B.C. is reporting 340 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 349,944 cases in the province.There are 484 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 69 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, eight new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,903.There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreak at Polson Long Term Care (Interior Health) has been declared over, for a total of 20 facilities with ongoing outbreaks. From Feb. 24 to March 2, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 19.2% of cases and from Feb. 17 to March 2, they acco

Gas prices have broken the $2 per litre mark at some stations around Metro Vancouver. The website GasBuddy says the price for a litre of regular gasoline at some Shell and Chevron stations was just under $2.01 this morning, while PetroCan prices were set at one-dollar and 99-point-nine cents per litre. That's a jump of almost 20 cents per litre in barely one week and Dan McTeague with Canadians for Affordable Energy says the war in Ukraine is a key reason. He predicts prices will fall by one cent tomorrow and then climb by three or four cents a litre on Sunday or Monday _ saying ``things are

Ottawa-area MP Pierre Poilievre says he would repeal a ban on oil tankers off B-C's north coast if becomes the leader of the Conservative party and wins the next federal election. He made the comment during a campaign stop in Regina today. Poilievre also says he would bring in new laws to support the energy sector and protect the environment, and he promises the work will include consultation with First Nations. During a stop in Saskatoon yesterday, Poilievre the only declared candidate so far in the race to replace Erin O'Toole, pledged to axe the federal carbon tax if elected prime minister

Some very well-known names are included on the list of Order of British Columbia recipients. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry received the award in a virtual ceremony last evening at Government House in Victoria. Chief Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chair for the Tsilhqot'in National Government also received the honour _ the highest award B-C can bestow on a resident. Others on the list included former B-C finance minister and chancellor of Simon Fraser University, Carole Taylor, and singer Michael Buble. Recipients being invested this evening are: Chief Joe Alphonse of 150 Mile HouseThe late

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Brian Lara, Adam Gilchrist and others mourned the demise of Australian spinner Shane Warne on Friday.The iconic spinner passed away in Thailand of a suspected heart attack, his management company said in a statement to Fox Sports."It's a sad day for world cricket. First the news of Rodney Marsh & now Shane Warne Heartbreaking! I have fond memories of playing with Warne. He was the king of spin & a legend of the game who's gone way before his time. RIP. You will be missed my condolences to his family," Yuvraj Singh tweeted."Numb. The hig

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he's ready for talks with Ukraine but insists it must agree to demilitarize, accept Moscow's sovereignty over Crimea, and surrender land to rebels in the east. That's according to a read-out of Putin's phone call earlier today with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators haven't met since yesterday but Ukrainian negotiators say there may be another round of talks over the weekend. A Western official says a huge Russian military convoy advancing on Kyiv has made little progress for several days and has become a huge traffic jam tha

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Europe to meet with key allies as Russia intensifies its attacks on Ukraine. Trudeau will spend next week in meetings in London, Berlin, Riga, Latvia and Warsaw as leaders present a united front against President Vladimir Putin. Trudeau says allies will also work on countering the disinformation and misinformation that is a particularly strong facet of the war in Ukraine. Earlier today, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly attended a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels, which was followed by a G-7 foreign ministers' meeting. The ministers d

An illegal dispensary selling cannabis and other drugs has been shut down after an investigation by Burnaby RCMP.Officers were contacted by a concerned community member in mid-February, after a teenager allegedly bought cannabis from inside a business near Hastings Street and Beta Avenue. The store had exterior signage indicating it was a tattoo studio, but was operating without a business license, and was set up as a drug dispensary inside.On Feb. 18, members of Burnaby RCMP’s Community Response Team (CRT), with assistance from Burnaby bylaw officers, executed a search warrant at the locati

Canada is opening its arms to Ukrainians fleeing war by relaxing immigration rules.The government is announcing expedited temporary visas for Ukrainians that will take just weeks to process, instead of the usual year.Canada is also tightening its economic chokehold on Russian oligarchs, and booting Russia and its ally Belarus off its most favoured nation list of trade partners.Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada and other close partners are calling for Russia's suspension from the international policing agency Interpol.