In the news today: Grizzly attacks B.C. elementary class, many hurt

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Pupils flee as grizzly attacks elementary class in B.C., injuring 11, some critically

A grizzly bear has attacked a group of elementary school students and teachers in the B.C. central coast community of Bella Coola, leaving two people critically injured and two others seriously hurt. B.C. Emergency Health Services said seven more people were treated at the scene of the attack in the community about 700 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, which was called in just before 2 p.m. on Thursday. Veronica Schooner said her 10-year-old son Alvarez was in the Year 4-5 class that was attacked while on a walk and was so close to the animal “he even felt its fur.” The Nuxalk Nation said Thursday evening that the “aggressive bear” remained on the loose, and that police and conservation officers were on the scene.

Carney wraps Abu Dhabi visit with $70B for Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa is working on a $1 billion project aimed at expanding critical minerals processing capacity in Canada, while securing the equivalent of $70 billion in investment from the United Arab Emirates. The announcements come as Carney concluded a visit to Abu Dhabi, which focused heavily on trade amid concerns about the war in Sudan. Carney said that the new project is a matter of economic growth and human development. The prime minister personally invited Emirati investors to visit him in Canada, to help spur more major projects, after announcing this week the signing of an investment-protection pact and the launch of trade negotiations.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Pharmacare advisory report to be made public

The federal government is set to release a report today by the advisory committee tasked with determining how to set up a national pharmacare program. The committee was set up last fall, after the Pharmacare Act became law, and was given a year to report back to the health minister. The pharmacare law was something the NDP pushed for as part of its supply and confidence deal with the minority Liberal government under Justin Trudeau. It called for an expert committee to recommend options for operating and financing a national, universal, single-payer pharmacare program. A report by the parliamentary budget officer in 2023 estimated such a program would cost $11.2 billion more than the government currently spends on medications and other costs.

Halifax Security Forum to focus on democracy

Halifax is the location today for the beginning of a three-day international conference that will bring together democratic leaders to talk about global security and prosperity. The 17th annual Halifax International Security Forum will be hosted by Canada’s defence minister, David McGuinty. The focus of this year’s conference is democracy, with almost every on-the-record plenary session devoted to the topic. Among the invited participants are nine U.S. senators, whose bipartisan delegation will be led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, top-ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate foreign relations committee.

How crypto raiders tortured a family in $2M heist

When a woman answered a knock at the door of her home in Port Moody, B.C., in the spring of 2024, she was met by two men in Canada Post uniforms who said they had a package to deliver. What unfolded over the next 13 hours was a horrific ordeal for the woman, her husband and their 18-year-old daughter, involving waterboarding, sexual assault and death threats, as a gang of home invaders conducted a cryptocurrency heist that saw them escape with more than $2 million worth of bitcoin. The gang, including a Hong Kong man brought to Canada specifically to help conduct the raid, forced the daughter to strip naked, sexually assaulted her on camera, and used her screams to persuade her parents to hand over details of their bank and cryptocurrency accounts.

Quebec man granted third murder trial postponement

The trial for a Quebec father accused of killing his two children in their home north of Montreal in 2022 has been postponed for a third time. Kamaljit Arora is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of his 13-year-old daughter and his 11-year-old son, and charged in the attempted murder of another daughter and for allegedly trying to strangle his ex-wife. The trial was expected to begin today in Laval, Que., but Arora had asked for a postponement after he lost trust in his lawyers and sought new counsel. In a decision dated Nov. 18, Superior Court Justice Alexandre Bien-Aimé Bastien said he would reluctantly grant the defendant’s request, even though another judge had warned Arora in April that a third extension would not be granted.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press