The City of Vancouver's 1.6 billion dollar COVID-19 response budget for 2021 has passed after nearly 139 million dollars in pandemic-related losses. Mayor Kennedy Stewart says the budget includes more money for overdose response efforts, supports for small businesses, as well as housing, sanitation and community policing. He says the budget also keeps property tax increases at five per cent and holds the city's largest line item, the police budget, to 2020 levels. Police chief Adam Palmer says he's disappointed the force asked for 322 million dollars to maintain current staffing levels and fi

There will be more information on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines today with a briefing that includes provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry, Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix. Horgan tweeted yesterday that the first vaccine doses are just days away and about four-thousand high-risk people in B-C will be immunized by the end of next week. BC recorded 566 more cases yesterday and another 16 deaths. A statement from Henry and Dix says while it's encouraging the cases numbers are trending down, the number of people in hospital remains high and public health restrictions

Police say a participant in a recent anti-mask protest in Vancouver was arrested shortly after for allegedly threatening another man with dog spray. He had left the protest and was allegedly yelling obscenities without practising physically distancing when the other man called him a "disgrace." Officers arrested the protesting man for uttering threats, and he's been issued two tickets under the province's COVID-19 Related Measures Act. Around 500 rallied against public health public health orders outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Saturday, including the former anthem singer for the Vancouver

Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, the first to be given the green light for national use. Canada is set to receive four million doses of the Pfizer vaccine by March, including up to 249,000 doses this month, with the first shipment set to arrive next week.The federal government has purchased 20 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires people to receive two doses each, and has the option to buy 56 million more.Pfizer needs to store its vaccine at ultracold temperatures below -70 C and so the company is planning to ship the doses directly to pr

With farmers firm on their demand about the repealing of the three agriculture laws passed by the Centre in the last monsoon session of Parliament, their protest entered the 14th day on Wednesday with demonstrations continuing on Sant Nirankari Samagam ground in Burari on the outskirts of Delhi and at borders.Earlier on Tuesday, leaders of farmer unions held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal at Shah's residence, over their demands regarding the three agricultural laws that were passed earlier in September.

British Columbia has recorded 566 new cases of COVID-19, which the provincial health officer and health minister say is the "start of encouraging trends" in the progression of the virus. However, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix say the number of new cases and hospitalizations due to serious illness are still high, requiring health orders and restrictions to stay in place. They say 352 people with the illness are being treated in hospital, with 74 of them in intensive care. Sixteen more people have died, for a total of 543 fatalities in the province. Premier John Horgan says on Twitter that ab

The BC Prosecution Service says two Vancouver police officers have been charged in the arrest of a former UBC football player nearly three years ago. It says Constable Jarrod Sidhu has been charged with assault with a weapon and Constable Jagpreet Ghuman has been charged with assault. The charges relate to the arrest of Jamiel Moore-Williams, during which a stun gun was deployed after he was stopped for jaywalking in February 2018. The police complaint commissioner referred the matter to the prosecution service for consideration of charges after the RCMP failed to do so following its investig

The BC government has introduced legislation to provide a pandemic recovery benefit of one thousand dollars for eligible families and 500-dollars for individuals. Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the cost of the COVID-19 aid program is about 1.7 billion dollars, including 150 dollars a month in increases to income and disability assistance starting in January. Robinson says about 3.7 million people will receive the one-time pandemic benefit and can start applying on December 18th. She says she expects some people will receive it before Christmas, while others will get the money deposited

BC's seniors advocate has started a separate review into elder abuse in the province after finding an increase in the problem in her annual review. Isobel Mackenzie's report says calls to the seniors abuse and information line saw a 17 per cent increase. But her report also says it's unclear how big the problem is because they don't have the proper tools to measure abuse or neglect of seniors, prompting her further review with a report due next year. She says the RCMP reports that almost 1,700 seniors experienced a violent event last year and 19-thousand reported property crimes such as theft