British Columbia is reporting another eight deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 2,953.Hospitalization numbers continue to drop in the province, with 329 people in hospital Wednesday compared with 345 a day earlier while 51 people are in intensive care.Surrey Memorial Hospital is reporting a new outbreak.There are nine facilities with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, most of them in long-term care homes.Nearly 91 per cent of eligible people aged 12 and up have had their second vaccine and 56.8 per cent of those have had a third dose.Since December 2020, almost 11.5 million doses of va

Alberta RCMP are warning about an online Ponzi scheme that has cost victims in the province nearly 150,000 dollars. Police say the Aweunion or Awebuy scam involves an app that claims to use investor funds to buy underperforming products on Amazon to drive up consumer popularity and their financial performance. The Mounties say individuals believe they'll receive a commission from their investments but see little to no return and get no response from Aweunion administrators after investing a significant amount. They say people must be vigilant in the investments they make with apps and online

Three people have now been charged after The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of British Columbia’s (CFSEU-BC’s) Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team (JIGIT) conducted an investigation into an illegal gaming house.In October 2020, the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) responded to a residence in the 200 block of W. 45th Ave, after receiving a 911 call. When VPD officers arrived, evidence of an alleged illegal gaming house was observed.CFSEU-BC’s JIGIT was immediately engaged and began an investigation into the alleged illegal gaming house activity and executed several search w

British Columbia's housing minister says a new method for collecting data on homelessness is the first of its kind in Canada and will help the province tackle the issue. David Eby says the government used anonymized data from multiple ministry databases to paint a picture of homelessness across B.C. in 2019 that found trends like high per capita rates in northern rural communities and among men. The report shows that just over half of people experienced homelessness temporarily rather than on a chronic basis. Eby says the province previously relied on data from point-in-time counts in 25 comm

On March 16, 2022, at 3:17 a.m., Surrey RCMP responded to the report of shots fired at a residence in the 11200-block of Lansdowne Drive. Police attended and located evidence consistent with a shooting. A 17-year-old youth who is known to police suffered non-life threatening injuries. They were transported to hospital and have since been released. The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit has taken conduct of the investigation. The investigation is in the early stages, but all indications are that it was targeted. The shooting does not appear to be linked to the Lower Mainland gang conflict."

Alberta's newest legislature member, Brian Jean, is expected to meet up with his United Conservative colleagues later this week and take the next step in his campaign to get Premier Jason Kenney ousted as party leader. Jean says he will be going to Edmonton to speak truth to power and to get more people signed up to vote against Kenney at the U-C-P's upcoming leadership review. Jean handily defeated seven challengers last night in the Fort McMurray-Lac-La-Biche byelection, winning two-thirds of the votes cast. He says he doesn't expect to be sworn in and take his seat in the house until early

Surrey RCMP is informing the public that three youths who allegedly stole a parcel from a porch were identified, arrested and referred to extrajudicial measures. On March 4, 2022, Surrey RCMP received a report of a theft of package from a residence located in 8600-block of 156 Street. Police attended and learned that a package containing items such as designer jackets, shoes, sunglasses and t-shirts was stolen.Surrey RCMP Frontline officer’s investigation led to the arrest of 3 youths, who have since been released from custody. The majority of the items stolen have been returned to their rig

There's no relief in sight from climbing prices across the country as Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate hit 5.7 per cent last month, the highest in more than 30 years, and the second straight month above five per cent. Economists say gas prices, grocery costs and housing expenses all contributed to the leap from January's setting of 5.1 per cent. In BC, inflation jumped four-tenths of a point to 4.7 per cent, tying this province and Saskatchewan for the lowest cost of living increase in Canada, but rates are still up sharply in most areas. Victoria saw its rate soar seven basis

Vaccinated travellers will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test to come to Canada as of April 1, according to a source in the federal government. The source, who is not authorized to speak publicly about the upcoming policy change, says an official announcement is expected later this week. At the end of February, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced travellers coming to Canada would be able to present a negative rapid-antigen test at the border as an alternative to a more costly and time-consuming molecular test. At the time, he said he would consider easing COVID-19 travel restri