The RCMP is apologizing to a seriously injured man whom officers mistook for a robbery suspect in Surrey, B.C. Mounties say in a news release that officers were called to investigate an armed robbery at a business in the early hours of Feb. 8. They say an officer found a person riding a bicycle nearby and believed he matched the description of the suspect. RCMP allege the man resisted the officer's attempts to take him into custody and a struggle ensued, prompting other officers to join in. They say the man was assessed and treated at the scene by BC Emergency Health Services and it was later

British Columbia's provincial health officer is warning that COVID-19 cases and test positivity rates are ticking up in some jurisdictions due to increased interactions. Dr. Bonnie Henry says that while the overall number of cases has slowly been coming down across B.C., the seven-day rolling average is starting to creep up. She says this is particularly true in the Fraser Health region, where the viral reproductive rate has risen above one, meaning each infected person is passing the virus on to at least one other person on average. Dr. Henry says that over the past four days, 1,533 new case

Simon Fraser University says a cyberattack on a school server has exposed personal information. The British Columbia university says in a statement that spreadsheet data on the breached server contained personal information for a number of current and former students, faculty, staff and student applicants. The type of personal information stored in the spreadsheets varies by individual. The university says the breach mostly involved student or employee identification numbers and at least one other data element, such as admission or academic standing. It says banking details, social insurance

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart says he will ask council to implement a handgun ban in the city using powers proposed under newly tabled federal legislation. The proposed legislation would allow municipalities to ban the weapons through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday the measures will be backed up with serious penalties to enforce these bylaws, including jail time for people who violate municipal rules.Stewart says in a news release that the proliferation of handguns poses a great threat to public safety in Vancouver,

The RCMP says an officer was taken to hospital with serious injuries after his vehicle hit a patch of ice and rolled over in Nanaimo, B.C.Police say in a news release that the Mountie was on his way to assist another officer and had his emergency equipment activated and siren on when the incident occurred Monday. They say he was driving northbound on Highway 19A and his car went off the road after hitting the ice or slush, flipping several times. When his vehicle came to a rest, the Mountie managed to crawl out and request emergency assistance. The RCMP say in the release that a witness report

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada will receive 1.3 million doses of the Moderna vaccine in March, despite uncertainty over timing details. The shipments would bring the total of Moderna doses to two million as planned, following smaller-than-expected deliveries this month. Canada's vaccine rollout is ramping back up with more than 878,000 more Pfizer-BioNTech doses expected in the next two weeks after faltering shipments attributed to production delays abroad. EarlierPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said, the head of Moderna has assured him the company will meet its contract to ship

An Avalanche Canada expert says a recent cold snap followed by snowfall in British Columbia's south coastal region has resulted in unusual and tricky conditions in mountain areas frequented by backcountry enthusiasts.Ilya Storm says last week's cold winds from the north and east, followed by weekend snowfall, has created slabs of snow that are not bonding well with mountain surfaces, especially in the Whistler area.Whistler RCMP reported two deaths and several injuries after skiers and snowboarders were caught in separate avalanches in the Blackcomb Glacier and Brandywine Bowl areas.Last Decem

Newly tabled gun legislation would allow municipalities to ban handguns through bylaws restricting their possession, storage and transportation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says today the measures will be backed up with serious penalties to enforce these bylaws, including jail time for people who violate municipal rules. Many gun-control advocates have pressed for a national handgun ban, warning that leaving it up to municipalities would create an ineffective patchwork of regulations. As expected, the long-promised bill also proposes a buyback of a wide array of recently banned firearms the

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is appealing to the official Opposition Conservatives to hasten passage of a COVID-19 relief bill through the House of Commons.The appeal is in a letter from Freeland to Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole in which the deputy prime minister says the Tories are dragging their feet on the proposed legislation for no good reason.Freeland goes on to say the bill should not be "a political football," and asks O'Toole to support its passage to help Canadians struggling during the pandemic.The Liberal government introduced the proposed legislation at the beginnin