A former British Columbia forests minister says the province is on the right track as it responds to worsening wildfires, but the scale of the challenge is so great, it's falling behind and needs to prioritize a "whole-of-society" approach. Doug Donaldson says the place to start should be a dedicated provincial wildfire strategy that lays out responsibilities for each government ministry, while supporting the participation of local communities, civil society and the forest industry. The former member of the legislature for Stikine, who served as forests minister from 2017 to 2020, says the BC

The wildfire burning near Fort Nelson continues to grow rapidly. As of Tuesday morning, the B.C. Wildfire Service reported the fire had grown to over 84 square kilometres. That marks a significant expansion of the fire, which as of Monday morning, was just under 53 square kilometres in size. This comes as efforts to evacuate Fort Nelson continue to be made due to the Parker Lake wildfire, which is still two kilometres outside the town. Mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Rob Fraser says efforts were made to call "holdouts" in the last few days, with some of those efforts being

A fire behaviour specialist with the B.C. Wildfire Service says an intense wildfire could hit Fort Nelson this morning, based on forecasts that have been calling for strong winds that have been fuelling the out-of-control blaze to continue throughout the day. Ben Boghean said in a video posted to social media Sunday night that the extreme fire behaviour, made worse by years of drought and a below-normal snowpack this past winter, could end up threatening the crews that have been fighting the Parker Lake wildfire. Rob Fraser, mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality based in Fort Nel

Officials say a woman was attacked by a bear while she was walking her dog at a nature estuary in Squamish, B.C. British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says in a Facebook post that the trails have been closed since the attack happened Friday, when the woman was walking her dog and it ran off into thick bush. Officers say the woman then noticed two bear cubs and was "suddenly charged" by an accompanying female bear, suffering non-life-threatening injuries in the attack. Conservation officers say the bear then ran off, and later searches of the area did not discover the animal's whereab

British Columbia's premier says the province has identified "sophisticated cybersecurity incidents" involving government networks. David Eby says the provincial government is working with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and other agencies to determine the extent of the incidents, but there is no evidence at this time that sensitive information has been compromised.

The president of London Drugs has issued a letter apologizing for a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to close stores for more than a week, but he says there's no evidence customer databases were compromised. The letter from Clint Mahlman says the Richmond, B.C.-based company is still investigating the April 28 incident, and should it find that any customer information was affected, it would inform people according to privacy laws. Mahlman says London Drugs works with experts to ensure its systems are secure, and independent auditors regularly review the company's security practic

Most drivers in British Columbia will receive a $110 vehicle insurance rebate this year. The Insurance Corporation of B.C. says strong investment and financial returns and the 2021 shift to the "enhanced care" model for providing health coverage for people involved in crashes has put the Crown corporation in a solid position to offer rebates. Corporation president David Wong says vehicle insurance rates will also remain frozen until at least March 2026. He says the last basic insurance rate increase was 2019. Wong says preliminary financial results show ICBC will earn net income of $1.5 billio

A court date has been set for the third man charged with the murder of British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, coinciding with that of the other two suspects. Case listings from Surrey Provincial Court in B.C. show that Kamalpreet Singh will appear next on May 21. Kamalpreet Singh, Karanpreet Singh and Karan Brar are Indian nationals who were arrested in Edmonton last week for the June 2023 death of Nijjar, who was shot dead in his truck while leaving the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh temple. Appearance dates had already been set for Karanpreet Singh and Brar, but fixing a da

London Drugs is gradually reopening its stores across Western Canada more than a week after a cybersecurity breach forced the retailer to close. The company says it is working with independent cybersecurity experts to securely bring its systems back online after it was discovered April 28. The Richmond, B.C.-based pharmacy and retailer operates about 80 London Drugs locations across Western Canada. The retailer says on its website more than two dozen stores are back in operation in B.C., while six are open in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan and one in Manitoba. The company notes that some store