Walmart Canada is going to build two new distribution centres, one north of Toronto and the other in Surrey, as part of a five-year, $3.5-billion plan.The retailer says it aims to improve service in stores and on the web.Walmart is going to renovate 150 stores, which will create hundreds of construction jobs.It also plans to work with Canadian high-tech companies to develop a system that will let customers use their mobile device to pay for purchases anywhere in the store.

BC's top doctor is urging residents not to let COVID-19 steal their summer as she reported more outbreaks and cases around the province. Doctor Bonnie Henry says she feels for those people who want to get out and have fun, but it needs to be done in a way that minimizes the risk of community transmission. She says there are now 35 cases connected to COVID-19 exposures in the Kelowna area that Health Minister Adrian Dix had said were connected to private parties around Canada Day. That's in addition to a new outbreak reported at the neo-natal intensive care unit at St. Paul's Hospital in Vanco

British Columbia's premier is apologizing for comments he made Thursday comparing the COVID-19 pandemic to the province's ongoing opioid crisis. B.C. set a new record of 175 overdose deaths in June, surpassing the record just set in May and about 5,000 people have died since the province declared a public health emergency in 2016. Advocates have questioned whether the opioid crisis has been overshadowed by the pandemic, despite occurring for longer and with a higher death toll. Horgan told reporters Friday that he ``mischaracterized'' the challenges of addiction. He says he knows addictions c

There's more evidence that COVID-19 is a stubborn bug to beat. Two new outbreaks have been flagged in British Columbia. One is at a neo-natal intensive care unit in Vancouver, and there's another case detected at a massive hydroelectric project. Vancouver Coastal Health has issued a notice about the outbreak at the neo-natal unit at St. Paul's hospital in Vancouver's downtown. Several patients and their families have been traced as potential contacts and are in isolation. BC Hydro says a worker who arrived from Alberta on Monday to the Site C work camp in Fort St. John has tested positive and

A newborn intensive care unit at a Vancouver hospital is the site of the latest COVID-19 outbreak in the city.Vancouver Coastal Health, which administers health care services for much of Greater Vancouver region and the inner south and central coasts, issued a notice about the outbreak Thursday.The outbreak covers the neo-natal intensive care unit at St. Paul's hospital in downtown Vancouver.The agency did not say if the outbreak is related to staff or patients at the unit, or how many cases have been reported.Officials with the health authority say a satellite unit has been set up to continu

Premier John Horgan says he expects BC will receive nearly two billion dollars from the federal government under a new COVID-19 Safe Restart Agreement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is providing a total of 19-billion dollars to provinces and territories to boost their economies amid the pandemic. The agreement includes 10 days of paid sick leave, fully funded by the federal government. Horgan says the sick-leave program is a key move to make sure nobody feels pressured to go to work while ill.

BC is reporting 21 new cases of COVID-19 and no additional deaths. The province's death toll stands at 189. The province's top doctor says 2,789 people in BC have recovered from the illness out of 3,170 cases in total. Doctor Bonnie Henry says 192 of BC's cases are active. Four cases are now associated with Krazy Cherry Fruit Company in Oliver and Henry says 27 cases have been linked to recent instances of community exposure in Kelowna. Dr. Henry says the next step is more targeted antibody testing to help understand who has been most affected by the virus.

Police say a pedestrian is in critical condition after a crash involving a semi truck in Surrey's Cloverdale neighbourhood this morning. RCMP say they responded to the collision at the intersection of 172 Street and Highway 10 just after 9:40 A-M and roads are closed in the area. They say the driver of the semi truck remained at the scene and officers are investigating. The pedestrian is in hospital in critical condition and police ask that anyone who witnessed the collision come forward.

Another record for monthly overdose deaths related to illicit drugs has been set in British Columbia. The BC Coroners Service says 175 fatalities in June surpassed the previous high of 171 deaths in May. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says the pandemic has limited access to harm-reduction services and people should not be using opioids or other substances alone. Lapointe is urging substance users to have someone present when using drugs or to go to an overdose prevention or supervised-consumption site where drugs can be checked for toxicity. She says opioids, along with cocaine and the stimulant