B.C. is funding eight new centres to improve mental health and substance use services for youth.Three of the centres will be within the Greater Vancouver region, including Squamish, while the others will be in Burns Lake, Williams Lake, Cranbrook, Port Hardy and the Comox Valley.Foundry centres are designed to offer those aged 12 to 24 a variety of services - from walk-in counselling to mental health, substance use and social services.Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy says with COVID-19 and the opioid crisis continuing across the province, it's more important than ever that youn

David Sidoo's membership in the Order of British Columbia was terminated on Friday, June 12, 2020. The Provincial Symbols and Honours Act governs nominations, appointments, resignations and terminations in the Order of B.C., the province's highest honour. According to the act, the chancellor of the Order may terminate a person's membership on the recommendationof the advisory council and with the approval of the executive council. This process is initiated when a member of the Order is convicted of a criminal offence or when their conduct undermines the credibility and integrity of the Ord

One man has been charged in what Kamloops RCMP describe as a gang-related weapons seizure at a storage locker in a warehouse in that city. Police say three semi-automatic rifles, one bolt-action rifle, a lever-action rifle, a shotgun, air-soft pistols, crossbows, nunchucks and possible explosives were seized in the Wednesday raid. A 43 year old man and 23 year old woman arrived at the warehouse while the bust was underway and police say the two were searched and weapons and drugs, including cocaine, fentanyl and crack, were seized. The man now faces drug and weapons charges while police s

British Columbia's premier says calls for defunding police are a simplistic approach to a complex problem. John Horgan says police are increasingly burdened with a range of challenges in areas including homelessness, mental health and addiction which need more funding. He says it's inappropriate to expect law enforcement to take on those issues as they deal with public safety concerns. Horgan says he envisions expanding the capacity for communities to ensure they're not asking police for more than they're capable of delivering. He says defunding issues arising from George Floyd's police-involv

British Columbia is marking the sixth day in a row with no additional deaths due to COVID-19. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the death toll is still 167 and there have been no new community or health-care outbreaks identified since Wednesday. She says 14 more people have tested positive for the disease, bringing the total to 2,694. There are 183 active cases, including 13 people in hospital with five in intensive care. Henry says 2,344 people have recovered so far. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the situation in B.C. is not necessarily typical, since cases of COVID-19

British Columbia has recorded the highest number of illicit drug overdose deaths in a single month. The coroner's service says 170 people died in May, as concentrations of the deadly opioid fentanyl have increased. It says the number of deaths last month were 93 per cent higher than a year earlier. Nearly 45-hundred people have fatally overdosed on fentanyl in B.C. since 2016, when the province declared a public heath emergency.

Vancouver's mayor wants the B.C. government to conduct a review of policing across the province.Kennedy Stewart says city council can do little to change policing in Vancouver and the provincial government could override any potential decision.The comments come after the Vancouver Police Board asked council to rescind a one per cent budget cut last week.The board says George Floyd's death in Minneapolis has led to large scale protests that will affect the police department's budget.The mayor's announcement comes after the organizers of the Vancouver Pride Parade said all police and corrections

The B.C. Supreme Court has granted an injunction against a tent city set up at a park on property owned by the port authority in Vancouver. The encampment was established in CRAB Park mid-May in a parking lot owned by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority after a tent city at nearby Oppenheimer Park was shut down. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled on Wednesday that campers have three days to pack up their belongings and leave the property, but he did not include an enforcement order. Hinkson says allowing campers to stay on the port's land would lead to the same health and safety conc

British Columbia's premier says the province and its top doctor have approved a proposal for the NHL to make Vancouver a possible playoff hub city in Western Canada during the pandemic. John Horgan says he has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to advance the initiative put together by all three sides based on a modification of quarantine measures that would allow a team to remain together as a family or bubble. Horgan says a team would stay in a hotel and travel together to Rogers Arena for games using private transportation, be responsible for any COVID-19 testing and agree to not