The Government of British Columbia, Government of Canada and Shell Canada are each committing funding toward the new B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy and collaborating to decarbonize the economy and scale up clean energy. "Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and we are already seeing its devastating effects. Shifting from our reliance on fossil fuels to low-carbon energy requires an all-hands-on-deck approach," said Premier John Horgan. "That's why we are working together with industry and government partners to create a centre for innovation and clean energy that

The British government's top medical adviser has warned that number of people in hospital with the coronavirus could reach``quite scary'' levels within weeks as cases soar as a result of the rapid spread of the more contagious delta variant and the lifting oflockdown restrictions.Professor Chris Whitty told a webinar late Thursday that was hosted by London's Science Museum that the U.K. is``not out of the woods yet.'' His comments came in the wake of government figures showing that new coronavirus infections have struck another six-month high and the number of people in hospital with COVID-19

The B-C Wildfire Service says it is being forced to focus on wildfires that threaten lives and safety due to a lack of resources. Spokesman Kurtis Isfeld says issues like hot weather are affecting firefighting partners in other provinces, which means there are fewer resources to share as the forecast shows little to no reprieve. Emergency Management B-C says there are more than 300 wildfires burning across the province, and two-thousand 800 people have been forced to escape their properties. Sarah Hall of the fire service says about 51 evacuation alerts affecting 10-thousand properties around

Authorities on the scene say it looks like a ''catastrophic'' war zone. Damage is extensive after a tornado-ravaged Barrie, Ontario. Eight people have been hurt, four seriously. Authorities are going door-to-door to check on residents, while paramedics provide first aid to those injured. People are sharing photos and videos of the destruction during and in the aftermath of the twister, showing homes with roofs torn off, overturned vehicles and debris littering the streets. It touched down around 2:30 p.m. just minutes after Environment Canada upgraded its tornado watch for the area to a warni

Provincial police say a 13 year old from Toronto was killed in a boat collision on Lake Rosseau that also injured several people, one of them critically. OPP say one person, a 51 year old woman from Oakville, Ont., is still missing following the Wednesday night crash, and search efforts have resumed. They say a total of six people were aboard the two boats that collided on the lake near Muskoka's Windermere Marina on Wednesday. Bracebridge Ontario Provincial Police say they received multiple 911 calls around 7:40 p.m., with witnesses describing seeing several people in the water. Four people

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has replaced a cabinet minister who quit the inner circle with complaints about her treatment. Eileen Clarke handled Indigenous relations. But no sooner did backbencher Alan Lagimodiere replace Clarke, than controversy erupted. Lagimodiere told a news conference that residential schools were not all bad. When NDP Leader Wab Kinew volubly objected, the new minister quickly said the schools were designed to eradicate Indigenous culture.

A provincial government agency say four coyotes have been euthanized in Vancouver's Stanley Park following an attack on a toddler earlier this week. A statement from British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says the coyotes were killed Wednesday and early Thursday. The statement says one of the animals was found close to the site where the child was bitten on the head and neck at around dusk on Monday. The Vancouver Park Board says in a social media post that the northeast corner of the urban park has been closed while conservation officers search for more animals. Conservation officers

Danger from BC wildfires has picked up, prompting several evacuation orders and alerts yesterday and early this morning. More than 300 wildfires are currently burning in the province, with many of the most threatening located in the Cariboo and Kamloops fire centres. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 1,400 properties in those regions yesterday and several dozen more were added this morning as a new fire in the Okanagan west of Peachland has scorched more than two-and-a-half square kilometres of bush in less than 12 hours. Elsewhere, the villages of 100 Mile House, Cache Creek, Ashcr

One of the experts who used a specialized radar to search the grounds of a former Indigenous residential school for signs of human graves says only a fraction of the area has been checked. Sarah Beaulieu says just under one hectare of land has been surveyed and a further 65 hectares must still be checked at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School where as many as 215 unmarked graves have already been detected. Beaulieu says the work began in the former school's apple orchard because that is where a child's rib bone and tooth were found. Former students reported they were woken at night