During this spring’s federal election, the Liberals promised to "move aggressively" to implement stricter bail laws by introducing a reverse onus for a number of offences. A reverse onus moves the burden of proof from the prosecutor to the accused — meaning they would have to justify being granted bail. The Criminal Code already has a reverse onus for bail in place for many serious offences, including murder. The Liberals would add new offences to that list, including car thefts involving violence or those conducted for a criminal organization, and home invasions and some human trafficking

Following a lengthy police investigation into a 2021 shooting incident that occurred in Coquitlam, 36-year-old Sukhdeep Singh Pansal of Delta, British Columbia, has plead guilty to firearms related charges and has been sentenced to 38 months in prison. On January 16, 2021, at approximately 12:05 a.m., Coquitlam RCMP frontline officers responded to a report of shots fired from a high-rise building located in the 600 block of Whiting Way, Coquitlam. A woman was found with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was taken to hospital. The Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team (ERT) ass

North Vancouver RCMP are seeking public assistance in identifying a suspect involved in three separate break and enter incidents. On July 8, 2025, North Vancouver RCMP received a report of a break and enter at a residential building in the 2100 block of Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver. CCTV footage from the building captured a male suspect gaining access at approximately 4:00 a.m. Nothing was stolen, but damage was caused to the property. On July 10, 2025, police received a second report from the same residential building. The suspect entered the premises and stole approximately $600 in c

A report from British Columbia's seniors' advocate say the province will need almost 16,000 new long-term care beds by 2036 to meet the demands of an aging society. Dan Levitt's report tabled at the provincial legislature pegs the current shortfall at over 2,000 beds, and predicts the gap will "grow exponentially" over the next decade. It says the number of people waiting for beds has grown significantly in the past 10 years to 7, 212 in 2025, and people are also waiting longer. The average wait time for a long-term care bed had almost doubled to 290 days by 2024, according to the report, whic

Vancouver Police have released video of suspects in the alleged strong-arm robbery of an 84-year-old woman downtown on Sunday. The senior was standing near Homer and West Pender Street shortly before 11:30 a.m. on July 27 when she was approached by a man and woman who accused her of stealing from them. One suspect allegedly took the woman’s cane, while the other tried to take the purse off her shoulder. The senior held on to the purse until another person intervened. The suspects were last seen walking north on Homer Street. “Every indication suggests this senior was targeted because s

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September – unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace. Starmer called ministers together for a rare summertime Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza. He told them that Britain will recognize a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term

British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says a grizzly attack on a couple in the province's Interior over the weekend was likely "defensive in nature," and it's unlikely the bears were stalking people. In an update posted on Facebook, the service says its investigation into the Saturday attack along the Kootenay River near West Creston, B.C., found no evidence the two bears were hunting humans. The update adds there were no reports of bear activity or aggressive behaviour in the area before the attack, and the service is no longer trying to capture and kill the animals. The attack on a

On July 27th at approximately 4:00am the New Westminster Police Department received a request for assistance from Richmond RCMP to locate a woman in crisis who was believed to be in the Fraser River. Two officers boarded Shaw 1, the NWPD police boat, and joined alongside the Canadian Coast Guard to search for the missing women. After approximately 30 minutes of searching, officers located the woman clinging to a log boom. Officers provided life-saving first aid to the woman before BC Emergency Health Services paramedics arrived on scene. “One of the overarching goals of the New Westminster

Temperatures in parts of the British Columbia Interior are expected to reach 38 C as heat warnings activate across large parts of the region. Environment and Climate Change Canada says the very high temperatures are forecasted in the Okanagan Valley, Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, Boundary and West Kootenay regions of the southern B.C. Interior. Another warning covers the North Thompson, Cariboo, 100 Mile, Prince George and Stuart-Nechako regions further north, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 34 degrees. The weather agency says the heat is being brought on by a ridge of high pre