BCSep 24, 2020
Sonia Furstenau disputing NDP counterpart's claims on promise of providing daycare for 10 dollars
Green Leader Sonia Furstenau is disputing her NDP counterpart's claims that her party stood in the way of improving child care in BC. John Horgan says his minority government couldn't fulfil the NDP's 2017 platform promise of providing daycare for 10 dollars a day because it couldn't get support from the Greens. But in a statement, Furstenau says she has been pushing the New Democrats for the legislation. Instead, she says Horgan chose to call an election. The Green leader also spoke to the Union of BC Municipalities today, telling the local politicians the election was unnecessary. Furstenau
BCSep 24, 2020
Andrew Wilkinson warns Surrey residents to be wary of NDP’s promise of building a second hospital in Surrey
Talking to journalists in Victoria today, BC Liberals leader Andrew Wilkinson warned Surrey residents to be wary of NDP’s promise of building a second hospital in Surrey. He said NDP has only been ‘all talk and no action’ on Surrey’s issues such as taxis, trucking, Skytrain extension and Massey Tunnel. Replying to a question about Surrey’s own police, Wilkinson said that there has been a complete lack of transparency around Surrey policing changes and NDP are now "trying to throw some blame off their own back" in terms of the growing chaos around now, what he called a hyper-political
BCSep 24, 2020
Thousands dealing with stress of COVID-19 self-isolation, B.C. health officials say
British Columbia health officials say the number of COVID-19 cases across the province continues to be too high. Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say in a joint statement that thousands of residents are being forced to deal with the stress of self-isolating as a result of others not following proper COVID-19 safety precautions. They say everyone needs to follow the proper safety guidelines to ensure businesses and communities can remain open. B.C. announced 91 new cases on Wednesday for a total of 8,395. There are 1,376 active cases, with 62 people in hospital and 18
BCSep 23, 2020
Critically injured man may have lain for hours before help called: Vancouver police
Police say an injured man may have been attacked and left lying in a Vancouver park for hours before help was called. Const. Tania Visintin says an unknown person called paramedics about the victim and he was rushed to hospital after being found unresponsive in Strathcona Park on Monday. Visintin says hospital staff alerted police to the suspected assault and the man remains in critical but stable condition. A statement from police says he may have been on the ground for up to 12 hours before help was called. Investigators haven't been able to identify the victim and say he's in his late 20s,
BCSep 23, 2020
John Horgan on 'Sver wala show'; says second hospital for Surrey is a “done deal”
BC NDP leader John Horgan while talking to Connect FM in SVER WALA SHOW today, said that BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson delayed the construction of a much-needed Surrey hospital by selling off its potential site. He said the second hospital for Surrey is a "done deal" and the money for the hospital is already in the budget. Responding to a question about Surrey-Langley-Sky Train extension, Horgan said that he and the federal government are committed to seeing it through. He said that for Surrey’s mayor Doug McCallum or anyone else to say that his government is not moving fast enough on t
BCSep 23, 2020
New Airbnb portal allows local governments to closely monitor listings
Airbnb is launching a new program for cities and tourist organizations aimed at helping them ensure compliance with local rules. Vancouver and Calgary are among the 10 North American cities included in the new portal, which Airbnb says will also aid in rebuilding post-pandemic tourism and providing technical support. The short-term home rental company says the first phase of its City Portal directly connects local governments to the Airbnb platform,providing real-time details about specific rentals and remitted tourist tax revenue. It also includes a central location for resources, such as Air
BCSep 23, 2020
1,068 illicit drug deaths to date in 2020 in B.C.
The BC Coroners Service has published updated reports on illicit drug toxicity deaths and fentanyl-detected drug deaths to the end of August 2020, with 147 illicit drug toxicity deaths reported in the month.The illicit drug toxicity death total represents a 71% increase over the number of deaths in August 2019 (86) but a 16% decrease from the number of deaths in July 2020 (176). The BC Coroners Service has detected a sustained increase of illicit drug toxicity deaths since March, and B.C. has now recorded six consecutive months with over 100 illicit drug toxicity deaths.From April to August 20
BCSep 23, 2020
B.C. reports 96 new COVID-19 cases
BC has logged another 96 cases of COVID-19 for a total of 8,304 cases. A statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there are almost 1,500 active cases and another 3,300 people are under public health monitoring because they were exposed to the known cases. It comes as Dr. Henry said earlier today that BC may be in a second wave, but health officials believe they can keep the virus contained through the fall. The death toll remains at 227 people with no new deaths. Almost 6,600 people who tested positive are considered recovered. Dr. Henry says that as people move inside f
BCSep 22, 2020
Three men in Port Moody eatery face fines for COVID-19 violations
Three Metro Vancouver men are paying the price for some boorish behaviour at a Port Moody restaurant. Police say the three were issued multiple tickets totalling about seven hundred dollars in fines on Saturday night. Staff called police when the three, who police say were impaired, violated COVID-19 rules, refused to sit at their table, entered a staff-only area, shouted, vomited on their table and spat on it when asked to leave. A statement from police says their first step is to educated the public about respect for COVID-19 rules, but the actions of the men left no choice but to impose fi