British Columbia health officials say they've added a senior official to the province's immunization response team to help with the program as it gets more complex. Dr. Penny Ballem will be the executive lead and work with the health minister and other officials to ensure the province is ready for community immunization when the vaccine supply is more readily available in April. So far, 63,430 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine in B.C. and officials say work is underway to align the available supply with a person's level of risk. The province is reporting 519 new cases of COVID-19 and 12

A BC born gold medallist at two Olympic Games has died of cancer. Rowing Canada says Kathleen Heddle died at home in Vancouver on Monday at the age of 55. Heddle and Marnie McBean won Olympic gold medals in rowing in 1992 and 1996 and Heddle also won another gold with the women's eight in 1992. A statement issued on behalf of her family says the rower born in Trail had been battling several forms of cancer for six years. Tweet from Rowing Canada Aviron: It is with great sadness that we share this news on behalf of the family of Kathleen Heddle: https://bit.ly/3oIEX5l

A judge says he will reserve his decision on whether to loosen bail restrictions for Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou. Meng's lawyers want her to be allowed to leave her Vancouver home outside the hours of her curfew without being accompanied by private security staff, who they say put her at greater risk of contracting COVID-19. The chief financial officer for Huawei is wanted in the United States on fraud charges based on allegations that both she and the company deny. Justice William Ehrcke of the B.C. Supreme Court says he will reserve his decision and raised the possibility of issuing

Canada's new COVID-19 testing requirement for international travellers has caused hundreds of people to miss flights in the first week of the program's rollout. Under the new restrictions, all passengers flying to Canada from another country must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken at most 72 hours prior to departure. Since the testing mandate went into effect on Jan. 7, WestJet says it has denied boarding to at least 385 guests because they did not meet the requirements. Similarly, Air Transat has denied boarding to at least 245 passengers for testing-related reasons since Jan. 7, a

Ice jams are building along the Nechako River in central British Columbia and officials in Vanderhoof say flooding of nearby properties is possible. The district has posted a warning advising its roughly 4.500 residents to stay clear of the riverbanks. Ice jams began building on the waterway in mid-December, but the warning says the blockages worsened this week. The District of Vanderhoof website says the jams have the potential to cause severe, unexpected changes in river levels. Mayor Gerry Thiessen posted photos on social media showing water nearly topping the decks of several homes overlo

A majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump on a single count of inciting an insurrection. The historic vote, which included 10 Republicans voting in favour with a handful of votes still outstanding, makes Trump the first president in American history to be impeached a second time. It may also be the swiftest such proceeding in the history of Congress, coming just one week after a horde of angry Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill. Several Republicans, including third-ranking House Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, voted with their Democr

Ontario's premier is defending his government's new stay-at-home order against criticism that the latest measure to fight COVID-19 is not clear. Doug Ford stressed that the measure means people should "use their best judgment" to determine if they need to leave their home as virus rates surge. Under the order that takes effect Thursday, Ontario residents will be required to stay at home except for essential activities such as accessing health care, shopping for groceries, or outdoor exercise. The government has also restricted hours of operation for non-essential retailers currently offering

The US has posted another record-breaking single-day death toll from COVID-19. More than 4,300 people died from the virus over the previous day, as the push continues to vaccinate Americans. Many large companies aren't going to mandate a shot. But Dollar General, which employs 157,000 people, is going to provide employees who get vaccinated with four hours of pay. Most of its workers are in small towns or rural areas, and the company's CEO says it's important to bring the vaccine to rural America.

A manslaughter charge has been laid after the death of a man in late December in Chilliwack, B.C. A statement from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says 45 year old Carlton Leith died several days after he was injured Dec. 27 during a fight with another man. A 42 year old suspect was arrested shortly after the assault, and RCMP said the isolated incident did not pose a risk to the public. William Escott remains in custody, charged with several offences, including manslaughter and aggravated assault. Court records show he returns to court in Chilliwack on Monday. Investigators are no