Chris Carbert is testifying in his own defence at the trial in Lethbridge. Carbert says he didn't trust the COVID-19 v...

President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) - President Joe Biden has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a speaker at the UnidosUS annual conference broadcast on the White House's YouTube channel. Biden was slated to speak at the event in Las Vegas Wednesday afternoon as part of an effort to rally Hispanic voters ahead of the Novemb...

Trudeau missing Calgary Stampede this summer, his only absence outside COVID-19 years

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's summer campaign circuit will not include a stop at the Calgary Stampede. The annual 10-day rodeo and festival is usually a must-do event for politicians and Trudeau hasn't missed a summer except for the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021. But his office confirms there will be no pa...

After attempted bribe, jury reaches verdict in case of 7 Minnesotans accused of pandemic-era fraud

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A jury reached a verdict Friday in the case against seven Minnesota residents accused in a scheme to steal more than $40 million that was supposed to feed children during the pandemic. The case has received widespread attention after someone tried to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. U.S....

Scientists, clinicians across Canada preparing for future pandemic threats

The federal government announced $574 million in funding on Monday for 19 projects across the country to prepare for health emergencies, including the next pandemic. One of them is a national network of existing emergency departments and primary-care clinics that will screen for any new viruses or pathogens that start ...

Chinese scientist who published COVID-19 virus sequence allowed back in his lab after sit-in protest

BEIJING (AP) - The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China said he was allowed back into his lab after he spent days locked outside, sitting in protest. Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post early Wednesday that authorities had "tentatively agreed" to allow him and his team to re...

Chinese scientist who published first sequence of COVID virus protests after being evicted from lab

SHANGHAI (AP) - The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China was staging a sit-in protest after authorities locked him out of his lab. Virologist Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post on Monday that he and his team were suddenly notified they were being evicted from their lab, the latest in...

Top court to examine COVID-related entry limits imposed by Newfoundland and Labrador

OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will weigh the constitutionality of a pandemic-related restriction that curbed travel for public-health reasons. The top court has agreed to hear arguments about a 2020 order from Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer that limited the circumstances in which non-residents...

Hockey business is booming as the NHL bounces back from the pandemic in a big way

NEW YORK (AP) - Arenas are full, the NHL is a fixture on TV screens across North America, highlight-reel goals are talking points on a near-daily basis and "The Pat McAfee Show" even has a segment called "Hockey is Awesome." Piece it all together, and more eyes are on the puck than ever before with ...

190 decaying bodies were found at a Colorado funeral home. Owners charged with COVID fraud of $880K

DENVER (AP) - The couple who owned a Colorado funeral home - where 190 decaying bodies were discovered last year - have been indicted on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds from the U.S. government, according to court documents unsealed Monday. The new federal charges aga...

Canada's Nick Taylor gets a Masters Mulligan after COVID-19 tainted first experience

Nick Taylor is happy to be getting a Mulligan on his first Masters appearance. The Abbotsford, B.C., native made his one and only appearance at Augusta National Golf Club in 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Masters was held in November that year, there were no fans and players could only have one person in t...

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