BC emergency operators have again experienced delays in answering and processing emergency calls. A spokesperson from the E-Comms 9-1-1 says the extended wait period for calls over the Thanksgiving weekend was the result of delays transferring the calls to the BC Ambulance Service. The agency says, when this happens, people should not hang up but stay on the line until they can be helped. Paramedics in B-C have been speaking out about staffing shortages and burnout since the heat wave in June. In July, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province would be adding more paramedics, dispatchers a

Vancouver police are investigating the cause of a fatal crash near Jericho Beach. They say it happened on Sunday night, after a man was reported to be driving erratically. They say the driver hit a tree, and after several unsuccessful attempts by Vancouver firefighters and paramedics to revive him, he died at the scene. Constable Tania Visintin says speed was a factor in the crash, but police are still investigating to determine if there were any other factors. This is Vancouver’s 14th motor vehicle fatality of 2021.

All long-term care and assisted living employees in British Columbia now need to have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.Those who have received one dose will have to undergo rapid testing daily and must receive a required second shot within 35 days of their first.B.C.'s health minister and top public health doctor are set to provide an update today on the COVID-19 situation.Adrian Dix and Dr. Bonnie Henry are scheduled to speak at noon.The province last reported daily case numbers on Friday, when there were 743 new COVID-19 infections and five added deaths.Nearly 89 per cent of eligible re

B.C. is reporting 743 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 192,491 cases in the province.There are currently 5,969 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 184,121 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 360 individuals are currently in hospital and 137 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, five new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,001. The new deaths include:Fraser Health: threeInterior Health: oneNorthern Health: one There have been two new he

Vancouver police say the number of catalytic converter thefts have more than doubled in the city since last year and not only are the thefts more frequent, they're also more violent. Constable Tania Visintin says police have received reports of 425 catalytic converter thefts between January and this week, compared with 204 for all of 2020 and she says this year's reports include 14 where the victim was assaulted during the theft, eight more than in 2020. A woman in east Vancouver was pepper sprayed when she confronted a person stealing the catalytic converter from her car earlier this week an

Two of British Columbia's largest employers are implementing mandatory vaccination policies for their workers. TransLink, Metro Vancouver's transportation network, and the Insurance Corporation of B.C. have announced their workers must be fully vaccinated by November. A statement from ICBC says the mandate applies to all its employees and contractors. TransLink says its directive applies to 8,300 workers who are employed by TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Company, BC Rapid Transit Company and Transit Police. TransLink chief executive Kevin Quinn says in a statement the decision is important as

British Columbia posted the top job creation numbers in Canada last month and the province's jobless rate has fallen below six per cent. Statistics Canada reports B.C. added 12,300 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate dropping to 5.9 per cent. Economic Recovery Minister Ravi Kahlon says the numbers indicate B.C.'s recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic is gaining strength provincewide, with the Prince George, Okanagan and Cariboo areas posting the strongest gains. But he says there is more work to be done as some communities and people have been disproportionately affected by the pand

A Vancouver-based environmental group says more than 200 people including scientists, Indigenous leaders, politicians, actors and artists, have signed a letter calling on British Columbia Premier John Horgan to halt old-growth logging. Canopy says those signing the open letter and sending messages to Horgan range from Union of BC Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip to former NASA scientist James Hansen and actors William Shatner and Dame Judi Dench. Shatner's message says standing beside a giant cedar makes it clear how "small our place in the universe really is," and the premier should

A restaurant in Hope that publicly defied the province's COVID-19 vaccine passport system has lost its business licence for six months. Bylaw officers served the suspension to Rolly's Restaurant yesterday for failure to comply with the BC Vaccine Card regulations. Hope's Chief Administrative Officer John Fortoloczky warns that if the restaurant continues to operate it could face a 100 dollar fine every day it remains open.