An election promise by British Columbia Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson to intervene in the city of Surrey's transition away from the RCMP is drawing fire. Wilkinson has promised an elected Liberal government would freeze the transition to the independent police force and hold a referendum to put the final choice in the hands of Surrey residents. Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum was elected on the promise of changing the police force and says in a statement he's appalled the Liberal leader would stoop to this level of desperation to garner votes. McCallum says the B.C. Liberals decision to interfer

British Columbia announced 161 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and three additional deaths related to the virus. In a statement, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and deputy health minister Stephen Brown say there are 1,302 active cases in the province. 63 people were being treated in hospital, with 16 of them in intensive care. The province has had a total of 9,381 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and the number of people who have died stood at 238. The statement says there were 3,114 people being monitored because they have been exposed to a known case. On Thursday, Henry

The grand jury proceedings released to the public do not contain prosecutors' recommendations about what, if any, charges the jury should file against the officers who conducted the drug raid that led to Breonna Taylor's fatal shooting. In a news release Friday, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said neither the prosecutors' recommendations nor the jury's deliberations were recorded ``as they are not evidence.'' He said not recording them was ``customary.'' Officer thought the gun Breonna Taylor's boyfriend fired was an AR-15 rifleThe Kentucky officer indicted on minor charges in the Breonna Tay

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is offering his family's best wishes to U.S. President Donald Trump and the first lady. Trudeau says he and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, hope the president and Melania Trump recover fully from COVID-19. Trump announced early this morning that both he and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus. Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for COVID-19 in March after returning from a trip to England. She recovered within weeks, and the prime minister never contracted the virus. But Trudeau points out it's the same news many Canadians are getting. British Prime

Health Canada says it's begun its first review of a possible vaccine for COVID-19. The agency says it's evaluating the vaccine candidate being worked on by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The possible vaccine is undergoing what's called a ``rolling review,'' in which Health Canada accepts data and results from the company's trials as it comes in, rather than waiting for everything to be complete. Health Canada cautions that starting a rolling review is just one step on the road to approval. The federal government has put in an advance order for 20 million dose

Canada is forming its own forensic examination and assessment team to examine evidence and information after Iran's Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner in January, killing all 176 people on board. The office of Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told The Associated Press the team will collect, organize and analyze all available information, evidence and intelligence about after the Jan. 8 crash near Tehran, and will advise the Canadian government on its credibility. Canadian experts have been present as observers in the probe of the crash being carried out under inter

An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Fraser Health issued a statement this morning saying there is evidence of transmission in a medicine unit at the hospital. It says one patient and one staff member have tested positive for the new coronavirus but the outbreak is limited to a single unit, which has been temporarily closed to admissions. The hospital has implemented enhanced infection prevention and control measures, including additional cleaning, and is also using contact tracing to halt any further spread of the virus by those who may not be showing sympto

New Democrat Leader John Horgan was in Squamish at Carbon Engineering (BC-based clean energy company) today to announce a plan to commit BC to net-zero carbon emissions in 30 years if his government is re-elected on October 24th. "The unprecedented challenges we face today, from the economic shock of a global pandemic to the threat of a changing climate, also present opportunities," said Horgan. "As a leader in clean energy, British Columbia is uniquely placed to seize these opportunities. Meeting this ambitious target of net-zero emissions will help us create good jobs through the recovery wh

Federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc says Ottawa is not trying to block provinces from getting access to new rapid COVID-19 testing devices. Manitoba's Central Services Minister Reg Helwer says Ottawa is forbidding Abbott Laboratories from selling its new ID Now tests directly to the provinces. Helwer says the federal government is insisting on controlling the supply and allocating shipments to the provinces. Health Canada recently approved the ID Now tests, which deliver results in about 15 minutes without having to send the specimen to a lab for processing. Helwer says