Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. "Today, we are announcing 47 new cases, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 3,834 cases in British Columbia. "There are 351 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 3,288 people who tested positive have recovered. "Currently, nine individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, six of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolatio

The British Columbia government is offering rebates of up to $50,000 to businesses, regional governments and non-profit groups buying electric passenger vehicles. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston and Environment Minister George Heyman announced Wednesday the money would come from $2 million in additional funding to the CleanBC program. The rebates range from $1,700 to $50,000, covering everything from electric motorcycles to cube trucks and shuttle buses.Heyman says it's the kind of innovation that creates jobs and makes every B.C. resident proud of what's being done to diversify the economy and

With the federal Conservative leadership campaign in its final days, new data from Elections Canada shows how tight the race has been for donor dollars. Between April and June, Erin O'Toole brought in 1.24-million dollars, putting him ahead of rival Peter MacKay, who raised 1.16-million dollars over the same period. In the first quarter of this year, MacKay had the most in donations with 1.04-million dollars, followed by O'Toole with 785-thousand dollars. Leslyn Lewis more than doubled her fundraising totals compared to earlier in the year, raising 996-thousand dollars, up from about 448-thous

A motorboat driver has been charged with operating a vessel without due care after a crash with an Indigenous racing canoe on Cultus Lake in B.C.'s Fraser Valley. RCMP in Chilliwack says they were called after the collision last Wednesday and found the lone occupant of the canoe on shore, but the boat and its driver gone. The person who had been in the canoe was treated in hospital for injuries and released. Police say their investigation later led them to the alleged operator of the motorboat. A 67 year old Langley man has now been charged under the Canada Shipping Act. RCMP Cpl. Mike Rail s

Metro Vancouver's latest homeless count shows more seniors without a place to live, while the number of young people without a home is shrinking. The count took place in March and shows three thousand 634 people were homeless, about the same number as 2017. However, the figures show that those aged 55 and over now account for 25 per cent of the homeless, up two per cent from 2017, while the number of those under 25 on the street has been cut in half _ from 16 to eight per cent. The communities with the highest number of homeless are Vancouver, Surrey and Langley.

A worker has been killed at a gold mine in northwestern BC. Vancouver-based Pretium Resources says the unnamed man was doing maintenance work Friday at the surface of the mine northwest of Stewart when he was severely injured. The company says he was treated immediately by medics at the mine and then transported to hospital in Terrace, where he died Sunday. Pretium says it is co-operating with an outside investigation and will conduct its own probe, but its first concern is to support the victim's family and friends, and other workers at the mine.

International aid flights are arriving in Lebanon, as the government struggles to deal with the aftermath of the massive blast that killed at least 135 and sent thousands more to hospital. Investigators are looking into why nothing was done about 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored at the port for six years. Search and rescue teams, medical personnel, humanitarian support packages and equipment designed to find trapped victims are being sent from countries like Australia and Indonesia as well as Europe. Russia's Ministry for Emergencies says that its first plane carrying

Buyers purchased 3,128 homes in the Greater Vancouver area last month, up both from June and from July 2019.The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said on Wednesday that sales in July were up 22.3 per cent from this time last year, and up 28 per cent from June, as the economy has largely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown. Home prices also rose in Vancouver, hitting a benchmark of $1,031,400, 4.5 per cent higher on a year-over-year basis.While more homes hit the market in July compared to June, the total number of homes listed for sale, 12,083, is down compared to last July

Canada is signing deals with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and U.S.-based biotech firm Moderna to procure millions of doses of their experimental COVID-19 vaccines.Procurement Minister Anita Anand is announcing the deals this morning in Toronto, which will see Canada get access to the vaccines if they prove to be both safe and effective.Both companies began Phase 3 clinical trials of their vaccine candidates in the last week, large-scale tests to determine how well the vaccines work.Earlier in July both Pfizer and Moderna reported positive results from smaller trials.The Phase 3 trials will both