People age 30 and older may now receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in British Columbia, starting with hot spots for transmission. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a statement on Tuesday the vaccine will be made available across the province as B.C. receives enough doses to add more pharmacy appointments. Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended last week that the vaccine may be offered to people 30 and up who don't want to wait for an approved mRNA vaccine, and if certain other conditions are met. Those condi

A report by British Columbia's auditor general says the province is effectively managing its highway avalanche safety program, but improvements can still be made. Michael Pickup says in a statement the audit found avalanche deaths on B.C. highways are rare events and road closures due to avalanches are declining. He says the audit looked at the Transportation Ministry's management of highway safety and the efforts to keep avalanche-related road closures to a minimum. Pickup says there haven't been any avalanche-related deaths on B.C. highways in more than 20 years and avalanche events are now

British Columbia has introduced legislation to convert an investment initiative into a Crown corporation with the authority to make independent decisions aimed at spurring economic recovery after the pandemic. The $500-million InBC investment fund was created last September as a way for the province to invest alongside the private sector to support small and medium-sized companies, which make up 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. The purpose of the fund is to make investments that achieve a financial return by meeting the government's social, economic and environmental policy obje

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau spoke with his counterpart in India earlier today about how Canada could best help the country struggling with a deadly surge in COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is ready to provide $10 million to the Indian Red Cross, through the Canadian Red Cross. He says this money would support everything from procuring more personal protective equipment locally to ambulance services. Trudeau says government in close contact with US about procuring more doses Canada is counting on a US promise to share surplus COVID-19vaccines

A Quebec woman in her 50s has died of a blood clot that occurred after she received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The province's public health director says officials always knew that rare complications were possible with vaccines. Dr. Horacio Arruda says the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine still far outweigh the risks. Arruda notes there have been four reports of complications out of 400,000 people who have received the vaccines. He says Quebec will continue to offer the vaccine to residents between the ages of 45 and 79. Health Minister Christian Dube a told a news conference that any de

Vancouver Police are warning the public about a sexual assault on a child last month by an art instructor who operates out of his home in South Vancouver."This is a very disturbing incident where a child was left under the care of an adult and that adult allegedly took advantage of her," says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD. On March 22, it is alleged that 50 year-old Shao Zhai Chen, while teaching art classes out of his home near East 64th Avenue and Prince Edward Street, sexually assaulted a nine-year-old student.Chen is Asian and five feet eight inches tall. He has black and white hair and we

Police in New Westminster say a 24-year-old man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a 2019 shooting that sent a woman to hospital. They say Carlos Monteith has remained in custody since his arrest after the November 2019 that injured the woman. Police say Monteith pleaded guilty this month to charges of discharging a firearm with intent and possession of a loaded prohibited firearm. They say he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years on the first charge and three years on the second. New Westminster Police Department on Twitter: Suspect pleads guilty to two charges related to Osborne Avenu

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian Armed Forces is deploying 60 service members to help out at COVID-19 testing centres in Nova Scotia. Trudeau says the province asked for help as the number of COVID-19 cases has been rising quickly, especially in the Halifax region. This comes the day after the federal government confirmed it would be deploying military medical personnel to help Ontario's beleaguered health-care system. Trudeau says the Forces carried out its assessment of what Ontario needs on the ground Monday and that military personnel will be mobilized over the next days. H

Uniformed police officers will no longer be assigned to Vancouver public schools after trustees voted to end its school liaison officer program.The program has been under review for almost a year due to concerns that uniformed officers make some students anxious or upset, including many identifying as Black, Indigenous or people of colour.Trustees voted eight to one Monday in favour of a motion to halt the program at the end of June.The decision is supported by several groups, including the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council and associations representingelementary and secondary school