Police in Abbotsford, B.C., say a train derailment has forced the closure of 4th Avenue near the Canada-U.S. border crossing. The department says in a post to social media that the road is blocked off between West Railway to the commercial vehicle entrance for the Sumas border crossing. Police say access to the border entrance is not impacted.They say no injuries have been reported, but did not mention how the derailment happened. The department initially posted an advisory around 11 p.m. Thursday about the closure and to ask drivers to avoid the area. It says in the updated post on Friday tha

An Independent candidate running in a rural Alberta byelection says she has stopped door-knocking because of death threats. Sarah Spanier says she has told Mounties about the online threats, which she attributes to her advocacy for transgender people. She says she has received some messages stating she will be met with a shotgun if she knocks on doors. Spanier is one of almost 80 candidates running in Battle River-Crowfoot, with voters going to the polls Aug. 18. The riding was won handily by Conservative Damien Kurek in the April general election, but Kurek stepped down to all

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is urging workers to reject Canada Post's latest contract offer. Union national president Jan Simpson says a strong no vote would not only reject the offer, but also protect the integrity of the bargaining process. The Canada Industrial Relations Board will hold the vote on the proposed deal starting next week. Canada Post is at an impasse with the union representing roughly 55,000 postal service workers after more than a year and a half of talks. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu last month asked the board to step in and put the Crown corporation's latest

A report commissioned by the town of Jasper says crews did their best to fight last year's devastating wildfire but the Alberta government complicated the response. The report was based on surveyed participants and firefighters who battled the blaze that destroyed much of the mountain town. It says the Alberta government wasn't jurisdictionally responsible to lead the crisis but made things more difficult with regular information requests and by seeking to exercise decision-making authority. The report says incident commanders had their focus disrupted and were forced to spend precio

B-C Health Minister Josie Osborne says she's reinstated funding for drug coverage for a ten-year-old Langford girl who suffers from a rare neurodegenerative disease. Osborne says she spoke to Charleigh Pollock's family on Thursday evening and told them that the funding will be available for as long as her doctor and the family deem appropriate. The minister says a letter from experts on Batten disease confirmed that there's ``significant disagreement'' about the drug Brineura, which costs around $1 million a year. Pollock is the only person in B-C with the disease, and one of around 2

Canada’s National Housing Agency says eliminating interprovincial trade barriers could lead to 30,000 more new homes being built in Canada each year. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said in a report Thursday that this would bring the total number of annual housing starts to nearly 280,000, a meaningful step toward addressing Canada’s housing supply gap. To achieve this goal, Canada will need to reduce provincial barriers that hinder transportation infrastructure from west to east, said CMHC chief economist Matthew LeBridge. The agency said this would help maximize the use of

Surrey Police Service is taking over patrols on the West Side of South Surrey from RCMP on July 28. SPS will also take over street patrols on the East Side on November 20. This information was provided by Chief Constable Norm Lipinski. Lipinski said that we are fully prepared for this transition and are working closely with our RCMP partners to ensure that this transition can happen smoothly. This is another phase in the ongoing transformation of Surrey Police Service, with SPS gradually taking over full responsibility as the city’s police force. The transition process is expected to be co

BC Highway Patrol in Golden is asking people to slow down and drive sober during a summer spike in excessive speeding and dangerous driving. It’s all happening amidst a huge increase in traffic volume on Highway #1. Summer is always a busy season on the Trans Canada, but we all need to obey the speed limit and drive with more caution, says Corporal Michael McLaughlin with BC Highway Patrol. Our officers feel like we are pulling people over moments before catastrophe, especially when drivers are speeding through national parks and construction zones. It’s also a good time to remember that t

A large haul of suspected cocaine has been seized during a search of a pickup truck at a B.C. border crossing. The Canada Border Services Agency said it was being smuggled into Canada. The statement said that on June 11, officers searched a pickup truck at the Osoyoos Port of Entry and found 70 kilograms of suspected cocaine in the form of bricks, equivalent to an estimated 144,000 individual doses. The driver was not named and has not yet been charged, but the Canada Border Services Agency said he was turned over to police. Canada’s Public Safety Minister Gary Anandsangri called it a ma