BCJun 17, 2024
Cool air mass over southern B.C. brings in record-breaking low temperatures
Environment Canada says an unseasonable cool air mass over southern B.C. has broken minimum temperature records, including one dating back about 70 years.
The forecaster says temperatures fell to 4 degrees in the Trail area on Sunday, breaking the record of 4.4 degrees set in 1954.
In the Bella Bella area, the minimum of 3.9 degrees broke the 4-degree record set 10 years ago.
Records for low daily maximum temperatures were also set, with the Kelowna area reaching just 13.3 Celsius, breaking the 15-degree record set in 1906.
Penticton and Princeton also reset records established in 1939, while
BCJun 17, 2024
Search turns to recovery operation for missing B.C. boater presumed dead
Police and other rescue agencies say they're still looking for a 37-year-old boater who went missing near Mission, B.C., but local rescue crews say “it’s unlikely he is still alive.”
RCMP say police responded to Nicomen Slough, about 14 kilometres northeast of Mission, on Friday evening after receiving reports of a boating accident in which two men were thrown into the water.
They say the boaters were reportedly doing donuts in a small aluminum boat, and both got tossed from the craft after hitting their own wake.
Police say the boat's passenger was able to make it to shore, but the driv
BCJun 17, 2024
B.C.'s first health centre catering to francophone community to open in the fall
A new health centre dedicated to serving British Columbia's French-language speakers will open its doors this fall in Vancouver.
A statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Health says the current Vancouver Urban Health Centre cannot accommodate the needs of the Lower Mainland’s growing French-speaking community even though it offers primary care in both French and English.
It says the new centre, expected to open in October in Vancouver, will be equipped with a care team of family doctors, nurses and social workers.
The government hopes to connect 4,400 people to primary care by 2029.
Provincial
BCJun 17, 2024
Taseko says tentative deal reached with striking workers at Gibraltar mine
Taseko Mines Ltd. says it has reached a tentative agreement with striking employees at its Gibraltar Mine in central British Columbia.
The deal is subject to ratification by the workers, who are represented by Unifor.
Voting is expected to take place on Monday and Tuesday.
Workers at the mine have been on strike since June 1.
Taseko says if the agreement is ratified, it expects to resume operations at the mine on Wednesday.
Gibraltar is an open pit copper-and-molybdenum mine located about 200 kilometres south of Prince George, B.C.
BCJun 14, 2024
B.C. establishes largest provincial park in a decade to protect threatened caribou
A major provincial park expansion will create a protection zone of almost 2,000 square kilometres for caribou and other species in northeastern British Columbia.
The Ministry of Environment says in a statement that the addition to the Klinse-za Park will make it the largest provincial park established in the province in a decade.
The park addition is the result of a partnership in 2020 between the province and the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations, where they agreed to help stabilize and protect the threatened southern mountain caribou.
Klinse-za Park is located just west of Chetwynd, B.
BCJun 14, 2024
B.C. may work with N.L. on court challenge of federal equalization payments, Eby says
British Columbia Premier David Eby has found an ally in his claims of unequal funding from the federal government: Newfoundland and Labrador.
Eby is hosting Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey in Vancouver today and says B.C. will consider joining the Furey government's court challenge over federal equalization payments in an effort to get "fair treatment" from Ottawa.
The B.C. premier has been highly critical of unfair federal funding for Western Canada, saying the lack of money for projects such as flood prevention, while cash flows to Quebec and Ontario, shows those provinces get
BCJun 13, 2024
Uber says new B.C. rules will increase costs, reduce demand for restaurants
Uber says regulation changes for ride-share and delivery workers in British Columbia will drive up costs and reduce demands for local restaurants.
The company says in a statement that it supports some of the new rules coming in September, such as an increased minimum wage and health and safety coverage, but forcing platforms to pay workers for using a personal vehicle is "unreasonable."
At the same time, Unifor, the country's largest private-sector union says B.C.'s changes are leading the way to enshrine the basic rights of the gig workers.
The Ministry of Labour announced this week the first
BCJun 13, 2024
B.C. sets minimum wage, other rules for app-based ride-hailing, delivery work
British Columbia has finalized regulations to provide a minimum-wage and basic protections for ride-hailing and delivery workers using app-based platforms such as Uber, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes.
The Ministry of Labour says in a statement the regulations that will take effect on Sept. 3 are a first in Canada.
It says the changes are the result of years of engagement with various stakeholders, and they address workers' top concerns, including low and unpredictable pay, tip protection and lack of workers' compensation.
The new rules set the minimum wage for the time a worker is engaged in a job
BCJun 13, 2024
B.C. premier repeats call for more federal cash, calls Ottawa's claims 'disingenuous'
Premier David Eby is expanding his criticism of what he says is an unfair share of federal funding being given to Western Canada.
Eby says Ottawa's "special treatment for Quebec and Ontario" eventually gets "to be too much" and it's "disingenuous" for federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller to suggest that B.C.'s concerns are simply about asylum seekers.
Eby and Miller have traded comments this week since the premier suggested at the Western Premiers' Conference on Monday that Ottawa was "showering" Ontario and Quebec with money, after offering Quebec a $750 million deal to help with immigrat