National News

EDMONTON — There's lots of life in Alberta's conventional oil industry and plenty of resources and political will to clean up the mess it leaves behind, says the head of the province's energy regulator.

Members of the military are being deployed to Manitoba where surging COVID-19 cases have overwhelmed hospitals, while the prime minister has put his support behind international efforts to understand how the global pandemic began.

OTTAWA — Vaccine experts and infectious disease specialists are urging provinces to move faster to start getting second doses into arms in Canada, particularly for seniors and people with high-risk health conditions.

WASHINGTON — Canadian beef producers are finally able to turn the page on the mad cow era, the federal agriculture minister said Thursday after an international animal-health watchdog gave the industry a long-awaited all-clear.

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized on Thursday for the internment of Canadians of Italian descent during the Second World War, saying the community has carried the weight of the unjust policy for generations.

BURNABY, B.C. — Construction has begun on the 2.6-kilometre tunnel in Burnaby, B.C., for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

The latest news on COVID-19 developments in Canada (all times eastern): 5:50 p.m. Alberta is reporting 513 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death.

OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer is pouring cold water on the economic fires from the government's latest spending plan, saying that an expected rise in interest rates should temper the amount of stimulus from the Trudeau Liberals' budget.

OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency says thousands of self-employed workers who received emergency benefits last year won't have to repay any of it, as long as they meet certain conditions.

MONTREAL — The Quebec government says a major Montreal bridge closed last week for safety reasons will be gradually reopened to traffic starting Friday.