The province is ramping up its response to the leaping number of overdose deaths related to illicit drugs. The coroner says B-C set records for the highest number of overdose deaths in May and broke that record in June as supply issues during the pandemic have made illicit drugs increasingly toxic. Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy says a total of 29 new supervised consumption or inhalation services will open around B-C and more staff will ensure users are connected to the help they need.She says the funds come from 10.5-million dollars set aside to aid those who have seen deva

The British Columbia government says new rules for private cannabis retailers will allow pot to be reserved and paid for online, but customers still have to pick up their orders in person.The province says the regulations now allow private cannabis stores to accept payments made on a website, app or by telephone. Previous licence conditions allowed customers to reserve cannabis products online, but required them to visit a store to complete the payment and obtain their purchases.The province says it changed its policies because of a request from private retailers, which felt online orders wou

The Alberta government is following Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia and will make wearing masks mandatory for most students and staff this school year.Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says students in Grades 4 to 12 and all staff will be required to wear masks in common areas, hallways and on buses, but not in classrooms.The province is going to provide two reusable masks for each student and staff member.

RCMP say a shooting Saturday evening in Maple Ridge was targeted. Ridge Meadows RCMP say it happened at about 10:30 p.m. on August 1st and seriously injured a 30-year-old man they describe as known to them. He was sitting in his car when another vehicle drove by and someone inside fired several shots but investigators say the injured man was able to drive himself to hospital for treatment. Mounties say they responded quickly and determined the attack was isolated and not random, but have not said if a suspect has been identified.

Canada's chief public health officer says regardless of when a COVID-19 vaccine is developed, the Public Health Agency of Canada is planning to be responding to the pandemic for at least another year if not two or three. Dr. Theresa Tam says a safe and effective vaccine is a very important aspect of the COVID-19 response, but it is not the ``silver bullet'' that will end the health crisis. Tam says the public health measures we currently have in place such as social distancing, wearing a mask in indoor public spaces are going to have to continue in the long-run. Answering criticism that the f

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has issued an evacuation alert for 43 properties northwest of Princeton as a small wildfire burns nearby. The blaze was sparked Sunday by lightning but had charred just 22 hectares by yesterday evening. A crew of 50, backed by heavy equipment, helicopters and airtankers, is assigned to contain the fire, which is the largest of just over 20 that broke out over the long weekend. The BC Wildfire Service lists the fire danger across much of the southern quarter of the province as high to extreme but Environment Canada says cooler weather and rain are

The federal Liberals have given companies more than $5.8 billion in COVID-19-related contracts for personal protective gear and medical supplies. The latest figures provided by the government also show that about two-fifths of the total contracts awarded as of July 16 have gone to domestic suppliers, some of them having retooled operations to provide needed masks, gowns, gloves and ventilators. But many details of the companies involved and the amounts of their contracts are being kept from public view. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the data on N95 respirator masks, where all

A massive explosion has shaken Lebanon's capital Beirut, wounding a number people and causing widespread damage.The afternoon blast shook several parts of the capital and thick smoke billowed from the city centre.Residents reported windows being blown out and a false ceilings dropping.The explosion appeared to be centred around Beirut's port and caused wide scale destruction and shattered windows miles away.An Associated Press photographer near Beirut's port witnessed people wounded on the ground and widespread destruction in central Beirut.Some local TV stations reported the blast was at Beir

The federal government's COVID-19 contact tracing app is facing criticism for its download requirements, which restrict some Canadians from accessing and using the app.The free "COVID Alert" app, which became available on Friday, is designed to track the location of phones relative to each other, without collecting personal data anywhere centrally.Users are notified if their phones have recently been near the phone of a person who later volunteers that they have tested positive for COVID-19.But the app requires users to have Apple or Android phones made in the last five years, and a relativel