Two people in Metro Vancouver are accused of colluding with foreign nationals to make fraudulent claims for refugee protection in Canada. The Canada Border Services Agency says Roger Bhatti of Delta and Sofiane Dahak of Vancouver face more than two dozen charges, including forgery, counselling misrepresentation of facts and use of forged documents. The agency alleges the offences involved people originating from Central Europe and took place between 2002 and 2014.It says in a news release that Bhatti, who is 61, practised as a lawyer and Dahak, who is 52, was an interpreter when the alleged of

BC NDP candidate Ravi Kahlon has written a letter to B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson on Thursday, to seek clarity on BC Liberal candidate from Surrey-Fleetwood, Garry Thind’s role in his campaign’s alleged plan to illegally request mail-in ballots on behalf of other people. Talking to journalists over telephone, Kahlon said that Wilkinson avoided a direct question about Thind’s knowledge of the plan on Wednesday.Kahlon said that the BC Liberals have fired the campaign worker involved, but have not disclosed any information on Thind’s involvement. The letter seeks the information t

The NDP is promising to increase a British Columbia government student grant program up to $4,000 for eligible students to help them pay tuition, textbook and supply costs. New Democrat Leader John Horgan says a re-elected NDP will also add 2,000 more technology spaces in post-secondary programs across B.C. Horgan says the NDP will provide more details about its post-secondary education plans when it releases its election platform next week. He says the grant program will be expanded to allow more middle-class and low-income students access to receive up to $4,000 each. Liberal Leader Andrew

British Columbia has confirmed 125 new cases of COVID-19 in the past day. The number of active cases ticked up by 16 to 1,284, including 72 people who are in hospital. In a joint statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say public health workers are monitoring more than 3,200 people who were exposed to a known case. They say outbreaks are ongoing at 14 long-term care or assisted-living homes and three acute-care facilities. B.C. has recorded 9,138 cases of COVID-19 so far and 7,591 people who tested positive for the illness have recovered.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has reserved her decision on whether to allow Meng Wanzhou's lawyers to advance an argument that United States officials misled Canada when they described allegations against the Huawei executive. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes also reserved her decision on whether to admit additional evidence that would support that claim in Meng's fight against extradition to the U.S. Meng is wanted in the United States on fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud charges that both she and Huawei deny. She is accused of misrepresenting Huawei's relationship with Skycom in a Pow

BC NDP Leader John Horgan says elders living in long-term care facilities in British Columbia deserve their own rooms. He is promising a 10-year plan today that would cost $1.4 billion to revamp elder care after the COVID-19 pandemic showed a vulnerability in the system for people living in care facilities. Horgan says the NDP campaign platform for the Oct. 24 election will include more details of the party's plan in the coming days, but at a campaign stop in Surrey he said workers can expect fair wages and families more dignity for their loved ones. He says the pandemic has hit older people

A police investigation into the group-home death of a British Columbia teen has wrapped up without criminal charges, but several Indigenous organizations say more must be done. A statement from Abbotsford police says a group-home care worker reported the 17-year-old missing Sept. 15 and he was found dead three days later. A release from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs says the teen was found in the closet of his bedroom at the Aboriginal Agency group home where he was last seen, and had been there the whole time. The statement from First Nations leaders says troubling circumstances surrounded

Lawyers for the federal government are preparing to present their side of the story at the extradition trial of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Her lawyers are just wrapping up their arguments in BC Supreme Court in Vancouver regarding the admissibility of evidence at Meng's trial. They contend proceedings against Meng should be tossed on the grounds that the United States misled Canadian officials in summarizing the case against her, leading to her arrest in Vancouver in December 2018. Meng and Huawei deny allegations they attempted to mislead a bank, potentially causing it to violate US trad

A 74 year old woman has been hit and killed by a vehicle on Vancouver's west side, the sixth pedestrian death in the city this year. Police say the unnamed victim was crossing at an intersection in the Point Grey neighbourhood when she was hit by a turning vehicle. The woman was rushed to hospital but could not be saved. The driver of the vehicle stayed at the scene and investigators want to speak to anyone who may have seen the crash or have dashcam video of it.