Two Montrealers are among the dead after a stampede during a religious festival in Israel early Friday. The Israeli consulate in Montreal identified one of the dead as Shraga Gestetner, a well-known singer, in a post on social media. Lionel Perez, the city's municipal opposition leader, wrote on Twitter that the other Montreal victim was Dovi Steinmetz. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante also expressed her sympathy with the city's Jewish community and the friends and family of the victims in a post on Twitter. At least 45 people were killed and about 150 seriously injured during the celebration La

A former cabinet minister denies telling a gaming investigator that members of the B.C. Liberal government knew about illegal activities at casinos and were doing little to prevent the crimes. Kash Heed told a public inquiry into money laundering that he recalls a lunch in Victoria in 2009 with former gaming investigator Fred Pinnock, but his recollection of the meeting differs from Pinnock's. Pinnock testified last fall that he met with Heed in November 2009 shortly after he was appointed solicitor general to raise concerns about large amounts of suspicious cash that were likely linked to org

The farmers, under the aegis of 'Zameen Bachao Sangharsh Committee' staged protest march in Patiala on April 30 with their tractors to CM Captain Amarinder Singh's residence over the issue of the purchase of their land at lower prices. Police officials were also seen at the spot to handle the protesters.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says hospitals in hard-hit regions are feeling the strain from COVID-19 infections with a record number of people in intensive care. There are 853 more cases of COVID-19 today and one new death, bringing the total in the province to 1,577. Dr. Henry also announced that 508 people are in hospital, including 178 people in an ICU. She says the province is expecting increased vaccine shipments in the coming weeks, but BC is in a tug-of-war with COVID-19, and people need to hold the line by following public health orders. Fraser Health says it is no long

Police in Nanaimo say a woman has given up hope over recovering 27,000 dollars lost in a lottery scam where she was tricked into believing she'd won 750 million dollars. Police say the unnamed senior received several calls last month from the same man who told her she had won the grand prize and all she needed to do to claim the winnings was pay some taxes up front. Over the next three weeks she was told to send cash to various addresses along with prepaid gift cards totaling more than 27,000 dollars. Police say when the money didn't show up, she spoke with a relative who convinced her she'd

An Alberta man has lost his vehicle for a week and been handed nearly 800 dollars in tickets for a stunt pulled at a Victoria park just 30 metres from an occupied playground. Police say they were called yesterday afternoon when witnesses reported a Chevy Camaro burning circles, also known as doing donuts, in the grass at Irving Park. When officers spoke with the driver they learned he drove to Victoria from Alberta, in the unregistered and uninsured vehicle, in order to camp in a city park. Traffic officers impounded the vehicle for seven days for the donuts and handed the driver 794 dollars

Surrey RCMP has arrested a man for breaching conditions thanks to a call from the public, and help from bystanders during a foot pursuit in Whalley.On April 27, 2021 at approximately 02:00 am, Surrey RCMP responded to a call reporting a vehicle alleged to have a its rear plate covered in the 9500-block of 132 Street. Police attended the area and spoke to a man and woman associated to the vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. During the interaction with police, the man suddenly ran.Bystanders who witnessed the incident intervened, stopping the man, which allowed the officer to catc

Toxic drug deaths killed 158 people in British Columbia last month, pushing the total number of deaths linked in the province's overdose crisis to 498 since the start of the year. A statement releasing the figures from the BC Coroners Service and the Public Safety Ministry says the deaths in March are a 41 per cent increase over the 112 fatalities recorded in the same period last year. The deaths also mark the third consecutive month that more than five people died every day from illicit drug use in the province. The coroners service says carfentanil, which is 100 times stronger than the opio

Ontario will send half its available COVID-19 vaccines to hot spots in the first two weeks of May to help fight the virus in those hard-hit regions. That will be an increase from the current 25 per cent allocation for hot spots and follows a recommendation from the province's science advisers to allocate shots based on transmission rate rather than age group. The government says it will return to a per capita distribution for vaccines across the province on the week of May 17. Officials say Ontario will also lower the age eligibility for mass vaccination clinics to 55 and older starting tomor