The BC Coroners Service says 127 people fatally overdosed on illicit drugs in September, up from 60 deaths during the same period last year. It says an average of four people died every day in September, but the number of fatalities declined from 150 in August and is lower than the record number of 183 in June. The service says 70 per cent of the fatalities this year have been among those aged 30 to 59 and most of the dead have been men. Fatal overdoses began declining in B.C. at the beginning of the year, with 79 fatalities recorded in January, but started rising in March as the COVID-19 pan

B.C.'s political leaders are campaigning in Metro Vancouver in the final few days of the provincial election. B.C. Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson defended a news release put out by his party that accused the NDP of trying to suppress the vote by calling an election during a pandemic. Speaking at a dairy farm in Surrey, Wilkinson says NDP Leader John Horgan's ``selfishness'' in calling an early election as the province hit a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic shouldn't override the public's right to get out and vote. Horgan took his campaign to Coquitlam, where he pushed his health-care pla

British Columbia is reporting 499 cases of COVID-19 detected over three days between Friday and Monday. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. is in the midst of a second wave, but it's still not recording new infections at the same rate as other provinces. She is once again reminding people that they can help control the trajectory of the outbreak by keeping social interactions low so schools and scheduled surgeries can continue. She adds that the number of people in hospital with the illness in B.C. has stabilized and sits at 67 people among 1,639 active cases. Two more people

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan voted this morning in an advance poll in his suburban Victoria riding to start the last Monday of the 28 day provincial election campaign. Horgan then travelled to Saanich for an announcement, while BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson was at work on the Lower Mainland, promising highway and health care improvements during campaigning in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Wilkinson also slammed New Democrat policies on drug addiction, accusing the Horgan government of only addressing harm reduction, at the expense of prevention, treatment or enforcement. BC Green party Le

RCMP in Coquitlam, Surrey and Burnaby have joined forces to make arrests after they say suspects literally tunnelled into businesses to commit crimes. An RCMP statement says pooling resources and sharing information between agencies helped identify similarities that eventually led to two suspects. A 43 year old man is facing charges including eight counts of break and enter while a 39 year old woman is accused of two counts of the same offence. Police began investigating in early September following numerous reports from several cities about crooks breaking through the walls of adjoining busi

BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson took his campaign to Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows this morning with a pledge to bring highway and health care improvements to the region if a Liberal government is elected. Wilkinson says his party would upgrade two major east-west routes, build a bridge to a northeastern section of the municipality and improve mental health services at Ridge Meadows hospital. The cost for two of the three road projects is estimated at about $101 million shared between governments. But Wilkinson is unsure of the cost for improved mental health services. BC NDP Leader John Hor

Two people have been hurt in what Surrey RCMP say is a targeted, drive-by shooting in the Cloverdale area. A statement from police says they were alerted shortly before nine last night and minutes later they learned two victims were already on their way to hospital, suffering from gunshot wounds. The statement also says a vehicle linked to the shooting was found on fire about 16 kilometres away just after 9 p.m. Police have not said if any suspects have been identified, but they say the public is not at risk.

British Columbia's election campaign is kicking off its final five days with a full slate of announcements.NDP Leader John Horgan is set to make an announcement at a stop on Vancouver Island this morning before making his way to Saanich North and then heading to the lower mainland, Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson will start off this morning with an announcement in Pitt Meadows, B.C.And Green Leader Sonia Fursetenau is due to discuss her party's plans for B.C. Ferries in Brentwood Bay early this afternoon.Their announcements come after a weekend in which Wilkinson and Furstenau took aim at the

Fraser Health has declared new outbreaks of COVID-19 at a meat processing facility in Surrey, B.C., and two area long-term care homes. The health authority says evidence of transmission was found among staff at J&L Beef Ltd., where 13 people have tested positive for the illness so far. It says public health workers first became aware of a potential outbreak 10 days ago, after receiving a positive lab test from an employee on Oct. 8. Fraser Health says it's working with the facility to strengthen COVID-19 mitigation strategies. It says one staff member at the The Village, an assiste