National News

OTTAWA — Health Canada approved Pfizer's antiviral treatment for COVID-19 Monday which could help cut pressure on the health-care system by preventing high-risk patients from ending up in the hospital.

OTTAWA — A claim by Chinese health authorities that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was introduced to a resident of Beijing through a piece of regular mail from Canada was dismissed Monday as being ludicrous and comical.

Health Canada added another tool to its pandemic-fighting arsenal Monday, approving Pfizer's antiviral treatment for COVID-19 as the rapid spread of the Omicron variant continued to tax the country's health-care system and millions of students return

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Jan. 17 ... What we are watching in Canada ...

EDMONTON — Hospital emergency rooms in Alberta are likely to assess complaints from First Nations people as less urgent than those from other patients, even when their problems are the same, says a new study that looked at millions of such visits.

MONTREAL — Thousands of elementary and high school students are set to return to in-person learning across Quebec on Monday, but parents say they're concerned the province hasn't done enough to ensure classrooms safety amid COVID-19's virulent fifth

OTTAWA — Parents and teachers in four provinces are bracing for students to return to the classroom Monday as the Omicron variant-fuelled wave of COVID-19 continues to spread and questions remain about how prepared schools really are for a full-scale

HALIFAX — Fed up with nuisance deer raiding gardens and colliding with vehicles, a town in central Nova Scotia has hired four crossbow hunters to kill up to 20 of the animals inside town limits.

OTTAWA — Canada is advising residents against taking non-essential trips to Ukraine because of the buildup of Russian troops near the country's border. The change in risk level comes amid fears of a Russian invasion.

Montreal police say they are investigating after a 14-year-old was shot and injured inside an apartment on Saturday night. They say they received a call around 6 p.m. about gunshots in the city's Ville-Marie borough.