Vancouver police say the BC Prosecution Service has approved a charge against a 39 year old man accused of defacing the monument marking BC's Komagata Maru incident. The waterfront monument includes the names of nearly 400 people who sailed to Vancouver aboard the Komagata Maru in 1914, but were denied entry to Canada due to racist policies of the day and were eventually forced to return to India. Someone defaced the monument and smeared paint on it last summer in what police initially described as a hate crime, and the VPD says a four-month investigation has identified a suspect. A BC wide w

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he needs to see more details before taking a stance on Quebec's plan to levy a financial penalty against people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Trudeau told reporters today in Ottawa he wants to see how the Quebec proposal balances people's rights with the state's goal of protecting them from the disease. Quebec Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday he planned to make the unvaccinated pay a ``significant'' financial penalty. Legault said people who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 occupy a disproportionate number of hospital beds and should be re

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Russia may face further Western sanctions as a consequence of its military build up on the Ukrainian border. And Trudeau strongly suggests today that Canada will renew its modest commitment of 200 Canadian Forces personnel to a NATO training mission in Ukraine, amid rising tensions between the West and Russia. The Ukrainian government has been waiting on Canada to publicly renew the commitment, set to expire at the end of March, as part of show of NATO solidarity toward Russia at a time of rising tensions. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his ca

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologized for attending a garden party during Britain's coronavirus lockdown. He said Wednesday that there are things the government ``did not get right.''Johnson is facing anger from public and politicians over claims he and his staff flouted pandemic restrictions by socializing when it was banned. Some members of his Conservative Party say he should resign if he can't quell the furor. Johnson acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that he was at the May 2020 garden party at his Downing Street office, though he said that he had considered it a work event.

B-C's ministry of education says two schools in Hazelton and Surrey have halted in-person learning less than two days after most students returned to classrooms. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside says school administration officials make decisions about closing in-person classes and moving to temporary online teaching. Ginger Fuller, secretary-treasurer of the Coast Mountain School District, says the closure at Hazelton Secondary School was a result of staff shortages caused by illness, but says officials will meet today to decide when to reopen.The ministry says the independent Bibleway

Environment Canada says the series of atmospheric rivers forecast for B-C's south coast won't relent until tomorrow. The weather office says the storm's second intense gush is expected today and a final burst tomorrow, bringing up to 150 millimetres for some areas. Dave Campbell, the head of the province's River Forecast Centre, says roads could be washed out near waterways and is urging drivers to be careful. The provincial state of emergency that was declared after storms washed away highways, flooded communities and killed five people in November is being extended until January 18th.

With some highways still damaged by flooding and mudslides, and the potential for further flooding this week, the Province is extending the provincial state of emergency.Given the continued need for public safety measures under the Emergency Program Act and ongoing work to repair damaged highways, the provincial state of emergency is being extended until the end of day, Jan. 18, 2022."My continued thanks go out to road crews who are working so hard to get our highways back and fully open," said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. "This work is essential in getting

B.C. is reporting 2,239 new cases of COVID-19, including nine epi-linked cases, for a total of 286,080 cases in the province.There are 36,087 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 244,551 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 469 individuals are in hospital and 97 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:807 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 15,988383 new cases in Vancouver Coastal HealthTotal active cases: 10,334318 new cases in Interior HealthTotal active cases: 4,295167 new

British Columbia's provincial health officer says the current wave of COVID-19 infections is expected to continue for several more weeks. Dr. Bonnie Henry says many people who have contracted the highly transmissible Omicron variant are fully vaccinated and their illness has been relatively mild. She says hospitalization rates are going up and those who are unvaccinated are at highest risk of requiring care. Dr. Henry says three people in their 20s and another in their 30s are currently in intensive care in B.C., and all of them are unvaccinated. She says seeing younger people in ICU is causi