More than 200,000 people turned out to vote in two unofficial referendums at the centre of Canada's ongoing tensions with India, officials said Sunday, after the latest one in the MetroVancouver municipality of Surrey wrapped up in the evening.A second referendum on Khalistan, an independent state in India proposed by some Sikhs was held today at the same Surrey gurdwara where activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in June.Sarbraj Kahlon, news director at Radio Punjab who was at the referendum site, called the latest vote a success after 65,700 people turned out in Surrey Sunday to cast b

The Town of Cochrane made the declaration earlier this week after an accident on Saturday affected its water and wastewater pipelines, causing sewage to flow into the Bow River.There haven't been any issues with water quality in the town or in downstream communities such as Calgary, and the sewage leak was contained earlier this week.Damage to the water pipeline, however, led to significant water loss in Cochrane.The town had asked its 32,000 residents, as well as its businesses, to follow mandatory water restrictions to make sure there was enough available for fire suppression and other emerg

The Alberta government has dismissed the entire board of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and replaced it with a temporary administrator.The centre in the mountain town of Banff, west of Calgary, develops and promotes creative work in the arts, sciences, business and the environment.The government says in a statement late Thursday that it's supporting the centre as it focuses on its mandate while 'strengthening its future competitiveness and sustainability.'It says the temporary administrator, Paul Baay, will review the internal processes and policies at the Banff Centre over the next

BC Hydro is warning customers to be prepared for significant power outages after the province endured one of its driest summers on record this year. Hydro spokeswoman Susie Rieder says trees weakened by drought can be more susceptible to winds and as storm season ramps up, a substantial number of dead and damaged trees are expected to fall, leading to power outages.The Crown corporation says its crews replaced more than 1400 power poles for 20,000 customers affected by wildfires since May, but the ongoing drought means there are still risks of outages this fall.Reider says residents should hav

A police crackdown on violent and chronic shoplifters in Vancouver has ended in 258 arrests and the recovery of almost $57,000 in stolen goods.Vancouver police say the arrests were made during a two-week operation in September, which was co-ordinated with other Lower Mainland police departments, resulting in another 82 arrests in Delta, Langley, Richmond and Burnaby.Staff Sgt. Mario Mastropieri says Vancouver isn't alone in dealing with rampant theft, and other North American cities have seen some major retailers shut down because of violent shoplifting.He says police are determined not to let

Canada's ambassador to the United Nations is expected to speak later today about a UN effort to establish a temporary pause in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.Bob Rae will take the podium on Day 2 of a special emergency session of the UN General Assembly as delegates debate a draft resolution calling for a pause in hostilities.The resolution also calls on the two sides to comply with international humanitarian law and to allow essential supplies and services into the war-torn region.Canada is also proposing an amendment to the resolution that would expressly condemn the Oct. 7 Ha

Organizers of an upcoming vote on an independent Sikh state say Canada's allegations of an Indian link to the killing of an activist in Surrey have significantly bolstered support for their cause.A lawyer for Sikhs For Justice says many supporters of an independent Sikh state in India had been reluctant to voice their opinions over fear of being labelled terrorists.But Gurpatwant Singh Pannun says discussions about India's possible role in the killing are allowing supporters to discuss the issue without fear.Sikhs For Justice will hold a second round of voting for its unofficial referendum ab

Immigration Minister Marc Miller has announced new rules aimed at protecting international students from fraud, following an investigation this summer into more than 100 cases involving fake admission letters.The immigration department launched a task force in June to investigate a scheme that dates back to 2017, which saw immigration agents issue fake acceptance letters to get international students into Canada.Of the 103 cases reviewed so far, roughly 40 per cent of students appeared to be in on the scheme, while the rest were victims of it.Miller says schools that accept international stude

A man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail with another 18 months of conditional supervisionafter pleading guilty to manslaughter in the high-profile overdose death of a 14-year-old boy in Metro Vancouver.Justice Kathleen Ker says Carson Crimeni died of acute intoxication from an "exceedingly high" dosage of the drug MDMA sold to him by the man, who cannot be named because he was a youth at the time of the crime on Aug. 7, 2019.Before delivering the sentence in British Columbia Supreme Court, Ker told the gallery that other young people saw Carson in "obvious distress" that day in a park in