Indigenous

Empire Co. Ltd. is planning to crack down on what it says are unjustifiable cost increase requests from some of its biggest suppliers.

FREDERICTON — At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Brunswick's Health Department issued 33 recommendations without evidence to substantiate them, the province's auditor general says.

POINTE-CLAIRE, Que. — The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is changing its name to better represent its sizable contingent of Maritime-based teams.

VANCOUVER — British Columbia's provincial government is going ahead with the construction of a $638-million "state-of-the-art" research centre at the new St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

MONT-LAURIER, Que. — Authorities say work carried out by government engineers has stabilized a dike northwest of Montreal that was at risk of bursting.

MONTREAL — The head of Transat AT Inc. said consumers show little sign of travel wariness, but increased competition and customer financial strain have begun to thin out profit margins even as the travel company guns for major growth next year.

VANCOUVER — For thousands of years, a breed of white, woolly dog played an important and cultural role for Coast Salish people in Western Canada but when colonists moved in the animal quickly became extinct, a new study says.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba health officials say the number of flu cases is rising and putting a strain on hospitals. Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says the health system was already facing challenges and the growth in flu cases is making things worse.

Valour FC selected University of Cape Breton winger Owen Sheppard first overall in Thursday's CPL-U Sports draft. Sheppard, a native of St. John's, becomes the first player drafted from Newfoundland by a CPL team.

OTTAWA — If there is a walk in the snow coming for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this winter, he's not planning on using it to reflect on his future. There is also no sign he's being pushed out from within.