For the second year in a row, Surrey’s Vaisakhi Khalsa Day Parade – considered the world’s largest with more than 500,000 spectators annually – has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers at Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar confirmed the April 24 event will not proceed in order to comply with provincial health orders restricting mass gatherings. Vaisakhi, which marks the creation of the Khalsa in 1699, is the most significant day in the Sikh calendar. Parade spokesman Moninder Singh told Connect News Team that families will celebrate in smaller, private ways this year. “

The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit (GIU) is investigating a suspicious fire that occurred last night in Whalley. On March 15, 2021 at approximately 11:30 p.m., Surrey RCMP was called to assist the Surrey Fire Service with a vehicle fire, in the 10700-block of 133 Street. Upon arrival, officersfound a vehicle in the carport of a residence fully engulfed in flames. The vehicle sustained significant damage while the carport was moderately damaged, no one was injured as a result of the fire. The investigation was assumed by the Surrey RCMP GIU who located evidence suggesting the fire was s

The Transportation Safety Board will conduct a broader investigation into the deadly sinking of a tugboat last month along British Columbia's north coast. Two men died and one survived when the Ingenika sank Feb. 11 south of Kitimat while towing a barge, which remained afloat. A data collection investigation has been completed by the board but a spokesman confirms a wider investigation is now planned looking for any contributing factors or safety deficiencies. Chris Krepski says an investigation page will soon be posted on the board's website and a report will be released when the probe wraps

BC's police watchdog is investigating to determine whether police actions are linked to the injury of a man in Kamloops on Friday night. RCMP say in a statement that an officer was on a routine patrol when he saw a fight in progress and placed one man under arrest for assault. They say, "an interaction occurred" before the man was taken into custody and he complained of injury en route to the RCMP detachment. The Mounties say emergency services brought the man to a local hospital, where it was determined he was suffering from serious injury. Police released no further information as the provi

BC is reporting 1,506 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days. And provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says 10 more people have died, bringing the death toll in BC to 1,407. Dr. Henry used her COVID update today to urge people to get vaccinated as soon as possible with whatever vaccine they are offered. She says concerns about blood clots that have led some countries to suspend use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine appear to be related to 37 cases. She says blood clots can occur naturally and that's out of more than 17 million doses administered so far. BC's initial shipment of

Police are releasing few details about an officer-involved shooting in Victoria on Monday. A statement from Victoria police says a man armed with a weapon was shot by officers during an altercation at Royal Jubilee Hospital shortly before 5:30 a.m. Police say the victim is believed to have non-life-threatening injuries and no officers were hurt. The statement from Const. Cam MacIntyre says police were in the area on an unrelated call when they were alerted to a man at the hospital, allegedly carrying a weapon. MacIntyre says police used a less-lethal stun gun when they encountered the man but

RCMP say a 39 year old man is facing several charges after he allegedly struck another man repeatedly with a firearm in a Nanaimo parking lot. Police say several bystanders were able to disarm the suspect following the attack yesterday afternoon and stopped him from fleeing on his motorbike. They say the 50 year old victim was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. He was struck with a firearm and other items. The male suspect was arrested for assault with a weapon, uttering threats and a number of firearm-related charges.

A lawyer for Huawei's chief financial officer is asking a B.C. Supreme Court judge to admit new evidence in her extradition case. Frank Addario says the evidence should be allowed if the Crown plans to argue that an international bank at the centre of Meng Wanzhou's fraud case suffered a real risk of loan loss as a result of her alleged actions. Meng is accused of misrepresenting Huawei's control over technology company Skycom in a presentation to HSBC, putting the bank at risk of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. Both she and Huawei deny the allegations. Addario says the evidence is an

An outbreak of COVID-19 has closed another ward at Vancouver General Hospital, while the health authority says outbreak precautions have been lifted in a separate unit. A statement from Vancouver Coastal Health says two patients have tested positive for COVID-19 on an in-patient unit in the hospital's Jim Pattison Pavilion. The unit is now closed to all admissions, transfers and most visits, but other hospital facilities, including the emergency ward, remain open. Another unit, which is also in the Jim Pattison Pavilion, remains closed after an outbreak there last month. But the health author