Residents across British Columbia are being advised to prepare a well-stocked emergency kit for what BC Hydro warns could be a stormy fall and winter made worse by the effects of a severe summer drought. The latest report from the Crown utility says record-breaking heat between June and August in many parts of the province killed trees or weakened their root systems. It says unstable trees, combined with predicted stormier La Nina weather conditions, create the potential for more power outages if they topple across power lines. BC Hydro says conditions heading into the fall mirror those in 20

Health Minister Adrian Dix says BC won't be taking any COVID-19 patients from Alberta as that province grapples with the highest number of cases in the country and braces for the possible collapse of its health-care system in just over a week. Dix says BC has its own pandemic demands but will try to help in other ways and maybe take patients in the future. Alberta has reintroduced restrictions on gatherings and elements of a vaccine passport. There have been massive cancellations of non-urgent surgery across Alberta as staff are reassigned to COVID care.

Environment Canada is forecasting extra wet and windy conditions for British Columbia's south coast today. It says in a weather warning that a robust frontal system will bring heavy rain and gusty winds that should ease tonight. The warning says 50 to 70 millimetres of rainfall is expected from eastern Vancouver Island to the Fraser Valley and up to Whistler, with potentially higher amounts over Howe Sound and the North Shore mountains. It warns heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads and says drivers should turn on their lights if visibility is reduced and maintain

Former defence chief Jonathan Vance's obstruction of justice case has been adjourned till next month after its first, brief, virtual courtroom proceeding. Military police charged the former Canadian Armed Forces commander, who was not present but represented by a lawyer at the hearing Friday, with one count of obstruction of justice in July. Investigators referred the case to the civilian court system, citing what it described as "the limitations of the military justice system" in trying Canada's top military officer. The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service alleged in court document

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says the federal campaign won't be an exercise in futility even if voters choose another minority government.With just days to go before Monday's vote, polls suggest Trudeau's Liberals and Erin O'Toole's Conservatives are running neck-and-neck and that neither could land a majority mandate.Speaking in the border city of Windsor, Ont., Trudeau says the policy debates Canadians have had over the past five weeks will underpin the next government's agenda.Trudeau adds that voters may not see an election being necessary for a path out of the pandemic, but he says it's

B.C. is reporting 706 new cases of COVID-19, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 177,186 cases in the province.There are 5,844 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 169,083 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 291 individuals are in hospital and 134 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the past 24 hours, four new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,877.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: threeNorthern Health: one From Sept. 8-14, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 76.1%

An Ontario university investigating allegations of sexual misconduct will require all students living in residence to take training on sexual assault and consent. Western University has introduced the measure as part of a new ``action plan'' to address concerns around sexual violence and student safety. The school says it plans to make the training mandatory for all students, but that it's starting with those who live on campus, with the first sessions happening Monday. Western will also hire one-hundred new ``safety ambassadors'' a mix of upper-year undergraduates and graduate students who w

The RCMP say they now believe a man whose body was found near Nicola Lake in British Columbia was the victim of a homicide. Officers found the body in the rural area Tuesday and initially described the death as suspicious. Investigators from the Southeast District Major Crime Unit are identifying the man as 51 year old Dennis Michael Walters of Merritt, B.C. Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet says in a news release that investigators are working on a timeline of events leading up to his death. Anyone with information or knowledge of Walters' whereabouts on Monday until the discovery of his body Tuesd

Hamilton police say one man is dead and two are in life-threatening condition after a violent kidnapping Thursday morning. Police say officers were called to a home in Mount Hope, Ont., at 2:55 a.m. after reports of a shooting. Officers say they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds who were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police say one of the men died in hospital and the other is undergoing surgery. A third man, their father, was forced into a black SUV and taken from the house. Hours later police say they found the abducted man with life-threatening injuries. Police