The governments of British Columbia, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador lost up to $2.47 billion in tax revenues over four years due to the growth in illegal tobacco sales, says a convenience industry report.The Convenience Industry Council of Canada report released Wednesday examined the downward trend in legal tobacco sales in the three provinces since 2019, compared with the rising growth in the underground contraband tobacco market."These cigarettes are illegally sold, tax and duty free, without any Health Canada regulations or inspections and retail for a fraction of legal tobacco pric

The son of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says his father was meeting regularly with Canadian intelligence officers in the months before he was shot dead in British Columbia, in a killing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says has been credibly linked to India.Balraj Nijjar says in an interview that his father was meeting Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers "once or twice a week," including one or two days before the June 18 killing, with another meeting scheduled for two days after his death.Balraj Nijjar says he also attended a meeting between his father and the RCMP last

Most of the District of Peachland along the west side of Okanagan Lake is now on evacuation alert as drought, heat and windy conditions in southern British Columbia fuel the late-season Glen Lake wildfire.The Central Okanagan Regional District expanded evacuation alerts Monday as the BC Wildfire Service said the suspected human-caused blaze had grown to nearly eight square kilometres after being sparked on Saturday.The regional district says Peachland's downtown core and its Beach Avenue neighbourhoods are not included in the broader alert, and there is no change to an evacuation order posted

Premier David Eby says he's deeply disturbed and angry to hear that there is credible evidence of links between the government of India and the killing of a Sikh leader in Surrey. Eby says he received a further briefing on the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar from Canada's spy agency after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement in Parliament.The premier says his government will do all it can to enhance protection for the people of BC against the threat of violence from 'state actors'.Eby says Canadians must be safe from foreign government interference, including the threat of violenc

India struck back at Canada early Tuesday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked agents of India's government to the shooting death of a Sikh leader near Vancouver. A statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs says an unnamed senior Canadian diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said earlier on Monday that Canada was expelling India's Pavan Kumar Rai, whom her department lists in its public registry as a diplomatic agent who heads up an Indian intelligence agency based in Ottawa. Trudeau told the House of Commons on

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a big statement after the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey.He said that India is behind the killing of BC's Sikh leader.Trudeau has accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing in the House of Commons on Monday.Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty, he said.It is worth mentioning that Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered on the night of June 18 in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Sikh

British Columbia Premier David Eby says a complaint by an employee in late July led to the removal of MLA Adam Walker from the New Democrat caucus, but the issue doesn't involve police or sexual harassment.Speaking to reporters for the first time since Walker was kicked out over the weekend, Eby says he decided the member could no longer be part of the group after a formal investigation by NDP caucus.Eby says he wishes he could share more but rules related to human resources and privacy prevent him going into specifics about the accusations, which are not a criminal matter.The premier says he

The RCMP Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has identified the victim of a fatal shooting in Burnaby, B.C., in the hopes of advancing its investigation. Burnaby RCMP say they were called to the North Road and Cameron Street area just after 5 p.m. Saturday for reports of gunshots and arrived to find the body of a man in a parkade. About 15 minutes later, officers were called to a vehicle fire several blocks away in the Bainbridge Avenue and Greenwood Street area. IHIT is now identifying the victim as 29-year old Gagandeep Sandhu of Abbotsford, B.C. They say initial evidence suggests this wa

Homicide detectives have identified two people found dead in a home in rural Chilliwack, B.C., on Wednesday and say an elderly suspect has been charged.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says 58-year-old John Kavaloff and 67-year-old Valerie Smith were found in the home as officers responded to reports of gunfire.Police say 83-year-old Robert Freeman was nearby and was taken into custody a short time later.Court documents show he made a first appearance before a judge late Thursday and is due to return to provincial court in Chilliwack on Sept. 25.Homicide team spokesman Sgt. Timothy P