Vancouver's fire department says resources are being stretched to the breaking point as crews respond to calls related to the heat wave and the overdose crisis, just as the pandemic is winding down. Captain Jonathan Gormick of Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says three times the number of calls are coming in compared with earlier this year, and extra crews are being brought in for critical response roles. He says that in addition to cardiac, heat and overdose emergencies, crews also responded to a fire at Wreck Beach yesterday involving the BC Wildfire Service. Gormick says response times are

The Lower Kootenay Band in British Columbia says a search using ground-penetrating radar has found 182 human remains in unmarked graves at a site close to a former residential school. In a news release, the band says the community of aqam began using the technology last year to search a site near Cranbrook that is close to the former St. Eugene's Mission School, which was operated by the Catholic Church from 1912 until the early 1970s. It says the search found the remains in unmarked graves, some as shallow as 90 centimetres to 1.2 metres. The release says it's believed the remains are those o

The B.C. Wildfire Service is dealing with two out-of-control blazes in the Interior that have prompted evacuation alerts.The McKay Creek fire was discovered Tuesday burning about 23 kilometres north of Lillooet, and has grown to approximately 50 square kilometres as a result of the hot and dry conditions.The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for a large area of West Pavilion Road.The Sparks Lake fire covers 23 square kilometres in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District about 15 kilometres north of Kamloops Lake. An evacuation order has been listed for nine prope

Statistics Canada says the economy contracted in April as real gross domestic product posted its first decline since April 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic.The agency says real gross domestic product fell 0.3 per cent in April.The result compared with an initial estimate for April for a drop of 0.8 per cent.Statistics Canada says its preliminary estimate for May shows a drop of 0.3 per cent as many restrictions were still in place through the month as the country grappled with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.The decline in April, as well as the early estimate for May, put ov

On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Digital India campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the beneficiaries of its various schemes on July 1 via video conferencing, informed Ministry of Electronics and IT on Wednesday."Digital India has been one of the biggest success stories of New India -- enabling services, bringing Government closer to citizens, promoting citizen engagement and empowering people," the official release reads.Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will also be present on the occasion and will deliver the opening remarks.The interactive

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. BC had 29 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 147,578 cases in British Columbia.There are currently 876 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 144,931 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 110 individuals are currently hospitalized, 34 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.There have been no new COVID-19 related de

ancouver Police are investigating the murder of a 53-year-old man who was found dead in his east-side home Monday morning. VPD officers were called to the home, near Victoria Drive and East 49 Avenue, shortly before 11 a.m. yesterday, after a body was discovered inside. The victim has been identified as Jin Cai. No arrests have been made. Detectives from VPD’s Major Crime Section continue to investigate and gather evidence This is Vancouver’s ninth homicide victim of 2021.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has arrested Darius Commodore and David Geoghegan for the murder of Jordan Smyth.Background:On November 1, 2019, at around 7:01 a.m., Chilliwack RCMP responded to a call and found the body of 26-year-old Jordan Smyth near Sleepy Hollow Road in the Cultus Lake area of Chilliwack. There was evidence of foul play and IHIT was called to investigate.After 19 months working with our partners, at the Integrated Forensic Identification Section, the National Forensic Laboratory Section, and the Chilliwack RCMP, IHIT attained sufficient evidence for appr

British Columbia will be moving toward a return to normal life on Canada Day as the province removes most COVID-19 restrictions and allows outdoor gatherings of up to 5,000 people.Premier John Horgan says high vaccination rates and a low number of cases and deaths compared with other jurisdictions including Ontario and Quebec mean the province has achieved "extraordinary results" through its public health response.Horgan says B.C. recorded 29 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, seven of them in the Fraser Health region, which has consistently had among the highest case numbers in the province since