Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is easing restrictions on outdoor gatherings but keeping them in place for those indoors. Dr. Henry says up to 10 people will now be allowed to gather outdoors but people should stick to the same group and continue to follow public safety measures such as social distancing. She says other restrictions need to remain in place because COVID-19 is still circulating in communities, particularly in the Lower Mainland. Dr. Henry also announced bars and restaurants must stop selling liquor at 8 pm on St. Patrick's Day. B.C. reports 569 new cases of COVID-19

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is side-stepping any responsibility for allegations of sexual misconduct against former chief of defence, General Jonathan Vance. He says it was not up to him to investigate allegations three years ago. But Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole says Trudeau did not take the proper steps when allegations against Vance were first brought to light in 2018. He says Trudeau failed to show leadership. The comments in the House of Commons today came after Trudeau revealed this week that his staff knew about the existence of an allegation of sexual misconduct by Vance in 2018

The British Columbia Real Estate Association says the term "blistering" describes the unprecedented number of home sales completed across the province last month. The Association says nearly 11-thousand homes changed hands in February, an 89 per cent leap over February 2020 and more than one-thousand sales higher than the previous February record, set in 2016. Prices also jumped by more than 17 per cent, making the average home in B.C. worth close to $890,000. Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson says markets were sizzling in all areas of B-C, driven by near record sales in Metro Van

Health officials in northern British Columbia deny allegations they mismanaged the treatment of a pregnant Indigenous woman or used racial stereotypes that affected her care and led to the stillbirth of her daughter. Northern Health, Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace and Kitimat General Hospital dispute allegations in a civil lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court last month by Sarah Morrison and her partner Ronald Luft, alleging negligence and "deliberate racial indifference." In its response, the health authority says Morrison was past her due date and in the early stages of labour when she a

A temporary bike lane is returning to Vancouver's Stanley Park, replacing one lane of traffic on the road ringing the iconic green space. Park board commissioners voted 5-2 Wednesday to implement the lane on Park Drive as soon as possible and keep it in place until Oct. 31. The vote came despite objections from businesses in Stanley Park who argue the single remaining lane for vehicles impedes access to restaurants and other attractions already struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Seniors and groups with mobility challenges have also opposed the bike lane, saying it limits their ability t

A coroner's report released yesterday says two 18 year old University of Victoria students on a first-year field trip to Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre in the fall of 2019 died of blunt force head trauma, caused in part by a lack of seatbelt use, when the bus they were on crashed. The bus was carrying 45 students and two teaching assistants to Bamfield, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, on a class trip on September 13th, 2019, when it crashed after steering to avoid an approaching vehicle. The report says the chartered coach bus had been fitted with seatbelts, but their use by students

Victoria police say the death of a woman whose body was found in Beacon Hill Park last week is now confirmed a homicide. Police were called to park at 6 a-m last Wednesday for a report of an unresponsive woman. Officers are hoping to find witnesses or anyone with dash-cam footage from area between 11 pm on Tuesday to 5 am Wednesday. Police say this case isn't believe to be related to the fatal fire in the park the day after the woman's body was found. Victoria Police on Twitter: The death of a woman found in Beacon Hill Park last week has been confirmed to be a homicide. VIIMCU is continuing

Japan fell quiet at 2:46 p.m. to mark the minute that an earthquake began 10 years ago, before setting off a tsunami and nuclear crisis that devastated the country's northeast coast. One survivor said Thursday that he fears people are beginning to forget the disaster. Carrying bouquets of flowers, many walked to the seaside or visited graves to pray for relatives and friends washed away by the water. Dignitaries and representatives of the survivors spoke at a memorial, but most watched the ceremony online or on television because of restrictions to slow the coronavirus pandemic. The magnitude

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rose in the House of Commons Thursday, one year after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, and said March 11, 2020 will always be marked by a before and an after. Since the pandemic began, 2.5 million people around the world have died due to COVID-19, with more than 22,000 of them in Canada. ``For families and close ones, each death has a before and an after,'' Trudeau said.``Since the great wars of the 20th century, there is a sentence we often evoke, and it's a sentence that we can bring back for those that we lost this year during the pandemic: We will rem