Canada has banned visitors from southern Africa after the discovery of a new variant of concern in the region. The new variant, deemed Omicron, first emerged in South Africa and coincided with a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in that region in recent weeks, according to the World Health Organization. The ban will apply to foreign nationals who transited through a list of seven countries in the last 14 days, including South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia and eSwatini. Those already in Canada who recently travelled through the region will need to quarantine

The federal government is proposing a new bill that would make it illegal to intimidate health workers to the point it impedes them from doing their job. The federal Liberals have introduced a bill that would provide 10 days of paid sick leave to federally regulated workers and create two new Criminal Code offences for anyone threatening health-care workers. Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan says the sick leave plugs a hole in the social safety net that was exposed by the pandemic. The Liberals want to see the bill pass in Parliament before M-Ps go on their holiday break in the middle of December

The New Westminster Police Department is appealing to the public to assist in providing CCTV footage or dash cam footage that may help in an investigation of suspected child luring. The incident occurred on November 21st at approximately 5:30 pm in the area around Sapperton Park.The call to police came after two boys were walking home from Sapperton Park. Allegedly, as the boys passed a parked, brown minivan, a man exited the passenger seat of the van. This man asked the boys if they’d like to see a puppy that was inside his van. The boys ran away to tell a trusted adult what happened. The s

Justin Trudeau is traveling to British Columbia today to visit areas affected by the flooding and meet with provincial, civic, and First Nation leaders.According to the prime minister's schedule Trudeau will be in the Abbotsford area and will also meet with members of the military, first responders and volunteers.He's to head to Victoria later in the day to meet with Premier John Horgan.

B.C. is reporting 424 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 216,758 cases in the province.There are currently 3,061 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 211,202 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 295 individuals are in hospital and 112 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, three new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,316.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoInterior Health: oneThere have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at Ri

Langley RCMP is seeking the assistance of the public to locate two missing youth who are believed to be in the company of Mya Steenbergen, a 12-year-old missing from Richmond.Maddison Savoie is First Nations, 14-years-old and last communicated with family on November 22nd. She is described as being 5’3 tall, approximately 140 lbs. and has black hair and green eyes. Maddison was last seen wearing all black (black hoodie). she has a nose piercing and dresses skater style. She has several piercings in each ear.Hunter Keys is Caucasian, 12-years-old and was last seen when he was dropped off in L

Police say a suspect is in custody after officers responded to reports of a shooter at an RCMP detachment in northern British Columbia. Cpl. Madonna Saunderson says there are no reported injuries at this time. RCMP say they had received information about a person with a long gun targeting the detachment in Vanderhoof, west of Prince George, just after noon. At 12:16 pm the Vanderhoof RCMP responded to reports of an active shooter with a long gun targeting the RCMP Detachment in the 100 Block of Columbia Street and then continuing to drive around the area.

Highway 1 will reopen through the Fraser Valley between Chilliwack and Abbotsford at 2 p.m. (Pacific time), Thursday, Nov. 25, following cleanup, repairs and geotechnical assessments of the highway and its structures.This reopening will help connect the Lower Mainland through to Highway 3 and the Interior. While this will help to reduce congestion on Highway 7, travel restrictions will remain in place on Highway 7 to ensure the safe movement of essential goods and services. Although it is not subject to the essential travel order, people are asked to stay off Highway 1 through Abbotsford unles

Laird Cronk, the president of the BC Federation of Labour, is critical of the decision, saying provincial data indicates that while workers may take an average of 4.8 sick days annually, countries like New Zealand, Australia, Sweden and Germany have 10 days or more. He says that is what it takes to make sure workers have the economic stability to stay home when they are sick. Workers in British Columbia will be eligible for a minimum of five sick days per year starting January 1st. Labour Minister Harry Bains says the new sick leave policy affects all workers covered by the province's Employ