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VANCOUVER — An end to a countrywide rail stoppage may be in sight, but riders of British Columbia's West Coast Express are facing at least one more day without the service.

OTTAWA — Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said Thursday the federal government has asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to end the lockout at the country's two biggest rail companies, ordering a return to work and imposing binding arbitration.

VICTORIA — British Columbia's finance minister says now is not the time to balance the province's budget.

Alberta's top court has allowed a southwestern ranching community to appeal the provincial energy regulator's decision to accept applications to explore for coal in the Rocky Mountains.

OTTAWA — Health Canada-approved nicotine pouches will only be available behind pharmacy counters starting next week, as part of Health Minister Mark Holland's promised crackdown on the sale of new nicotine products to children.

CALGARY — Imperial Oil has been fined $50,000 after the province's energy regulator concluded the company broke environmental laws when wastewater containing oilsands tailings seeped outside its lease boundary in 2022.

A pharmacist pleaded no contest Thursday to involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of 11 people in Michigan, all victims of tainted steroids that caused a national meningitis outbreak in 2012.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index moved lower on Thursday, led by weakness in technology and base metals, while U.S. markets were also down, with the Nasdaq falling 1.7 per cent. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 84.26 points at 23,037.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks closed lower as Wall Street counted down to its main event for the week, a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell coming up on Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.9% Thursday, its worst day in more than two weeks.

HALIFAX — In the year since Nova Scotia invested in an online platform aimed at helping renters find affordable housing, a total of 23 leases have been signed, a result opposition parties say is a failure. On Aug.