Approximately 75% of B.C. families with children will see more money in their bank accounts from the third enhanced BC Family Benefit payment.The monthly benefit was temporarily increased for families in B.C. for the first three months of 2023. From January through March 2023 combined, the extra BC Family Benefit payments have provided as much as an additional $350 for a family with two children."While global inflation is stretching most household budgets, it can be really tough for those already struggling to make ends meet," said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Finance. "Supporting people contin

The federal government is doling out more cash in B.C. this time to help the growth and innovation of 10 Vancouver-based companies.Harjit Sajjan, the minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, announced eight companies will receive just over $16 million from a federal scale-up and productivity fund.Nearly $10 million from a jobs and growth fund will be split by two other companies and the government says businesses benefiting from the cash include one using bioprinting technology to find treatments for incurable diseases.The statement from Sajjan's office says

A Vancouver parent has launched a proposed class-action lawsuit against the makers of Fortnite, saying the popular video game is designed to be "as addictive as possible" for children.In the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Friday, the plaintiff identified only as A.B. says her son downloaded Fortnite in 2018 and "developed an adverse dependence on the game."The statement of claim says the game incorporates a number of intentional design choices such as offering rewards for completing challenges and making frequent updates, which encourages players to return repeatedly.The statement say

Provincial police say a third person has died after a pickup truck crashed into pedestrians in an eastern Quebec town one week ago.Police say Simon-Guillaume Bourget, 41, died on the weekend after being injured last Monday.Two other men, Gérald Charest, 65, and Jean Lafrenière, 73, died after being struck in Amqui, about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.Police have said eight others were injured in the crash, ranging in age from less than a year old to 77, and hospital officials in Quebec City say one person is in critical condition and two others are stable.Steeve Gagnon, 38, is faci

A new Punjabi bilingual program is set to start at the Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg next school year. Students will receive Punjabi instruction in core subjects for about half of the day.There will also be some focus on Indian culture and history.Amber Trails Community School will be offering the program to students in kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2.This is the fourth non-French bilingual program offered in the school division, which currently runs similar programs in Ukrainian, Ojibway and Tagalog.

The Alberta government says $1 million in funding is to be used to train rural health-care providers to better support victims of sexual assault.The money, announced in October, helped Grande Prairie's Northwestern Polytechnic develop an online course for specialized training. The course, called Rural Sexual Assault Care-Expanded, teaches how to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed care to survivors of recent sex assaults.It focuses on assessment, forensic evidence collection and court testimony.The government says too often sex assault survivors in rural Alberta must drive long distances to

Bus service across most of B.C.'s Fraser Valley, from Abbotsford to Hope, has been halted by a strike.More than 200 members of CUPE Local 561 walked off the job, affecting all bus service in Abbotsford, Mission, Agassiz-Harrison, Chilliwack and Hope, although essential HandiDart trips can still be booked. The union says its members, who work for a company that contracts service to BC Transit, have no pension and make 32 per cent less than bus drivers and other staff elsewhere in Metro Vancouver's transit system.Talks between the two sides collapsed last week and the union says BC Transit and i

Updating the news regarding arrest of Bhai Amritpal Singh, Punjab Police has twitted confirming that Bhai Amritpal Singh has not been arrested yet. He is a fugitive. 78 members of Waris Punjab De have been arrested after mega crackdown. Nine weapons including 8 rifles, one revolver recovered during operation. https://twitter.com/PunjabPoli... Bhai Amritpal Singh, the Head of the Waris Punjab De outfit and a pro-Khalistani leader, was arrested. Nine of his accomplices have also been arrested from different places. His arrest has been made in connection with three separate cases registered in c

The federal government says Mike Duheme will be the interim commissioner of the RCMP, until a replacement is found for Brenda Lucki.Lucki, who was appointed commissioner in April 2018, is retiring as of today.Her tenure as the top Mountie has been marked by internal and external challenges, including allegations of systemic racism within the force, growing calls to defund the police, and the devastating mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says Duheme, who currently oversees federal policing for the Mounties, will take over the job on Saturday.Duheme was