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

The latest study of deaths related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada estimates the number of deaths could much higher than currently reported. A study commissioned by the Royal Society of Canada found about six-thousand deaths between February and November of last year were linked to the pandemic but appeared to have gone undetected, unreported or unattributed to the virus. Dr. Tara Moriarty led the study and estimates, if fatalities have been missed at the same rate since last November, the overall number of deaths may be two times higher than the reported number of just over 26-thousand. T

The BC Wildfire Service says a three-and-a-half-square kilometre wildfire is burning out of control northwest of Kamloops. The blaze was spotted yesterday and has prompted an evacuation alert for nine nearby properties in the rural area. Twenty-seven firefighters, two helicopters and eight air tankers are assigned to the fire. A cause remains under investigation but the wildfire service says it is suspected to have been caused by humans. BC Wildfire service on Twitter: The #BCWildfire Service continues suppression efforts on Sparks Lake wildfire (K21001) with 20 personnel remaining on site ov

Burnaby RCMP is urging people to check on loved ones and neighbours as the heatwave bringing record-breaking temperatures continues in Metro Vancouver.In a 24 hour period since Monday, Burnaby RCMP has responded to more than 25 sudden death calls. Although still under investigation, heat is believed to be a contributing factor in the majority of the deaths. Many of the deceased have been seniors."Check on your neighbours, check on family members, check on seniors you may know," said Cpl. Mike Kalanj with Burnaby RCMP."We are seeing this weather can be deadly for vulnerable members of our commu

The leader of the North Shore Rescue team is urging people not to head into the mountains during a heat wave that has shattered temperature records. Mike Danks says anyone hankering to head into the backcountry could be putting themselves and rescuers in danger, and not just because of the heat. He says the soaring temperatures are quickly melting snow, and that could make crossing some areas extremely treacherous. Danks says two people were rescued in separate incidents from North shore mountains last week and that one of them had passed out from heat exhaustion while the other began vomitin

BC Coroners Service reporting released on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, shows at least 160 lives were lost in the province as a result of suspected illicit drug toxicity in May. "More than five years into this public health emergency, we continue to lose our loved ones, friends and neighbours at an almost unimaginable rate," said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner, BC Coroners Service. "There is no way to measure the catastrophic impact that the loss of these lives have had on every community in our province. Today, I grieve with all those who have lost someone close to them as a result of this crisis."An

A record-breaking heat wave could ease over parts of British Columbia, Yukon and Northwest Territories by tomorrow but any reprieve for the Prairie provinces is further off.Environment Canada says the "historic" weather system shattered 103 heat records across B.C., Alberta, Yukon and N.W.T. yesterday.Those records include a new Canadian all-time high temperature of 47.9 C set in Lytton, B.C., smashing the previous record of 46.6 set in the same village a day earlier.All-time maximum temperature records were also set in the Alberta communities of Jasper, Grande Prairie and Hendrickson Creek f

India has jumped up 37 places to be ranked 10th in Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020, as per a United Nations report launched on Tuesday.The GCI is a composite index produced, analysed and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialised agency of the UN, to measure the commitment of its 194 member states to cybersecurity in order to raise cybersecurity awareness.The latest report is the fourth GCI edition by the ITU, with the first edition launched six years ago.In a tweet, India at UN said, "In a big leap, India jumps 37 places to be ranked 10th in Global Cyber

Premier John Horgan is expected to announce the next phase of B-C's COVID-19 re-opening plan today alongside provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon.The third part of the four-pronged plan is set to start on Thursday, when several restrictions will be lifted as indoor and outdoor dining will be allowed without a cap on numbers and residents can travel elsewhere in Canada.Henry says vaccination rates continue rising, with some exceptions in small communities in the northern and interior health regions where drive-thru and mobile clinics are expected to make i