BC Hydro crews worked through the night to restore power to thousands of customers in southern British Columbia following a wicked snow and wind storm that arrived on the first day of winter.Hydro was reporting as many as 90,000 customers were in the dark at the peak of the storm but crews had whittled that back to about 38,000 across Vancouver Island and the inner south coast by early Tuesday.Highway crews cleared most major routes into the Interior that were closed Monday as at least half a metre of snow blanketed the Coquihalla causing dozens of spinouts and accidents.The B.C. government's

The Central Government must shun its ego and agree to the demands of the farmers that are reasonable and the farm laws must be repealed with immediate effect, said Raghav Chadha, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader. "Centre must let go of this ego and agree to all demands of farmers. No resolution seems to be in sight. The government must repeal three black laws with immediate effect," said Chadha. "Modi government seems to be in this ego clash with farmers. The demands of Indian farmers are reasonable," he added.Speaking about the new strain of coronavirus identified in southeast England, Chadha sai

British Columbia's top doctor says every regional health authority has received doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Bonnie Henry says vaccine deliveries last week were concentrated in the Lower Mainland, where case counts and transmission rates are highest. But she says B.C.'s immunization campaign is set to roll out on Vancouver Island, and in the Northern and Interior health regions, which have also seen rising cases. The vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures and Henry says so far, Pfizer requires doses to be administered at points of arrival, so people receiving i

The police watchdog in British Columbia has been notified that a person accused of shoplifting was injured during an arrest by RCMP officers in Kamloops. RCMP say in a statement they were called Saturday evening to a business where a store employee had locked the door to prevent the suspect from leaving. When officers arrived, police say they found the man in possession of a weapon, but before they could take him into custody, he was injured with the weapon. Neither RCMP nor the Independent Investigations Office looking into the police actions will say what kind of weapon it was. Police say t

Worshippers were back at churches in Chilliwack and Langley yesterday. This happened just days after police announced more than 18,000 dollars in fines to churches for breaking COVID-19 restrictions that ban in-person worship services. Over the month since the ban was implemented, the faithful have gathered on Sundays at the Free Grace Baptist Church and Free Reformed Church in Chilliwack, as well as Riverside Calvary Chapel in Langley. Mac Cross travelled to Chilliwack from Abbotsford to attend church, where he says worshippers were wearing masks and staying apart. The BC Civil Liberties Ass

Northern Health has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 at two lodges. People working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project have been staying. The health authority says 17 confirmed cases remain active at 7 Mile Lodge in the Burns Lake area and Little Rock Lake Lodge in the Nechako area. Health officials have issued an order restricting work at the affected sites to all but essential workers until an updated safety plan is approved. Northern Health says it found evidence of transmission of COVID-19 among employees of the Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction company, one of Coastal GasLink's

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says British and French officials are working "to unblock the flow of trade as fast as possible" after France barred U.K. trucks over concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus. There are kilometres-long lineups of trucks waiting to get out of Britain near the Port of Dover. France has banned trucks from entering for 48 hours while a new strain of COVID-19 that is spreading in southeast England is assessed.Dozens of countries have barred flights from the U.K. because of the new variant, which scientists believe is more easily transmitted. Southern England, wh

Snowfall has arrived today across BC's southern Interior and Environment Canada says it could reach parts of Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria. Environment Canada is forecasting about 5cm of snow in parts of Metro Vancouver and up to 15cm in parts of the Fraser Valley. A winter storm blowing in from Washington state has prompted weather warnings across much of southern B.C. The weather agency is calling for up to 35 centimetres of snow in the Similkameen and Elk Valley areas that should taper off tonight, while Nicola and Boundary could see accumulation up to 20 centimetres. Snowfall is e

In the midst of dual public health emergencies, the BC Coroners Service continues to urge extreme caution due to the increasingly toxic illicit drug supply in British Columbia. The BC Coroners Service reports 153 suspected drug toxicity deaths in November 2020, an 89% increase over November 2019 (81), and a 7% decrease over the number of deaths in October 2020 (164). The latest data is equal to five people per day losing theirlives to illicit drug overdoses."Tragically, as we reach the end of 2020, our province is facing a record-breaking year for lives lost due to a toxic illicit drug supply,