BCDec 11, 2025
Flooding prompts wider evacuations and highway closures across southern B.C.
Communities across southern British Columbia are facing new evacuation orders and travel disruptions after heavy rainfall triggered flooding and landslides that severed key routes between the Lower Mainland and the Interior. Provincial officials say multiple highways, including the Coquihalla and Highways 1, 3, 5 and 11, remain shut as crews assess washouts and unstable slopes. The closure of Highway 11 has also halted access to the Sumas border crossing.
In Abbotsford, 371 properties on the Sumas Prairie were ordered evacuated overnight as waters linked to the overflowing Nooksack River conti
CanadaDec 11, 2025
CRA plans major hiring push to boost call centre capacity ahead of tax season
The Canada Revenue Agency says it plans to bring on roughly 1,700 additional call centre staff in the coming months as it prepares for a surge in taxpayer inquiries during the upcoming filing season. Agency officials say the goal is to expand the workforce to about 4,500 agents, citing internal forecasts that anticipate heavy call volumes.
Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner with the CRA, told reporters that it is routine for the agency to scale up its operations for tax season, when daily call volumes can exceed 300,000. She said last year’s peak staffing level reached about 3,300 age
CanadaDec 11, 2025
House of Commons prepares to adjourn for six-week winter break as key bills remain unfinished
Members of Parliament are expected to wrap up the fall sitting as early as Thursday, ending the session ahead of the scheduled Friday adjournment and beginning a six-week winter break. MPs are due to return to the House on January 26, leaving several major pieces of government legislation still awaiting final approval.
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said the minority Liberal government considers the fall session productive, noting progress on budget and public-safety bills that have not yet cleared Parliament. This sitting was the first full session under Prime Minister Mark Carney,
BCDec 11, 2025
Two Maple Ridge residents sentenced to five years for 2023 killing of Surinderjit Singh
Two people have been sentenced to five years in prison for the 2023 killing of Maple Ridge resident Surinderjit “Jack” Singh. The case, which involved extensive work by homicide investigators and local RCMP, concluded last week with a pair of manslaughter convictions.
Police were called to the 21800 block of 122 Avenue on the morning of March 4, 2023, where officers found the 55-year-old victim deceased at the scene. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team took charge of the file, working with Ridge Meadows RCMP, forensic specialists, and the BC Coroners Service.
Investigators later ide
BCDec 11, 2025
RCMP shuts down suspected fentanyl lab in Surrey as officers seize drugs and weapons
Federal RCMP officers say a synthetic drug lab operating in a Surrey neighbourhood has been dismantled following coordinated searches in Surrey and Richmond this fall. Investigators with the RCMP Federal Policing Pacific Region CLEAR Team carried out warrants on September 14, uncovering large quantities of suspected fentanyl along with a cache of weapons and precursor chemicals.
Police say the investigation began earlier in the summer and led officers to a property in the 12900 block of 54A Avenue in Surrey, where they located what they believe was an active fentanyl production site. Officers
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