A former British Columbia forests minister says the province is on the right track as it responds to worsening wildfires, but the scale of the challenge is so great, it's falling behind and needs to prioritize a "whole-of-society" approach. Doug Donaldson says the place to start should be a dedicated provinci...

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A First Nations community in B.C.'s northern Interior that is hosting a gathering of Indigenous groups involved in the search for unmarked graves says it's conducting a geophysical survey for such sites on the grounds of a former residential school. The Nadleh Whut'en Indian Band, whose territory ...

VICTORIA - Three school districts in British Columbia will start one-stop child-care programs at local elementary schools this fall. Premier David Eby says offering parents before-and-after-school child care at the same location will save families time and money, create less stress for parents and is an efficient use o...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - A wildfire just outside the community of Fort Nelson has grown as residents in British Columbia's northeast receive more evacuation orders. An updated estimate from the BC Wildfire Service says the blaze spans 84 square kilometres, a significant increase since Monday, when it was mapped at about 53 ...

NEW YORK (AP) - At first glance, Jed Rosenzweig's new venture would seem like a fool's errand: launching a digital news site during brutal economic times for the media to cover an industry that, by traditional measures, is waning in influence. That didn't dissuade him. LateNighter, a website and newsletter that follows...

TORONTO - When Wilfred Buck looks up at the sky, he sees Indigenous history and even his own story reflected back at him, as though it were all written in the stars. Buck, the eponymous Cree elder at the centre of Lisa Jackson's new documentary, is known as "the star guy." He's an astronomy expert and educato...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - The wildfire burning near Fort Nelson continues to grow rapidly. As of Tuesday morning, the B.C. Wildfire Service reported the fire had grown to over 84 square kilometres. That marks a significant expansion of the fire, which as of Monday morning, was just under 53 square kilometres in size. This co...

VANCOUVER - The B.C. government has introduced legislation that would allow the City of Vancouver to limit rent increases for new tenants in its poorest neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside. The rent cap is for those living in single-room occupancy buildings where the government says rents have increased from $800 a m...

VICTORIA - Offenders in British Columbia convicted of serious Criminal Code offences will no longer be permitted to legally change their names under legislation introduced today. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the proposed law would amend the province's Name Act to ensure people convicted of dangerous offences can't c...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU) members employed by the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) have hit the picket line. The union says nearly 50 members who work at the CRD's headquarters in Williams Lake decided to step up job action from an overtime ban to a full strike as of Monday (May 13). A pi...

VICTORIA - The B.C. and federal governments have set aside nearly $254 million to expand rebates to convert home heating and cooling systems to more climate-friendly options with a focus on low- and middle-income households. A joint statement from Environment Canada and B.C.'s Energy Ministry says Ottawa is providing u...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - A fire behaviour specialist with the B.C. Wildfire Service says an intense wildfire could hit Fort Nelson this morning, based on forecasts that have been calling for strong winds that have been fuelling the out-of-control blaze to continue throughout the day. Ben Boghean said in a video posted to so...

SURREY, B.C. - A fourth Indian national living in Canada has been charged in last year's killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside of a temple in British Columbia. The province's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said in a release Saturday that 22-year-old Amandeep Singh was already in the custody of P...

SQUAMISH, B.C. - Officials say a woman was attacked by a bear while she was walking her dog at a nature estuary in Squamish, B.C. British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says in a Facebook post that the trails have been closed since the attack happened Friday, when the woman was walking her dog and it ran off i...

The wildfire that forced thousands to evacuate from a northeast British Columbia town doubled in size early Saturday and is now burning merely a few kilometres west of the city limits. The BC Wildfire Service said the Parker Lake fire near Fort Nelson, B.C., reached almost 17 square kilometres in size overnight, up fro...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - The B.C. Wildfire Service says the tactical evacuation of "multiple neighbourhoods" is underway in Fort Nelson, as an out-of-control wildfire threatens the town in the province's northeast. It says the fire is "highly visible" from the town, and the closure of Highway 97 is expec...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - The labour dispute between the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) and its unionized employees is getting nasty.In voting this week, the employees, members of the B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU), rejected the district's 'final offer,' which was put forward in the form of a direct vote, meaning i...

CASTLEGAR, B.C. - British Columbia's finance minister says she won't be running again in the next provincial election after serving in the legislature for nearly two decades. Katrine Conroy says it will be hard to leave the people she's worked with over the years, but at 66, it's time to step back to spend time with he...

VICTORIA - British Columbia has prohibited mining activities on new jade tenures in the northwest, while setting a five-year wind-down period for existing operators. A statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mines says officials have been working closely with First Nations to address concerns about the effects of jad...

WEST KELOWNA, B.C. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada's dispute with Meta is a "test moment" for the country to stand against the social media giant that's making billions off people, but taking no responsibility for the well-being of communities they profit from. Trudeau made his comments in West K...

VICTORIA - The head of British Columbia's public service says there's high confidence that cybersecurity attacks targeting the provincial government's networks were conducted by a state or state-sponsored actor. Shannon Salter says there's no evidence sensitive information was compromised in the incidents that were rev...

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. - Columneetza Junior Secondary School in Williams Lake was evacuated Friday morning (May 10) after a bear spray incident.In a news release, Insp. Rob Lake of the Williams Lake RCMP detachment says officers were called to the school at about 10:16 a.m. for the report that a student had hit another st...

SAANICH, B.C. - Police in Saanich, B.C., say an assault investigation is underway following two alleged incidents at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the grounds of the University of Victoria. Deputy Chief Robert Warren says in a statement the investigation started when special Saanich duty officers at the campu...

Toronto's bid to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs for personal use has been plunged into uncertainty in recent days, as drug policy experts suggest political debates over British Columbia's backtracking on the issue have hurt the city's application. The prime minister and the federal minister for mental h...

VANCOUVER - Canfor has announced it is permanently closing its Polar sawmill in Bear Lake, B.C., shutting a production line at its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, and suspending its "planned reinvestment" in Houston, B.C. The company says in separate news releases that the closures will impact 400 jobs,...

VICTORIA - A B.C. legislature committee looking into taxi and ride-hailing services has issued recommendations, including measures to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and services in small and rural communities. The cross-party committee that was appointed a year ago to review the Passenger Transport ...

VICTORIA - British Columbia is forming a specialized gang-related homicide investigation team, saying gangland murders now make up almost 50 per cent of the killings in the province. Data from the Ministry of Public Safety says gang-related homicides have climbed from 21 per cent of all killings in the province in 2003...

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia Supreme Court has rejected lawsuits by mink farmers challenging a provincial shutdown of the industry over COVID-19 concerns. A ruling by Justice Amy Francis says "highly publicized incidences" of COVID-19 outbreaks on mink farms prompted provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie H...