Fines for illegal hunting and fishing in British Columbia are more than doubling as the province cracks down on offences against wildlife. The Ministry of Forests says the new scale of fines effective Tuesday under the Wildlife Act ranges from $345 to $1,495, up from the current range of $115 to $575. The biggest fines apply to people who hunt or possess big game out of season. The ministry says in a news release the new penalties “better reflect the serious nature" of wildlife offences and acknowledge the importance of wildlife to B.C. Other offences subject to the fines include unlawful tr

A Sikh activist marking the anniversary of the killing of British Columbia temple leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says the past year has shown they are vindicated in their claims that India targeted separatists overseas. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based activist who himself was targeted by India according to U.S. authorities, says Nijjar's murder a year ago was "not the kind of publicity" the Sikh independence movement was seeking. Pannun says Nijjar's death and subsequent revelations by Canadian and U.S. officials have "uncovered" India's plans to silence overseas dissidents with violenc

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann says that drugs are coming to Punjab from Gujarat but the state is being defamed in this matter. He also said that the election code in the state has now ended and the government is ready to take action against the alliance between police officers and smugglers. The Chief Minister today told reporters after a meeting with the SSPs and other senior police officers of all the districts that I am the DGP. Punjab has been asked to immediately transfer the lower level officers in each police station. He said that more than 10,000 such officers have been transfe

A new 17-second video call of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, the mastermind of Sidhu Moosewala's murder, has come out. In it, he is seen talking to Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti. Wishing Lawrence-Bhatti a happy Eid. This video is believed to be from June 16. Lawrence is currently in jail in Gujarat. However, Sabarmati Central Jail Officer Paresh Solanki has denied that the video is from his jail. He said that Lawrence is locked here in tight security, no suspicious thing has been received from him. Earlier, Lawrence has given two interviews while in Punjab jail. The DGP of Punjab had given s

In Punjab, the demand for electricity amid paddy harvesting and rising heat has put the government in trouble. The Power Engineers Association has asked the state government to review the free power policy, change the timings of government offices and order closure of shopping malls by 7 pm. The organization says that if concrete steps are not taken, there will be a power outage in the state. According to the Association of Power Engineers, power demand in Punjab is constantly crossing the all-time high of 15,500 MW. In view of this, in the areas of the state where paddy has not yet been plan

The head office of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia in North Vancouver will be transformed into an urban housing development with hundreds of homes near major transit hubs. Premier David Eby says the province has reached an agreement to buy the Crown auto insurer's waterfront headquarters with plans to develop market and below-market homes close to transit and the SeaBus to Vancouver. Eby says the agreement to turn the property into a mixed use residential area with ICBC was also reached with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, and there are plans to work with the C

Environment Canada says an unseasonable cool air mass over southern B.C. has broken minimum temperature records, including one dating back about 70 years. The forecaster says temperatures fell to 4 degrees in the Trail area on Sunday, breaking the record of 4.4 degrees set in 1954. In the Bella Bella area, the minimum of 3.9 degrees broke the 4-degree record set 10 years ago. Records for low daily maximum temperatures were also set, with the Kelowna area reaching just 13.3 Celsius, breaking the 15-degree record set in 1906. Penticton and Princeton also reset records established in 1939, while

Police and other rescue agencies say they're still looking for a 37-year-old boater who went missing near Mission, B.C., but local rescue crews say “it’s unlikely he is still alive.” RCMP say police responded to Nicomen Slough, about 14 kilometres northeast of Mission, on Friday evening after receiving reports of a boating accident in which two men were thrown into the water. They say the boaters were reportedly doing donuts in a small aluminum boat, and both got tossed from the craft after hitting their own wake. Police say the boat's passenger was able to make it to shore, but the driv

A new health centre dedicated to serving British Columbia's French-language speakers will open its doors this fall in Vancouver. A statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Health says the current Vancouver Urban Health Centre cannot accommodate the needs of the Lower Mainland’s growing French-speaking community even though it offers primary care in both French and English. It says the new centre, expected to open in October in Vancouver, will be equipped with a care team of family doctors, nurses and social workers. The government hopes to connect 4,400 people to primary care by 2029. Provincial