BC health officials say it's been one year since the first person in the province has died as a result of COVID-19, and since then there's been almost 1,400 other deaths. A joint statement from Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting 550 new cases today and another two deaths. There are almost 5,000 active cases and of those, 249 people are in hospital, 68 of them in intensive care. There's been another 182 new cases linked to variants of concern for a total of 576 cases, many of them connected to the strain first found in the United Kingdom. Mor

Buckingham Palace has issued a statement in the wake of allegations from Prince Harry and his wife Meghan that have rocked the British royal family. It's the first comment from the palace about the couple's allegations of racism within the Royal Family. Meghan, who is biracial, told Oprah Winfrey that the palace had failed to help her when she had suicidal thoughts. She also alleges an unidentified member of the royal family had expressed concern about how dark her baby's skin would be when she was pregnant with her son, Archie. A statement issued on behalf of the Queen says the issues raised

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to comment on the Meghan and Harry interview, but said he's not interested in conversations about getting rid of the British monarchy. Asked how he reconciles his support for the monarchy with his stated desire to rid Canada of a legacy of colonialism, Trudeau said many institutions in Canada are built around colonialism and systematic racism, including Parliament, and said the answer is to listen Canadians who face discrimination so that institutions can be fixed. "The answer is not to suddenly toss out all the institutions and start over," Tru

A 33 year old former nanny on Vancouver Island has been handed an eight year prison term. Nanny is going to serve this term for abusing elementary schoolchildren in his care. Jonathan Robichaud was sentenced yesterday in BC Supreme Court in Victoria after pleading guilty last year to several charges related to three children from two Central Saanich families. In addition to the prison term, Robichaud must register as a sexual offender and abide by numerous conditions for 25 years after release, including restrictions on internet use and to stay away from places where children gather. In passi

The Transportation Safety Board says rain on the windshield may have played a part in a fiery helicopter crash in northwestern BC last August that killed the pilot. It happened August 17th near a worksite northwest of Stewart as heavy rain swept over the area where the Aberdeen Helicopters pilot was moving a dismantled drilling rig from one site to another. The TSB says as the rain arrived, the pilot flew out of the work area and tests indicate the helicopter had no mechanical issues and was under full power when GPS co-ordinates show it hit the upper edge of a nearby mountain seconds later a

Oprah Winfrey's explosive interview with Prince Harry and Meghan reached an estimated 17.1 million viewers in the United States on Sunday. That's according to preliminary numbers from the Nielsen company. Winfrey guided the two as they discussed racism and dysfunction inside the royal family in a two-hour special on CBS. Nielsen said it had the largest audience for any prime-time entertainment special so far this television season. In the interview, Meghan said she considered suicide, while Harry said he and his family were "trapped" in an oppressive institution.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the pace of vaccination in Canada is "accelerating significantly." Trudeau told an Ottawa news conference the government is working tirelessly every day to acquire and distribute more doses.Trudeau says half-a-million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were delivered last week and are being distributed to provinces. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there's still no firm date for when Johnson & Johnson will send its COVID-19 vaccine to Canada. Health Canada approved the vaccine for use last week but the company has reported production delays could t

Police say an itsy-bitsy intruder inside a vehicle in Newton caused a bit of a scramble and led a woman to cry out for help. Surrey RCMP say they received calls from the public after they saw a woman in distress Saturday afternoon. They say the woman opened the door of her white Toyota RAV-4 while it was moving to try and shoo the spider out. Police say they tracked down the man and woman in the vehicle. They confirmed there was no criminal activity, and they hadn't intended to cause alarm.

British Columbians eligible to make a COVID-19 vaccination appointment are being urged to keep trying if they failed to get through Monday on phone lines overwhelmed by calls.The Health Ministry confirms just under 15,000 appointments were booked on the first day residents over the age of 90 or Indigenous elders over 65 could make appointments.Only Fraser Health offered an online option for booking appointments and 8,722 were made there, while the Interior and Vancouver Island health authorities each recorded just under 2,500 bookings and residents in the north made just over 1,000.The minist