12.4°C Vancouver

News

BCJan 27, 2020

Premier appoints provincial liaison with Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs

Premier John Horgan has appointed Nathan Cullen as a liaison between the Province and the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs. Cullen, a former member of parliament for Skeena-Bulkley Valley, is tasked with acting as an intermediary by providing fact-finding, facilitation and analysis to support a peaceful resolution to the Coastal Gaslink dispute. "I'm pleased all parties have agreed to the appointment of a liaison," Premier Horgan said. "Nathan has agreed to act as an intermediary in the hopes of finding a solution to this challenging dispute." Cullen will work with the Wet'suwet'en Denezeh and
BCJan 27, 2020

Earthquake strikes off the coast of Vancouver Island

Earthquakes Canada says a magnitude 4.4 earthquake has struck of the coast of Vancouver Island. The seismic event was detected at 1:35 p.m. Pacific time. The United States Geological Survey says the quake occurred 26 kilometres underground about 48 kilometres southeast of Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It pegs the magnitude at 4.8. Some social media users say on Twitter that they felt the shake as far away as Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island in Nanaimo and Victoria. Friday's event comes after a sequence of eight earthquakes struck off the coast of Vancouver Island betw
BCJan 27, 2020

Two men charged with first degree murder in Surrey, BC

Two men have been charged with first-degree murder after an attack on a man last November in Surrey, B.C.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says Jordan Bottomley and Jagpal Hothi have appeared in provincial court in Surrey.The two men were arrested Friday and the B.C. Prosecution Service approved the charges related to the attack on 30 year old Andrew Baldwin.Police said at the time that Baldwin was found unresponsive, with critical injuries in a mainly industrial area of northwest Surrey. He was pronounced dead a short time later in hospital. Investigators have not released a possible
BCJan 27, 2020

Pregnant Canadian woman stuck in Wuhan, China, coronavirus epicentre

A teacher who is living with his pregnant wife and child in a city that is at the epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak is hoping to get his family out safely.Tom Williams is a British expat who has been living and working for about five years in Wuhan, which is the capital of Hubei province in China. His wife Lauren, who is from Langley, B.C., is about 35 weeks pregnant, he said in a telephone interview from Wuhan. He also has a two-and-a-half-year-old son, James, who was born in White Rock, B.C. “We are quarantined in the city,” he said. While he said things are “pretty calm” an
BCJan 25, 2020

Mayor of Surrey, Doug McCallum not applauding the start of Uber and Lyft

The mayor of Surrey is not applauding the start of Uber and Lyft services in the Lower Mainland. The ride hailing services began operation today in Vancouver after the Passenger Transportation Board granted them approval to launch in the Lower Mainland and Whistler. Uber says it will also cover North and West Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and parts of Delta. But Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum says he still has concerns about what he says is the unfair advantage created for ride hailing services and will not support the issuing of business licenses for the industr
BCJan 24, 2020

Police identify 45 year old victim of homicide in Vancouver

Police have identified the 45-year-old Vancouver woman attacked in a Gastown suite early Sunday. Constable Tania Visintin says Tonya Hyer was still alive when paramedics reached her at about 1:30 a.m. but died before she could be rushed to hospital. Investigators have not said what caused her death but Visintin says they believe someone has important information about her homicide -- the third in Vancouver this year. No arrests have been made.
BCJan 24, 2020

Ride-hailing begins in Metro Vancouver as Uber, Lyft launch service

Ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft say they are on the road in Metro Vancouver, less than a day after receiving long-awaited approval for operating licences.Uber activated its app Friday morning, while Lyft held a news conference outlining is operational area covering downtown Vancouver, the international airport in Richmond and part of east Vancouver.Uber says it will service North and West Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and parts of Delta.Rate structures for the two companies are 33 cents a minute, but Uber will charge 70 cents per kilometre whil
BCJan 24, 2020

Minister Claire Trevena in 'Sver Wala Show': Municipalities can’t block ride sharing

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Claire Trevena made it clear today on Connect FM’s 'Sver Wala Show' that municipalities do not have the power to block ride sharing companies from operating.She said that a city’s role is limited to issuing business licenses to these companies.After a long wait of over two years, the Passenger Transportation Board (PTB) on Thursday, finally granted ride sharing giants Uber and Lyft licenses to operate in Metro Vancouver and Whistler.The Mayor’s Council is working on an interim regional license which will save ride sharing companies the troub
BCJan 24, 2020

2020 BC real estate forecast event in Vancouver

Leading residential, commercial and industrial builders from the province’s largest economic sector got together in a hotel in Vancouver for 2020 BC real estate forecast. A crowd of 1,200 guests, including government and elected officials, builders, urban planners and real-estate professionals attended the event organised by a non-profit association of the development industry. There was an apparent agreement among the panelists that interest rate, construction cost, price for residential units and their rents could potentially go slightly up while the possibility of any reduction in the ma

Just In

BCJul 24, 2026

Wildfire smoke degrades air quality across parts of B.C.; warnings remain in effect

Smoke from ongoing wildfires in British Columbia continues to reduce air quality across several parts of the province, with Kelowna experiencing hazardous conditions on Thursday. According to IQAir, Kelowna's Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeded 300 at one point Thursday afternoon, making it the city with the poorest air quality in the world during that period. Earlier in the week, Ashcroft recorded Canada's worst air quality on Monday morning. Environment Canada has maintained high-impact air quality warnings for several regions, including the Fraser Canyon, Merritt and Kelowna. The agency says w
new-gordie-howe-international-bridge-to-open-to-public-traffic-monday
CanadaJul 24, 2026

New Gordie Howe International Bridge to open to public traffic Monday

The Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, will open to public traffic on Monday, marking a major milestone for cross-border transportation between Canada and the United States. Federal Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson made the announcement during the bridge's official opening ceremony on the Canadian side in Windsor. According to the federal government, the new cable-stayed bridge spans the Detroit River and provides a direct highway-to-highway connection between Ontario Highway 401 and Michigan Interstate 75. The six-lane bridge is expect
sonam-wangchuk-ends-hunger-strike-reports-claim-congress-mp-vivek-tankha-helped-break-deadlock
IndiaJul 24, 2026

Sonam Wangchuk ends hunger strike; reports claim Congress MP Vivek Tankha helped break deadlock

Social activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended his hunger strike after what he described as two days of continuous talks with the central government. Reports claim Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha played a key role in facilitating backchannel discussions that helped resolve the impasse. According to the reports, backchannel negotiations continued for nearly three days, with efforts made at multiple levels to reach a consensus. Some Ladakhi leaders are also reported to have acted as intermediaries during the discussions. Tankha has previously represented Wangchuk in the Supreme Court in a case re
canada-ecuador-sign-free-trade-agreement-ottawa-says-deal-will-expand-opportunities-for-exporters
CanadaJul 24, 2026

Canada, Ecuador sign free trade agreement, Ottawa says deal will expand opportunities for exporters

The Government of Canada has officially signed a free trade agreement with Ecuador, marking a new step in expanding Canada's trade relationships in Latin America. According to the Government of Canada, International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and Ecuador's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, Luis Alberto Jaramillo, signed the agreement during a ceremony in Ottawa on Friday. The federal government said the agreement is expected to create new opportunities for Canadian businesses, workers and exporters. Federal officials said the agreement will improve market access across several
AlbertaJul 24, 2026

Experts say latest U.S. tariff threats could affect provinces unevenly

Economists say the latest U.S. tariff threats are expected to have different impacts across Canada, with Alberta and Saskatchewan among the least exposed provinces based on current export patterns. University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe said Alberta and Saskatchewan are each expected to see about one per cent of their total exports affected by the latest U.S. tariff list. According to Tombe, that is a lower level of exposure than many other provinces. The Trump administration has cited Canadian restrictions on U.S. alcohol sales as one of the reasons for the proposed tariffs. A