B.C.'s top doctor is reminding the public to follow COVID-19 rules during St. Patrick's Day celebrations, while the province has again extended its ongoing state of emergency in response to the pandemic. Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a statement that last call for alcohol sales at restaurants, pubs and liquor stores will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday. There are 4,999 active COVID-19 cases in B.C. with 556 new diagnoses, including 470 in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions. B.C. has confirmed 116 new cases of COVID-19 variants of concern in the last day for a total of 996, of which 130 remain

A police officer and a driver were both hurt last night when a vehicle slammed into a police cruiser blocking a lane of Highway 99 though Surrey. The lane had been closed as officers investigated an earlier shooting in the same area. RCMP say both the officer and the driver of the vehicle that hit the cruiser have non-life-threatening injuries. A charge of impaired driving has been laid and Mounties are appealing for information or dashcam video as they continue the investigation. Surrey RCMP on Twitter: A suspected impaired driver crashed into a roadblock last night on Highway 99. One of our

The family of missing Merritt-area ranch manager Ben Tyner has announced an increase in the size of the reward for information about him that could also lead to charges in his suspected death. In a post on Facebook, Jen Tyner says the reward has grown to 30-thousand dollars after the owner of a Merritt ranch added 15-thousand dollars to the total. The 33-year-old was last seen leaving the Nicola Ranch on horseback in January 2019 and his body has never been found. His riderless horse was found unharmed a few days later. Police say they believe Tyner is the victim of homicide. Jen Overstreet T

For the second year in a row, Surrey’s Vaisakhi Khalsa Day Parade – considered the world’s largest with more than 500,000 spectators annually – has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers at Gurdwara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar confirmed the April 24 event will not proceed in order to comply with provincial health orders restricting mass gatherings. Vaisakhi, which marks the creation of the Khalsa in 1699, is the most significant day in the Sikh calendar. Parade spokesman Moninder Singh told Connect News Team that families will celebrate in smaller, private ways this year. “

Canada's top doctor says now is not the time for Canadians to increase their contact with others in light of a recent rise in average COVID-19 case counts across the country. Dr. Theresa Tam says this upswing combined with an acceleration of new variants of the virus in Canada is cause for concern. She says the most up-to-date stats indicate the percentage of Canadians with immunity to COVID-19 remains low, even as governments have been ramping up their vaccination efforts. And since today's case numbers reflect the situation in Canada two weeks ago, Tam urged Canadians to continue to keep th

The Surrey RCMP General Investigation Unit (GIU) is investigating a suspicious fire that occurred last night in Whalley. On March 15, 2021 at approximately 11:30 p.m., Surrey RCMP was called to assist the Surrey Fire Service with a vehicle fire, in the 10700-block of 133 Street. Upon arrival, officersfound a vehicle in the carport of a residence fully engulfed in flames. The vehicle sustained significant damage while the carport was moderately damaged, no one was injured as a result of the fire. The investigation was assumed by the Surrey RCMP GIU who located evidence suggesting the fire was s

The Transportation Safety Board will conduct a broader investigation into the deadly sinking of a tugboat last month along British Columbia's north coast. Two men died and one survived when the Ingenika sank Feb. 11 south of Kitimat while towing a barge, which remained afloat. A data collection investigation has been completed by the board but a spokesman confirms a wider investigation is now planned looking for any contributing factors or safety deficiencies. Chris Krepski says an investigation page will soon be posted on the board's website and a report will be released when the probe wraps

BC's police watchdog is investigating to determine whether police actions are linked to the injury of a man in Kamloops on Friday night. RCMP say in a statement that an officer was on a routine patrol when he saw a fight in progress and placed one man under arrest for assault. They say, "an interaction occurred" before the man was taken into custody and he complained of injury en route to the RCMP detachment. The Mounties say emergency services brought the man to a local hospital, where it was determined he was suffering from serious injury. Police released no further information as the provi

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says there is now enough ``real-world evidence'' to show the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors.The decision reverses a recommendation made by the body on March 1, when the panel of vaccine experts said AstraZeneca hadn't included enough people over the age of 65 in its clinical trials.NACI chair Dr. Caroline Quach said Tuesday that two studies of patients who received the vaccine in the United Kingdom have been released since then and show the AstraZeneca vaccine is both safe and effective for seniors, par