LYTTON, B.C. - British Columbia's auditor general says his office is doing a review of the province's response to the 2021 wildfire that devastated the community of Lytton, B.C. Michael Pickup says in a video statement that the report will focus on the B.C. government's roles and responsibilities for disaster recovery,...

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government is spending more money to recruit and retain health-science workers, especially those in rural and remote communities. Health Minister Adrian Dix says $155.7 million has been set aside at a time when B.C. has a "significantly increasing population" and more skilled...

VANCOUVER - Police say a 44-year-old woman has been arrested in a hate-crime investigation over a speech in Vancouver that praised the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. A statement from the Vancouver Police Department says the woman "referred to a number of terrorist organizations as heroes." More coming. Th...

SQUAMISH, B.C. - Plans to use a renovated cruise ship to house more than 600 workers as they build a liquefied natural gas facility near Squamish, B.C., have been voted down by the local council. The ship arrived in B.C. waters in January after a 40-day journey from Estonia, where it had sheltered Ukrainian refugees, b...

VICTORIA - B.C.'s auditor general has announced a probe into the ongoing efforts to rebuild the community of Lytton. In a video posted to YouTube Wednesday (May 1), Auditor General Michael Pickup says his investigation will focus on the government's role in the days since a June 2021 wildfire ravaged the village. "...

VICTORIA - Pro-Palestinian protesters have set up camp at a second university in British Columbia, with tents going up on a field at the University of Victoria. In an Instagram post, organizers Free Palestine BC says protesters are demanding the university "divest from all investments" connected to companies ...

RICHMOND, B.C. - A Transportation Safety Board report says experience, recent training and safety equipment were key factors in a pilot surviving the crash of a firefighting plane south of Cranbrook in August 2022. The report says the pilot was alone in the Air Tractor AT-802A aircraft and had just finished his eighth ...

VANCOUVER - Canfor Corp. says it has signed a deal with an affiliate of Domtar Corp. to buy its El Dorado lumber manufacturing facility in Arkansas for US$73 million. The facility in Union County, Ark., produces dimensional lumber and specialty wood products. Canfor says it expects production capacity at the mill to in...

SURREY, B.C. - British Columbia homicide investigators say a man from Surrey has been charged with aggravated assault in relation to one of two stabbings in White Rock, B.C. A statement from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says 28-year-old Dimitri Nelson Hyacinth has been charged over the alleged assault of ...

VANCOUVER - B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kevin Loo says court documents detailing alleged bullying and harassment of Surrey Police Service members by the RCMP shouldn't be kept from the public. Loo refused to seal the material, saying allegations that are "sometimes justified and sometimes spurious," are tende...

VICTORIA - A B.C. Conservative private member's bill to classify publicly funded sports teams and events according to the "biological sex" of participants, banning transgender athletes, didn't make it out of the starting blocks. The Fairness in Women's and Girls' Sports Act was voted down at first reading, a ...

VANCOUVER - Pro-Palestinian protesters who set up an encampment at the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver have brought in food, water and other supplies to prepare for what may become a protracted stay. The encampment went up Monday and now has supply tents, filled with large quantities of bottled water...

VANCOUVER - London Drugs is investigating whether personal data was compromised in a cybersecurity incident that prompted the company to close all of its stores across Western Canada until further notice. A statement from the retailer and pharmacy chain says it will notify "affected individuals" if the probe ...

TORONTO - Airline caterer Gate Gourmet says its employees have voted in favour of a tentative deal with management, putting them back on the job as soon as today. About 800 food service workers at Toronto's Pearson airport went on strike on April 16, leaving thousands of passengers without meals. The employees cook, pa...

WHITE ROCK, B.C. - British Columbia homicide investigators say they have arrested a 28-year-old man in relation to a deadly stabbing near the White Rock pier last week. A statement from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the man from Surrey, B.C., was arrested Monday over the killing of 26-year-old Kulwind...

OTTAWA - The federal minister for addictions and mental health says it's too early to draw conclusions about drug decriminalization, after British Columbia asked Ottawa to scale back its pilot to help curb concerns over public drug use. Ya'ara Saks noted Monday that the province is only a year into its three-year pilot...

VANCOUVER - A B.C. government lawyer says court documents in a policing dispute with the City of Surrey contain significant allegations of harassment and bullying by the RCMP that should be kept from public view because they could cause "undue public concern." Trevor Bant was speaking at the start of a hearin...

LANGLEY, B.C. - British Columbia has secured eight new sites for its BC Builds program, in which land owned by the province, non-profits or community groups is pre-zoned to build middle-income rental housing. The new sites include three in the Township of Langley, one each in Kelowna and Kamloops, as well as properties...

VANCOUVER - B.C. Premier David Eby has joined other politicians denouncing remarks at a demonstration in Vancouver where protesters chanted "long live Oct. 7," praising that day's attacks by Hamas on Israel. The rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Friday was also told by a speaker that the attacks by H...

VANCOUVER - Cigarettes with health warnings printed directly on them are being sold in some parts of Canada, making it the first country to adopt the regulation aimed at encouraging people to kick the habit or keep them from taking it up in the first place. Manufacturers are required, by Tuesday, to ensure that warnin...

VANCOUVER - Retail and pharmacy chain London Drugs says in a post on social media that it has closed all of its stores in Western Canada temporarily due to what it called an "operational issue." Various news outlets reported the company shared by email that it was a cybersecurity incident, and that the store ...

VANCOUVER - Advocates for drug users are raising concerns about British Columbia's request for Health Canada to empower police to step in when they see illicit drug use in public spaces, saying it may be a step backward in the fight against the deadly opioid crisis. Brittany Graham, the executive director of the Vancou...

RICHMOND, B.C. - British Columbia's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says it is investigating after a woman was found dead in her Richmond home. It says the RCMP received a request for a wellness check at the residence around 5 p.m. on Friday. IHIT says in a news release that police responded and found the 71-yea...

SURREY, B.C. - Mounties in Surrey, B.C., say a woman is in the hospital with possible life-threatening injuries after driving the wrong way down Highway 99 and crashing into oncoming traffic. They say police received a call about the crash on the highway, about 50 metres east of the Highway 91 junction, just after 4:15...

SURREY, B.C. - British Columbia's homicide team has been called in to help Mounties investigate the death of a woman in Surrey. The RCMP says it received a report around 8:30 p.m. Friday about a sudden death of a woman at a home in the city. They say officers responded and found the 33-year-old inside the residence. Th...

VANCOUVER - A high-risk sex offender who went on the run for 10 days in Vancouver has pleaded guilty to breaching his long-term supervision order and failing to attend court. The province's prosecution service confirmed that Randall Hopley entered the guilty pleas in provincial court on Friday. Hopley walked away from...

CHETWYND, B.C. - An evacuation alert for residents in areas around Chetwynd, B.C., has been lifted just days after a wildfire forced some residents from their homes. Peace River Regional District in B.C.'s northeast cancelled the alert and lifted a state of local emergency that had been in place. BC Wildfire Services...

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government is asking Health Canada to "urgently change" the province's decriminalization policy to stop drug use in public. Premier David Eby says in a statement the change would make illicit drug use illegal in all public spaces, including inside hospitals, on transit and in...