First-dose vaccine numbers in British Columbia have risen to above 75 per cent of the eligible population, with second-shot totals hovering near 25 per cent. A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says the increasing vaccine numbers allow for the gradual and safe reopening of the province with the lifting of more restrictions. It says more than 4.5 million doses of vaccine have been delivered in total, and of those, slightly over one million were second shots. There are 87 new COVID-19 cases across B.C., with no new cases in the Northe

The BC Wildfire Service says a week-old blaze near Lytton hasn't grown, despite burning almost unchecked in dangerously steep, rocky terrain on two flanks. The fire, just south of the Fraser Canyon community, has charred three-and-a-half square kilometres of bush but evacuation alerts covering more than a dozen properties were lifted several days ago. Two specialized initial attack crews have been lowered by helicopter into the cliff-strewn areas that can't be reached from the ground and they are working to build guards around the north and south flanks of the fire. In all, 48 firefighters, f

The mother of a 13 year old girl fatally stabbed by a man who entered the teen's Abbotsford high school has told a New Westminster courtroom of her grief since the 2016 attack. Ellie Reimer told the court it's still hard to know her daughter Letisha died ``on the cold floor of her school.'' She told Klein she hopes he never has another moment of peace in his life. Letisha's father, Ulrich, says he doubts his daughter's attacker will receive a sentence that fits the suffering his family has endured since Letisha and her friend were attacked in the rotunda of Abbotsford Senior Secondary. A sent

One of four survivors of a deadly tubing accident said by the time her family saw the dam on the Dan River, it was too late. Irene Villano told news outlets they hadn't seen any signs warning of the 8-foot-high Duke Energy dam when they heard water rushing. Villano says she was the last in the group of nine relatives to go over the dam. Villano, her father, her older brother and cousin had their tubes around them and they clung to the dam for 20 hours and waited. The next afternoon, a Duke Energy employee spotted them and called 911. Duke Energy says there were two warning signs and the compa

Premier John Horgan is remembering the 329 passengers and crew killed 36 years ago today when a bomb blew apart Air India Flight 192 over the Atlantic Ocean. 280 of those aboard were Canadian, many of them from BC, and the bombing remains the worst terrorist attack and mass murder in this country's history. A statement from Horgan's office says we remember all Canadians whose lives have been disrupted by terrorism, including the four members of a family from London, Ontario, slain for their Muslim faith earlier this month. Horgan says anyone, especially anyone with privilege, who has never be

An armed standoff that shut down part of a Richmond neighbourhood for several hours ended peacefully. The Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team and Richmond RCMP were called yesterday by bailiffs trying to enforce a Supreme Court order to remove a man from a residence. Police say the bailiffs reported the man came out on a second-storey balcony and fired several shots into the air. A negotiator was called and the man left the house peacefully about four hours after the standoff began. Richmond RCMP on Twitter: 1. Officers attending incident in East Richmond. Avoid the area. Police situation

RCMP have arrested another 11 people at blockades set up to prevent old-growth logging on southwestern Vancouver Island. The Mounties were enforcing an injunction ordering the people off land in the Braden Mainline Forest Service Road area near Port Renfrew. All 11 were charged with breaching the injunction, with one person also arrested for designing and building the locking devices which are actively being used to breach the injunction. The RCMP began enforcing a B.C. Supreme Court injunction on May 17 ordering the removal of blockades and protesters at several sites. Since then, 271 people

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says he's committed to a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples, but stands firm against so-called activist efforts to ``cancel'' Canada, particularly on July 1.O'Toole offered his insights on the moment the country finds itself in to members of his caucus and staff gathered in Ottawa before the House of Commons breaks for summer.He called the discovery in British Columbia of what are believed to be the remains of 215 Indigenous children from a former residential school ``a necessary awakening for our country.'' O'Toole pledged that a gov

Police say traffic is at a standstill today along the Trans-Canada Highway at Nova Scotia's boundary with New Brunswick as a protest continues over COVID-19 travel restrictions.Nova Scotia RCMP Cpl. Chris Marshall says traffic was shut down in both directions overnight after a protest that began Tuesday at Exit 7 near the Cobequid Pass moved to the border area outside Amherst, N.S. Marshall says police are hoping to begin talks with the protesters to get the highway reopened.The protest began after the Nova Scotia government announced that starting today, travellers from New Brunswick will ne