British Columbia's Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon is pitching a housing plan that aims to get more first-time buyers into homes, and it comes just days after Premier David Eby promised to build more affordable rental units for the middle class. Falcon says the BC United's "Fix Housing" plan includes four initiatives to reduce the high cost of housing and increase supply, which he pledges to introduce if his party takes power in this fall's election. He says he'll drop the province's property transfer tax for first-time homebuyers who purchase for less than $1 million, eliminate the provincial

BC is launching a public housing program that aims to fast-track rental property developments on under-utilized lands throughout the province. The province says the 2.95 billion dollar BC Builds program will provide low-cost financing to build affordable rental units for middle-income earners on government, community and non-profit owned lands. It says it has already identified 20 sites with the potential to build up to four thousand rental units. Premier David Eby says they are aiming for a concept-to-construction timeline of 12 to 18 months to build the housing, compared with the current thr

Mounties in British Columbia's Comox Valley say they have found the vehicle that was involved in a fatal hit and run earlier this week. They say officers responded to a report of an injured cyclist around 11 p.m. Thursday on the Comox Valley Parkway near Minto Road in Courtenay. Police say paramedics and firefighters also attended the scene and provided emergency first aid to the man, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. The RCMP says the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit has taken over the investigation and found the vehicle. Police did not disclose whether a person had b

British Columbia's premier says Selina Robinson, who resigned as post-secondary education minister recently over Mideast comments, has received a death threat. David Eby called the action inexcusable in a statement posted on the social media platform X. He says police are investigating to find out who is responsible and that Robinson is safe. Robinson stepped down from the cabinet post on Monday after facing growing criticism over her comments during an online panel that modern Israel was founded on a "crappy piece of land," which critics called racist and Islamophobic. Eby had said previously

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says repeat car thieves should not be allowed to serve their sentence "in their living room watching Netflix." Poilievre released a new policy today that insists the current Liberal government goes too easy on people who steal cars. He says a Conservative government would make sure auto thieves spend at least three years in prison if they are convicted for a third time, and ban house arrest for those convicted of an indictable offence. Indictable offences are the ones prosecutors consider to be more serious crimes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says auto t

Surrey Police Service is deploying 11 more police officers for frontline policing for the safety of city residents.With this, the total number of Surrey Police Service officers in the city has increased to 200.Among the newly deployed officers are four sergeants and seven constables, who have good experience in frontline policing.This is the first batch of officers deployed by the Surrey Police Service in 2024 and will continue to be deployed this year for policing change.Surrey Police Service also hopes to be approved soon to deploy its own staff sergeants and inspectors to support frontline

The spokesman for a group advocating Sikh independence says that a Metro Vancouver home hit by gunfire on Thursday belonged to a member of the movement. Surrey RCMP say multiple shots were fired at a home in the 2800 block of 154 Street in Surrey at 1:21 a.m. in what is believed to be an isolated incident. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun with the group Sikhs For Justice says the home belongs to an member of the movement who is an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in a shooting last June that triggered a diplomatic row with India. Pannun says Sikh communities in Canada believe both case

The BC government has imposed a 2-year ban on new colleges admitting international students.Provincial Minister of Post-Secondary Education Selina Robinson confirmed that no new institutions in British Columbia will be allowed to admit international students for two years.Robinson issued a statement today saying that many students are being exploited and that such schools will be regularly inspected to ensure standards are being met.Robinson added that the province is implementing minimum language requirements so that international students are better prepared before coming to BC.This step has

The head of the heli-skiing company involved in a fatal crash north of Terrace says the three victims' bodies have been recovered after nearly a week. A statement from John Forrest, president of Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, says the R-C-M-P along with Terrace Search and Rescue led the effort yesterday (Sunday). The victims of the crash last Monday have been identified as three Italians. Search and rescue personnel had said last week that poor weather was hampering the recovery efforts, and Forrest says he knows how important it has been for their families to bring their loved ones down fr