A 43-year-old man, Dustin Gastel, has been sentenced to three years in prison for desecrating human remains in connection with a 2023 homicide in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The case came to light on January 3, 2023, when Vancouver Fire Rescue Services discovered burned human remains while extinguishing a suspicious outdoor fire near Powell Street and Raymur Avenue. Police later identified the victim as 34-year-old Jeff Genty, who was the first homicide victim recorded in Vancouver that year. According to Vancouver police, Gastel was sentenced by the court on August 10. His three-year sen

Prince George RCMP officers have seized a large quantity of suspected illicit drugs, cash, firearms and ammunition during a drug investigation at a local residence. The investigation began on August 24, 2026, at a home in the 6200-block of Monterey Road. Police searched the residence and seized approximately $29,000 in cash, along with more than 100 grams of two unidentified substances believed to be illicit drugs. Officers also recovered two firearms, ammunition and drug-trafficking paraphernalia during the investigation. The only person inside the residence at the time was arrested and later

A 44-year-old Williams Lake man has been charged in connection with a fatal crash on Highway 1 near Lytton last year that claimed the lives of two people. Joel Chenier has been charged under the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act with driving without due care and attention. The crash occurred around 5 p.m. on Aug. 14, 2025, near Spences Bridge. According to police, a black Ford SUV crossed the centre line of the highway and collided head-on with an oncoming pickup truck. The impact was so severe that both vehicles caught fire. A woman travelling in the SUV and a man in the pickup truck died at the scene.

A woman’s body was found at a farm in Delta after a fire broke out early Wednesday morning, with police now investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. According to a brief statement from the Delta Police Department, officers were called to a farm in the 6400-block of River Road at around 6:10 a.m. after receiving a report of a fire and a deceased woman. The area is located just south of the Fraser River, near the Deas Slough Bridge. Investigators are working to confirm the woman’s identity and determine the cause and circumstances of her death. Police are currently treating the

B.C. Premier David Eby has sharply criticized the ongoing political turmoil within the opposition B.C. Conservative Party, calling it a “centre of chaos” while ruling out the possibility of an early provincial election. Eby’s comments came after four B.C. Conservative MLAs recently resigned from the party amid growing tensions and dissatisfaction with the leadership. Taking aim at Conservative Leader Karin Kirkpatrick, Eby described the B.C. Conservatives as a far-right party and questioned how British Columbians could place their trust in a party when its own MLAs are unable to stand be

Two B.C. Conservative MLAs, Rosalyn Bird of Prince George-Valemount and Teresa Wat of Richmond-Bridgeport, have resigned from the party and will now sit as independent members in the legislature. The departures mark the fourth major setback for the party in just 12 days under the leadership of Kerry-Lyn Findlay. Both Bird and Wat have expressed dissatisfaction with Findlay’s leadership and the way the party has been operating. Earlier, two senior MLAs, Ian Paton and Peter Milobar, also left the party after raising concerns about Findlay’s leadership and her approach to running the party. T

B.C. Premier David Eby is urging Prime Minister Mark Carney’s federal government to consider measures beyond retaliatory tariffs in response to the ongoing trade dispute with the United States. Eby said Canada should consider stronger non-tariff measures and indicated B.C. could impose a surcharge on energy exports to the U.S. or restrict those exports if necessary. The premier also called on Ottawa to review its plan to purchase U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. Eby argued that the current trade tensions should prompt a reassessment of the planned multibillion-dollar defence purchase. Eby also s

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, the Brunswick Creek wildfire in the Fraser Canyon area is no longer considered a wildfire of note, after the threat posed by the blaze eased. The fire has now been removed from the province’s wildfire-of-note list, leaving just three major wildfires in B.C. The agency said, however, that firefighters are still working to fully contain the fire on the west side of the Fraser River. Meanwhile, the Ansley Creek wildfire on the east side of the river remains out of control and is one of the three remaining major wildfires in the province. The Bald Range wi

Suspected unregulated drug toxicity claimed 138 lives in British Columbia in June 2026, according to preliminary data from the BC Coroners Service. That works out to approximately 4.6 deaths per day. During the first six months of 2026, people between the ages of 30 and 59 accounted for 68% of all drug-toxicity deaths in the province, while 75% of those who died were male. The Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities recorded the highest numbers of unregulated drug deaths in 2026, with 206 and 200 deaths respectively. Together, they accounted for 52% of all such deaths in the province.