The COVID-19 pandemic has sideswiped British Columbia's public vehicle insurer, but the attorney general says it's too soon to assess the potential damage. David Eby, who is also the minister responsible for the Insurance Corporation of B.C., said Thursday claim costs are down by about $160 million because there have been fewer accidents as drivers stay home. But he said plunging prices on global stock markets have hit the corporation's investment portfolio. Eby says the clear picture of the pandemic's impact on ICBC won't be truly known until the end of the current fiscal year in about 10 mo

British Columbia has announced details on how it plans to spend $120 million in federal funds earmarked for cleaning up inactive oil and gas well sites across the province. Premier John Horgan says restoring more than 2,000 inactive oil and gas wells would support upwards of 1,200 jobs in B.C. The federal government announced $120 million for cleaning up so-called orphan wells in B.C. in mid-April, money the province says it intends to spend on three new programs once a final agreement is reached with Ottawa. B.C. says up to $100 million would be used to reclaim wells that have been inacti

Provincial health official Doctor Bonnie Henry says the response to a COVID-19 survey launched by the province yesterday has been outstanding. Dr. Henry says 75,000 people had provided input by noon today on their experiences during the pandemic. She says the province wants information from a lot of people in order to understand the unintended consequences of public health measures put in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Henry reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 today and one new death, bringing the total to 2,376 cases with 132 fatalities.

Metro Vancouver Transit Police say a suspect in an alleged violent attack against a woman on a bus died of an apparent drug overdose a week after the incident in April. Police appealed to the public for help identifying the man on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they said he has been identified as a 48 year old Vancouver resident with no fixed address. Transit police say the suspect boarded a bus in the Downtown Eastside on April 15 and made remarks towards two Asian women who got on wearing masks. Police said in a statement on Tuesday that he stated ``words to the effect of 'Go back to your country;

Metro Vancouver Transit Police are searching for a man accused of attacking a woman who defended two Asian woman in a racially motivated incident last month. Police say it began when a man aboard a bus made discriminatory remarks directed at two Asian women who got on wearing masks. They say the suspect kicked another woman and punched her in the head after she told him to leave the other women alone before he got off the bus and ran away. Vancouver police have reported an increase in anti-Asian assaults and vandalism in the last several weeks amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A University of British Columbia marine biologist has won the world's top award for animal conservation. UBC says Amanda Vincent won this year's Indianapolis Prize for her trail-blazing work to protect seahorses and other marine life. It says Vincent is the first marine biologist to win the prize that recognizes conservationists who've made significant progress in saving a species from extinction. Vincent says she's thrilled to receive the closest honour someone can get to a Nobel Prize in animal conservation.

B.C. is reporting just seven new cases of COVID-19 and no new community outbreaks. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says another resident of a long-term care home in the Fraser Health region has died, raising the death toll to 131. Out of the 2,360 confirmed cases, Dr. Henry says 397 are still considered to be active. She says B.C. is launching a province-wide survey to gather feedback on how people have been affected by the pandemic to help prepare for the future.

The body of a 22 year old man who was last seen swimming with friends in a Chilliwack, B.C., river has been found. RCMP say the man's friends reported that he entered the Vedder River on Monday night and became distressed. Police say the friends tried to pull the man from the water without success. The body was discovered by Chilliwack Search and Rescue crews on Tuesday. Police say the man is a South Asian national from India. Both the RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are investigating the death.

Vulnerable and homeless people across British Columbia could soon receive a smartphone to access support services and to stay connected with friends and family while practising physical distancing. Social Development and Poverty Reduction Minister Shane Simpson says providing up to 3,500 smartphones for vulnerable people will give them easier access to services and helps them connect to others when public spaces are closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simpson says 1,000 smartphones have already been distributed, with 200 provided to people moved to hotels from homeless encampments in Vic