Global Affairs Canada said Wednesday that a total of 367 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members have been able to get out, including nine people who left without the Canadian government's help. Two more people were able to travel to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday, and 10 made the trip on Monday.
The B-C Centre for Disease Dontrol says there have been eight confirmed cases of a rare strain of salmonella since mid-November. The centre says the outbreak has been linked to imported cantaloupes sold under the label “Malichita” and those sold from October 11th to November 14th should be disposed of.
The British Columbia government is offering groups affected by hate crimes up to $10,000 each in a bid to combat what it says is a spike in racially motivated incidents across the province. Premier David Eby said Wednesday the province will also launch a racist incident helpline starting in the spring to refer victims who experienced such attacks to counselling and other support services.
Israel began its latest war against Hamas, which Canada has listed as a terrorist entity since 2002, after its militants killed 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7. That included hundreds of civilians in their homes, in collective farming communities known as kibbutzim and at an outdoor music festival. Another 240 people were taken hostage.
The government's newly acquired Airbus CC-330 taxied to a stop at San Francisco International Airport, where Kirsten Hillman, Canada's ambassador to the U.S., led a coterie of emissaries who greeted the prime minister as he disembarked.
Christmas tree sellers in the Lower Mainland are warning of a widespread shortage of evergreens, partially due to the ongoing climate crisis, hotter summers and longer droughts. Ben Degroot, the operations manager at Evergrow Christmas Trees, says at the moment, they have a healthy supply of trees, but he's expecting to sell out before December.