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

While addressing the 47th session of UNHRC, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to United Nations Pawan Badhe expressed concern on the forced religious conversions in Pakistan. "Forced conversions have become a daily phenomenon in Pakistan. We've seen reports of minor girls belonging to religious minorities being abducted, raped, forcibly converted and married," said First Secretary. "More than 1,000 girls have been forced to convert their religion in Pakistan every year," he added.

British Columbia's provincial health officer is encouraging anyone who is offered a different COVID-19 vaccine than the one they first received to take it. Dr. Bonnie Henry says fluctuating vaccine supply means if you received Pfizer-BioNTech, you may be offered Moderna for your second shot, or vice versa, and she says health officials are confident both vaccines are safe, effective and interchangeable. Dr. Henry made the comment as she announced a sustained drop in new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and clusters. She says 56 new infections were confirmed Tuesday and there were no new death

A British Columbia official whose job it is to tackle racism is condemning threats of violence that led to the postponement of an anti-racism rally on Vancouver Island over the weekend. Rachna Singh, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives, says a partner with the province's anti-racism network in Nanaimo and Ladysmith decided to cancel the car rally after organizers received threats of physical violence. She says the threats came ``from individuals'' whose behaviour will not be tolerated. Singh says in a statement the incident is further proof of why it's so important to oppose r

A 26 year old man is facing several charges after police say a stolen vehicle rammed two police cruisers in Abbotsford, injuring one officer. Police say the van rammed a police vehicle to get away from officers responding to a theft on Saturday night and then rammed another cruiser nearby before it came to a stop after fleeing into Langley. An officer injured while outside the second police vehicle was taken to hospital for treatment and released. Jordan Buskink has been charged with offences including two counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, possession of stolen property and

A Quebec town just north of Montreal is cleaning up today after a tornado tore through the community Monday afternoon. A man died after taking shelter in his shed in Mascouche, Que., while two other people were injured when the tornado touched down. Environment Canada says a thunderstorm cell around 3:45 p.m. generated a tornado in a residential neighbourhood, causing injuries and destruction. Meteorologists who surveyed the damage Monday evening say their preliminary findings suggest the tornado's maximum wind speeds clocked in between 180 kilometres per hour and 200 km/h, consistent with an