Leading residential, commercial and industrial builders from the province’s largest economic sector got together in a hotel in Vancouver for 2020 BC real estate forecast. A crowd of 1,200 guests, including government and elected officials, builders, urban planners and real-estate professionals attended the event organised by a non-profit association of the development industry. There was an apparent agreement among the panelists that interest rate, construction cost, price for residential units and their rents could potentially go slightly up while the possibility of any reduction in the ma

A Canadian judge said Thursday she will announce her decision at a later date after she ended the first phase of an extradition hearing that will decide whether a top executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei is sent to the United States. This week's hearings dealt with the question of whether the U.S. charges against Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's founder, are crimes in Canada as well. Her lawyers argued the case is really about U.S. sanctions against Iran, not a fraud case. They maintain since Canada does not have similar sanctions against Iran, no fraud occurred. Canada arrested Huawe

The mayor of Victoria says she's disappointed Canada's highest court won't reconsider a lower-court ruling that stopped her city from regulating single-use plastic bags. However, Lisa Helps says there are other ways to eliminate the items. The high court didn't issue reasons for refusing to review a B.C. Court of Appeal decision that overturned Victoria's plastic bag ban on the grounds the city lacks provincial approval. The Canadian Plastic Bag Association, which challenged the original bylaw, says it welcomes the decision which requires B.C. municipalities to "follow the law and respect the

Montreal police say one of Quebec's 10 most wanted criminals was nabbed in the U.S. this week after more than 17 years on the lam. Police say Parthasarthie Kapoor was arrested at the airport in Newark, N.J., as he attempted to fly to India on Monday. Kapoor is accused of sexually assaulting five boys between the ages of 7 and 14 at his Montreal home between 1998 and 2003. A permanent resident in Canada, he fled for the U.S. in 2003 upon hearing he was the subject of a criminal probe, triggering both Canada-wide and international arrest warrants. According to details on a Quebec provincial pol

B-C Transportation Minister Claire Trevena says the journey to bring ride-hailing services to B-C has taken longer than people wanted but the system and its services will be worth the wait. Trevena made the comments shortly after the Passenger Transportation Board granted licence approvals for ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to operate in the Lower Mainland and Whistler. Uber and Lyft say their next steps involve getting vehicle insurance and working with municipalities in the approved areas to comply with local bylaws.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is making every effort to ensure Canada has the best possible response to the coronavirus outbreak in China. He spoke to reporters just as the World Health Organization announced it would not yet declare the virus a global emergency. Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are under observation for signs they may have contracted the coronavirus from China, but that the risk to Canadians remains low.

The World Health Organization says a viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people is not yet a global health emergency. The decision came after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three cities on Thursday and cancelled major events in the capital, Beijing, during the Lunar New Year holiday period to try to contain the new virus. The United Nations health agency announced the decision after independent experts spent two days assessing information about the spread of the newly identified coronavirus. WHO defines a global emergency as an ``extraordinary event'' that constitu

The federal government and Mastercard are working together to develop technologies and standards aimed at ensuring safe and secure use of any device connected to the internet. Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Navdeep Bains and Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard say the strategies will be developed at a new centre to be built in Vancouver. The Intelligence and Cyber Centre is to be funded by a $510-million investment from Mastercard and $49 million from Canada. The centre's goal is to ensure any internet-enabled device, ranging from phones and tablets to computers and vehicles, can be u

Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu says several people in Canada are being monitored for signs they may have contracted a coronavirus from China.Hajdu says five or six people, including at least one in Quebec and another in Vancouver, are under observation but stresses the risk to Canadians remains low. She says there are no confirmed cases in Canada yet.At least 500 people in China are infected with the virus and 17 people have died.The city at the centre of the outbreak, Wuhan, is under quarantine as health officials scramble to understand the virus and keep it from spreading.The World Heal