British Columbia's worker safety agency is moving to address "gaps" in construction crane safety after recent accidents, including fatalities. WorkSafeBC says in a statement that it developed safety plans after bringing together 130 groups and individuals, including tower crane operators, unions, employers, contractors and the B.C. Association for Crane Safety. It follows a series of incidents and accidents involving tower cranes in B.C., including the death of a worker in Vancouver in February when a load fell on them, and a crane collapse in Kelowna in 2021 that killed five men. WorkSafe's T

British Columbia Premier David Eby says construction of an $85-million expansion of kidney hemodialysis services in Surrey is set to start in August. Eby says a new unit at Surrey Memorial Hospital will add 21 renal hemodialysis beds to treat patients with kidney disease, bringing the hospital's total to 60 stations. The stand-alone unit is expected to open in 2025 and the province will pay $84 million, while the Surrey Hospitals Foundation will pay $1 million. Health Minister Adrian Dix says kidney concerns are one of the leading health issues in Surrey, where residents are already having to

Fines for illegal hunting and fishing in British Columbia are more than doubling as the province cracks down on offences against wildlife. The Ministry of Forests says the new scale of fines effective Tuesday under the Wildlife Act ranges from $345 to $1,495, up from the current range of $115 to $575. The biggest fines apply to people who hunt or possess big game out of season. The ministry says in a news release the new penalties “better reflect the serious nature" of wildlife offences and acknowledge the importance of wildlife to B.C. Other offences subject to the fines include unlawful tr

The head office of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia in North Vancouver will be transformed into an urban housing development with hundreds of homes near major transit hubs. Premier David Eby says the province has reached an agreement to buy the Crown auto insurer's waterfront headquarters with plans to develop market and below-market homes close to transit and the SeaBus to Vancouver. Eby says the agreement to turn the property into a mixed use residential area with ICBC was also reached with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, and there are plans to work with the C

Environment Canada says an unseasonable cool air mass over southern B.C. has broken minimum temperature records, including one dating back about 70 years. The forecaster says temperatures fell to 4 degrees in the Trail area on Sunday, breaking the record of 4.4 degrees set in 1954. In the Bella Bella area, the minimum of 3.9 degrees broke the 4-degree record set 10 years ago. Records for low daily maximum temperatures were also set, with the Kelowna area reaching just 13.3 Celsius, breaking the 15-degree record set in 1906. Penticton and Princeton also reset records established in 1939, while

Police and other rescue agencies say they're still looking for a 37-year-old boater who went missing near Mission, B.C., but local rescue crews say “it’s unlikely he is still alive.” RCMP say police responded to Nicomen Slough, about 14 kilometres northeast of Mission, on Friday evening after receiving reports of a boating accident in which two men were thrown into the water. They say the boaters were reportedly doing donuts in a small aluminum boat, and both got tossed from the craft after hitting their own wake. Police say the boat's passenger was able to make it to shore, but the driv

A new health centre dedicated to serving British Columbia's French-language speakers will open its doors this fall in Vancouver. A statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Health says the current Vancouver Urban Health Centre cannot accommodate the needs of the Lower Mainland’s growing French-speaking community even though it offers primary care in both French and English. It says the new centre, expected to open in October in Vancouver, will be equipped with a care team of family doctors, nurses and social workers. The government hopes to connect 4,400 people to primary care by 2029. Provincial

Taseko Mines Ltd. says it has reached a tentative agreement with striking employees at its Gibraltar Mine in central British Columbia. The deal is subject to ratification by the workers, who are represented by Unifor. Voting is expected to take place on Monday and Tuesday. Workers at the mine have been on strike since June 1. Taseko says if the agreement is ratified, it expects to resume operations at the mine on Wednesday. Gibraltar is an open pit copper-and-molybdenum mine located about 200 kilometres south of Prince George, B.C.

A major provincial park expansion will create a protection zone of almost 2,000 square kilometres for caribou and other species in northeastern British Columbia. The Ministry of Environment says in a statement that the addition to the Klinse-za Park will make it the largest provincial park established in the province in a decade. The park addition is the result of a partnership in 2020 between the province and the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations, where they agreed to help stabilize and protect the threatened southern mountain caribou. Klinse-za Park is located just west of Chetwynd, B.