British Columbia's coroners service say 153 people died in July from unregulated toxic drugs and another 149 deaths occurred in August. Those numbers are up slightly from the previous two months when the service reported 145 people died in May and 147 people died in June A government statement says the number of unregulated drug deaths in July and August amounted to almost five people a day. The coroners service says the highest number of deaths so far this year were in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities, making up more than half of the province's total. More than two thirds o

The New Westminster Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect responsible for drawing swastikas on vehicles. The first incident is believed to have occurred overnight on October 3rd with the victim reporting he found a swastika drawn on his vehicle the following morning. The vehicle was parked in the 1100 block of Nanaimo Street. While investigating the vandalism, officers located an additional vehicle that had been vandalized. The second incident was reported to police on October 6th. A resident called police to say that he located a swastika drawn on his

Charges have been laid against a man in relation to a hit-and-run in Prince George, B.C., that killed one cyclist and injured another who had been training for a local police and cancer fundraising event. RCMP say the accused, Thomas Phillips, faces multiple charges, including impaired driving causing death and failure to remain at the scene of an accident. The two cyclists were hit on July 7 as they trained for the Cops for Cancer Tour de North fundraising race, and Prince George RCMP confirmed later that one of the riders died. Police say the victim, Shane Kelly, had been involved in multipl

Police in West Kelowna, B.C., are investigating after unknown suspects tried to steal an automated teller machine from a bank by ripping it out of the wall at a bank. RCMP say the theft happened at about 4:26 a.m. after someone called police about possible mischief outside a bank in the 5500 block of Clements Crescent. Police say arriving officers found a scene that indicated the suspects had used a pickup truck and a front-loader to rip the ATM deposit box from the building's outside wall before fleeing. Officers were able to recover the stolen deposit box a short time later when it was found

A regional district in the British Columbia Interior has declared a state of local emergency as an illegal dam threatens to burst. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District has already issued an evacuation alert for 14 properties down river from the dam and says the emergency declaration will allow it to take action to mitigate the flood risk. The district said on Tuesday that the unauthorized, man-made dam on Fadear Lake could fail and create "an uncontrolled release of water" into Fadear Creek in an area about 13 kilometres north of Sun Peaks Mountain. Residents in homes along Fadear Creek were

On the two-year anniversary of his disappearance, White Rock RCMP is renewing their plea for information about Justin Fisher. On October 8, 2023, White Rock RCMP received a report of found property and determined it belonged to Justin Kyle Fisher. The last known sighting of Justin Fisher was in White Rock, BC in the 15000 block of Marine Drive, on October 7, 2023. His backpack containing his belongings was found in the water about 100 metres offshore by a kayaker on October 8, 2023. Based on our investigation, we do not believe there is any criminality associated to his disappearance. As the i

All remaining British Columbia-run liquor and cannabis stores in the province are now behind picket lines as public service workers step up union job action. The escalation by the BC General Employees' Union also includes all Service BC workers, raising the total number of members participating in job action to almost 25,000. Private liquor and cannabis stores in B.C. remain open, but they are supplied by provincial government distribution warehouses that are also behind picket lines. Service BC provides residents with services related to drivers licensing, income and disability ass

The Transportation Safety Board says it's sending a team of investigators to the site of a helicopter crash near Squamish, B.C., that occurred this morning. Board spokesman Chris Krepski says the accident happened just before 9:30 a.m. and involved a Bell 214 B1 helicopter that was carrying an external load. Krepski says the pilot was taken to Vancouver with serious injuries. He says the board couldn't confirm who the owner of the aircraft is, and could only share preliminary information after receiving a report. He says more information about the crash will be available once investigators arr

Police say a man is facing multiple charges after allegedly firing shots near a Surrey SkyTrain station and a community police office yesterday afternoon. The Surrey Police Service says 34-year-old Jose Centeno has been charged with unauthorized firearm possession, reckless discharge, assaulting an officer and obstruction. The charges come after police say Centeno allegedly opened fire near the Gateway SkyTrain Station and a community police office on Monday afternoon. Investigators say the suspect fled the area of the station before being located near a Surrey Police Service community office