Counting is underway as Elections BC begins its final, official tally of votes following last month's provincial election. The independent agency says the count began this morning, is expected to take at least three days, and will include the more than 660,000 absentee and mail-in ballots submitted up to the October 24th vote. Not all of those ballots may be added to the final tally as officials say some might be excluded if problems are found once the certification envelopes are opened. Elections BC says the final count will be followed by a six-day window to permit judicial recounts of any

Another grim COVID-19 case count for BC as those who tested positive in the last day reaches 589 people. The provincial health officer has called a news conference for Saturday, an unusual weekend occurrence for Dr. Bonnie Henry. The statement gives no hint about what will be announced, although Henry did say earlier this week that they were consulting with regional health authorities on more specific restrictions as case counts rise. Today's figures shows 402 people in the Fraser Health regiontested positive and two more people have died. 104 people are hospitalized, 28 of whom are in inten

Premier John Horgan says the latest unemployment data shows his NDP government is focused on measures to help BC overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Horgan says October's employment numbers show BC led the country by creating more than 33,000 jobs. At eight per cent, he says the province's unemployment rate is well below the national average of 8.9 per cent. Horgan says employment in BC now stands at 97.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in February.

Two men will be charged with firearms offences after being arrested near the convention centre in Philadelphia, where election ballots are being counted. Police got a tip that people armed with weapons were on their way to the site in a Hummer truck. Investigators say the men told police that the Hummer, spotted by officers near the centre, was their vehicle. Police found an additional firearm inside the truck. Philadelphia police said they arrested two men Thursday for not having permits to carry the guns they were armed with near the state convention centre, where vote counting is ongoing.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has faith in the American people and their democratic institutions.But Trudeau is stopping short of directly responding today after President Donald Trump complained, without evidence, that the counting of ballots in the U.S. election is corrupt.Trudeau says it is not for foreign countries to pronounce on the American electoral process right now.Democratic nominee Joe Biden now has a slight lead over Trump in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, as more mail-in ballots are still being counted.Biden is currently leading in enough states to p

Democrat Joe Biden is leading President Donald Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. By Friday morning, Biden overtook Trump in the number of ballots counted in the state, which Trump must win to have a shot at reelection. Biden leads by about 9,000 votes. The contest is still too early for The Associated Press to call. Votes in the state are still being counted. Trump's lead dwindled after Election Day when state officials began processing mail-in ballots, a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden's favour. Trump spent months claiming, without proof, that voting by mail wo

The federal government says authorities have seized 380 shipments of counterfeit or unauthorized COVID-19-related goods along the BC border with the US. Officials says the seizures by the Canada Border Services Agency, Health Canada and the RCMP happened between March 20 and June 30, 2020. The seized goods include 4.5 million units of personal protective equipment, 48,000 COVID-19 test kits and 33,000 prescription pills and tablets. Border officials seized the mislabelled or improperly declared goods, referring others to Health Canada. The unauthorized or counterfeit goods were referred to th

Metro Vancouver Transit Police say a man wanted on a Canada-wide warrant escaped from custody on Wednesday night. Police say they checked a man in the area of Surrey Central Station on Wednesday, discovering that he was wanted for break-and-enter. During the attempt to arrest him, the suspect was able to break free and left behind a hockey bag containing a handgun and ammunition. Transit police are asking for the public's help in tracking down Sean Cuddeford, saying they anticipate recommending several more charges to add to the original charge of break-and-enter.

A former RCMP officer testified that a British Columbia cabinet minister told him in 2009 that the gaming minister knew about organized crime at casinos but was more focused on the revenue generated by gambling. Fred Pinnock who was formerly in charge of the now-defunct illegal gambling enforcement team, made the comments yesterday at the provincial inquiry into money laundering. Pinnock says he met with then solicitor general Kash Heed, who told him his concerns were legitimate but that gaming minister Rich Coleman was ``all about the money.'' The inquiry also heard that the arrests of sever