Wind warnings and special weather statements remain posted for Vancouver Island and British Columbia's inner south coast, but it appears the region has dodged significant damage from a powerful storm. Environment Canada says a rapidly deepening cyclone approached waters off the coast Saturday night and peak wind speeds of at least 100 km/h were reported at three locations off Vancouver Island on Sunday. Winds have eased slightly, but the weather office says gusts of 90 to 100 km/h are still possible in many areas as the storm tracks northeast and is expected to pass over northern Vancouver Is

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is flying to Europe later this week touting Canada's climate plan and post-pandemic recovery progress at leaders' summits in Italy and Scotland.Trudeau's six-day trip starts with an official visit to the Netherlands for meetings with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.From there he will go to Rome for the G20 leaders' summit, which is the first in-person encounter for leaders of the world's biggest economies since before the pandemic.COVID-19 recovery and vaccine equity will be high on the agenda, as the world's wealthiest nations including Canada will be pushed to

B.C. is reporting 649 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 200,898 cases in the province.There are 5,106 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 193,325 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 365 individuals are currently in hospital and 143 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the last 24 hours, 13 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,109. The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoVancouver Coastal Health: threeInterior Health: threeNorthern Health: threeIsland Health: two There have been no

Vancouver Police are appealing for witnesses after a staff member of a Downtown Eastside coffee shop was assaulted earlier this week.A woman entered the Tim Hortons near Pender and Abbott streets on October 20 around 10 a.m. and ordered a coffee. Surveillance footage shows the female employee handing the woman a cup of hot coffee, which the suspect then threw back in her face."This employee was just trying to do her job," says Constable Tania Visintin. "It’s appalling that she was subjected to this type of abuse and it’s extremely fortunate that she was not seriously injured."The suspect i

A Burnaby woman says she was picking up a package of peanuts as a snack on September 28th, when something told her she should buy a lottery ticket as well. It certainly paid off, netting Christine Lauzon a 70 million dollar lottery win, the largest-ever lottery prize won in BC. Lauzon says her first priority will be talking to a financial adviser about what to do with the windfall, followed by gifting some of the cash to her immediate family. She added that she's going to take some time before deciding how to treat herself with the winnings.

Alec Baldwin has tweeted about firing a prop gun on the set of a Western and killing the cinematographer. The actor on Friday called the shooting a ``tragic accident.'' The director of the movie was wounded, and authorities are investigating. Halyna Hutchins was cinematographer on ``Rust.'' She was 42. The shooting happened in the desert on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. A spokesperson for Baldwin says a prop gun with blanks misfired. A spokesman for the Santa Fe County sheriff says detectives are looking into what type of projectile was discharged and how. It was not clear if Baldwin

The BC Coroners Service says it will hold an inquest into the deaths of two people shot just over five years ago during a confrontation with police in the tiny northern Interior village of Granisle, on the shore of Babine Lake, east of Smithers. 39 year old Jovan Williams and his 73 year old mother Shirley Williams were shot as RCMP responded to what they described as a ``neighbour dispute involving a handgun.'' The officer who fired the shots was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Independent Investigations Office with the IIO report finding Jovan Williams ran from a home, pointed a rifle and

Major crimes investigators are in 100 Mile House searching for clues related to a homicide. Corporal Madonna Saunderson says police were called Tuesday evening about a report of what sounded like gunshots in an industrial area of the south Cariboo community. She says the victim, who has not been named, was found dead when officers reached the scene. Saunderson says RCMP are trying to determine what led up to the shooting and they want to talk to anyone who might have information about the homicide.

A man seen on surveillance footage carrying and pointing what appears to be a gun in downtown Vancouver Tuesday has been arrested by Vancouver Police."We are very thankful for the heads-up person who recognized the suspect and called our tip line immediately, "says Constable Tania Visintin.A 54 year old Vancouver man was arrested last night and was in possession of a replica handgun and other weapons.Firearm-related charges have been recommended to Crown counsel.The suspect remains in custody.