The jobless rate across Canada didn't budge much last month. Statistics Canada says the employment rate fell by a single basis point to 5.1 per cent in November, down from 5.2 per cent the month earlier. The agency says just 10,000 jobs were created across Canada in November, with job losses in construction, wholesale and retail trade offset by gains in industries ranging from finance, insurance and real estate to information, culture and recreation. BC's unemployment rate nudged up two basis points to 4.4 per cent in November while Abbotsford-Mission and Victoria recorded identical drops of

The pace of Canada’s economic recovery has made it hard for employers, including those in the tourism industry, to find the workers they need. The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, announced that Canada is extending work permits to family members of temporary foreign workers. Expanding the eligibility for work permits to family members accompanying the principal applicant to Canada will help address labour shortages by assisting employers in finding the worke

Approximately one year ago, on December 7, 2021, the Delta Police reported that the community of Delta tragically lost one of our youth - 17-year-old Maaike Blom. Maaike had been reported missing by her family on December 5, 2021, and was located deceased on December 7, 2021, at a south Delta residence located in the 2400 Block Falcon Way.As a result of the circumstances surrounding Maaike’s disappearance and subsequent death, an investigation was initiated by the Delta Police Department Major Crime Section. The police investigation determined that Maaike did not die as a result of a homicid

BC's Medical Services Commission has applied to provincial Supreme Court for an injunction against Telus Health's LifePlus Program alleging contraventions of the Medicare Protection Act. Health Minister Adrian Dix says he asked the commission earlier this year to review Telus Health following public complaints of illegal extra billing. Dix says the province will allow the legal process to proceed as it should, but it will continue to strongly defend the public health-care system. BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau says she wonders why it's taken so long for Dix to act when she raised conce

Two city councillors in Metro Vancouver want to find ways to avoid any further traffic chaos like the hours-long tie-ups that stranded thousands of commuters during Tuesday night's snowstorm. Daniel Fontaine of New Westminster and Linda Annis of Surrey say it's time for a ``snow summit'' bringing together Lower Mainland municipalities, the provincial government, transit operators, and road maintenance contractors to find a solution. Annis says it took her nine-and-a-half hours to reach South Surrey from downtown Vancouver during the storm and Fontaine says the weather was not a surprise, so h

A Winnipeg man who was charged earlier this year with killing a 24 year old Indigenous woman has now been accused of killing three other women. Jeremy Skibicki was arrested in May after the remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a garbage bin near an apartment building. Police said at the time that they weren't ruling out more victims. They've now charged Skibicki with first-degree murder in the deaths of 39 year old Morgan Beatrice Harris, 26 year old Marcedes Myran and a fourth victim who has not been identified.

Vancouver Police have released video of a suspect in a late-summer assault that left three women with injuries, and are asking the public for help to identify her. In the early hours of September 19, the victims – all women in their 20s – were walking near Smithe Street and Hornby Street, in downtown Vancouver, when a group of strangers approached and began assaulting them. The victims suffered numerous injuries to their arms and faces. Vancouver Police have obtained video of one of the suspects and are asking the public for help to identify her. The suspect appears to be a dark-skinned w

The BC RCMP has notified the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIO BC) of an incident near Lake Cowichan where one man has died. On November 29, at approximately 2:30 p.m., North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP received a report of an armed robbery at a business north of Duncan. Officers were able to locate the vehicle that the suspect left in, but lost sight of it as it travelled though Duncan.The Island District RCMP Emergency Response Team were engaged and at 4 p.m. they located the vehicle parked east of Lake Cowichan. No movement was seen inside, and at approximately 4:45 p.m. o

On November 24th, 2022, at 0420 am, a Delta Police Officer pulled over a truck for driving without any lights at 80th Ave and Scott Road. A second officer attended to assist the first officer. From the second officer’s vantage point, she was able to see a handgun in the truck in plain view. The driver was arrested without incident for possession of a firearm. A search of the truck then located a second gun. Both guns were loaded.Of concern to the police is that one gun is a "ghost gun." A ghost gun is a firearm that is produced or partially produced through the manufacturing of some parts us