A BC scientist is calling for better public access to COVID-19 data as the province enters what could be a sixth wave of the pandemic. In its latest report, the independent BC COVID-19 Modelling Group says it believes BC is at the beginning of a second Omicron wave. Sarah Otto, a mathematical biologist, UBC professor and modelling group member, says the severity of that wave remains unclear due to uncertainty on multiple fronts, including reliable data. She says data that's been made publicly available in B-C lags behind other Canadian jurisdictions, and is not sufficient to do proper statist

The RCMP say British Columbia's police watchdog has been called to investigate the circumstances leading up to a man's death at a Surrey home. The Mounties say front-line officers and members of their mental health outreach team were called Friday to check on the well-being of a man who had threatened to harm himself with a weapon.They say the man was found at the home, reportedly in possession of a weapon, and police fired shots.RCMP say the man was given first aid and emergency health services personnel took him to hospital, where he later died.A statement from Assistant Commissioner Brian E

A 21 year old man who was fatally shot outside a Toronto subway station entrance has been identified as a student from India who had arrived in Canada in January. Family and Indian consular officials say Kartik Vasudev was the person shot several times outside Sherbourne Station at about 5 pm yesterday. His brother tells CP 24 that Vasudev was a student at Seneca College and was taking the subway to his job when he was killed. The Consulate General of India says in a statement posted on Twitter that it's in touch with his family and will provide all possible assistance in early repatriation o

Vancouver Police are investigating an unprovoked assault on a visually-impaired man and are asking witnesses to come forward to help solve the crime. "We don’t know if there was a motive for this attack, but it appears the victim had no prior interaction with the suspect before the assault," says Constable Tania Visintin. "We also know this can be very distressing for the community when incidents like this continue to happen."The 69-year-old victim, who was wearing a bright yellow high-visibility jacket and walking with a cane, was walking through the crosswalk at Thurlow and Alberni around

The motion picture academy has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years following his slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. The move comes after a meeting Friday of the academy's board of governors to discuss a response to Smith's actions. The academy in a statement called Smith's actions ``unacceptable and harmful.'' Smith pre-emptively resigned from the academy last week during the run-up to the meeting and said he would accept any punishment the academy handed down. The academy also apologized for its handling of the slap and allowing Smith to

A missile hit a train station where thousands of people had flocked to flee in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said 50 people died Friday's strike. They also warned they expect to find more evidence of war crimes in areas abandoned by Russian troops. Photos from the scene showed bodies covered with tarps on the ground and the remnants of a rocket with the words ``For the children'' painted on it in Russian. The office of Ukraine's prosecutor-general said about 4,000 civilians were in and around the station. Most were women and children heeding calls to leave the area before Russia launc

The unemployment rate fell from 5.5 per cent in February to 5.3 per cent last month, knocking it down to its lowest rate since Statistics Canada started keeping records in 1976. The agency reports the economy created 72-thousand, 500 jobs, with the majority of the gains coming in Quebec and Ontario. CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham believes there may be room for the unemployment rate to fall a little further.

Two people were taken to hospital in stable condition yesterday afternoon, after a light aircraft crashed in a Metro Vancouver provincial park. BC Emergency Health Services says it was notified of an aircraft in Alouette Lake, part of Golden Ears park near Maple Ridge, around 3:30 pm. Two people were reportedly helped ashore by boaters before being transported to hospital by ambulance in stable condition.

Metro Vancouver mayors say they need 190-million dollars in provincial grant funding, plus additional loan financing, and they want the same amounts from the federal government if they hope to address the region's housing crisis. The mayors made the request during an online meeting with David Eby, the minister responsible for housing. Eby told the group that one of his main concerns is getting faster approval from local governments to build homes that can handle what he says is BC's ``population explosion.'' The minister has previously warned municipalities he could bring in legislation that