Illicit drug deaths are down slightly in British Columbia from the same period last year, but the coroners service says females are dying at a much higher rate. The service says in a statement that 26 per cent of the 1,749 toxicity deaths so far this year were women or girls, and the rate of death among females is up 60 per cent from four years ago. There were 187 overdose deaths in B.C. in August and 183 in September. The service says the nine-month total is an eight per cent decrease from the same period last year, although it still represents about six people a day dying from unregulated dr

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau is set to meet the media for the first time since British Columbia's indecisive election on Saturday, amid speculation about a possible minority government.The Greens announced Tuesday that Furstenau is staying on as leader despite losing her seat in the legislature, saying she was "instrumental" in B.C.'s 2017 minority government and her guidance of the party's new caucus will be "critical."The Greens say their two elected members, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau's leadership as they "navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in th

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will face down his own caucus members in a hotly anticipated meeting this morning, as several of them plan to try to convince him to step aside. Rumours have circulated for weeks about an undisclosed number of Liberal MPs who have signed on to the effort to oust the prime minister in the hopes of improving the party's chances in the next election. Trudeau's personal poll numbers plummeted more than a year ago, and successive byelection losses have compounded concerns about his leadership. The MPs have no formal mechanism to depose Trudeau as leader, which means

Police say a youth has been arrested after a report of online threats against a school in the Metro Vancouver community of Richmond, B.C. RCMP say the Richmond School District contacted them on Saturday about alleged threats that a shooting would take place at a particular school on Monday. The Mounties say they began investigating immediately, identifying and arresting a youth that day. They say nothing so far indicates the threat was being followed through on, and there are no further safety concerns at the school. Insp. Michael Cohee says such a threat is "extremely serious" and police want

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his leadership of the Liberal party is not in danger, even as members of his caucus prepare to confront him Wednesday in the hopes of convincing him to step down. He brushed off those concerns as he headed into his regular Tuesday meeting with cabinet ministers. While members of the cabinet have defended Trudeau staying on as leader, a number of Liberal MPs have signed onto a letter that aims to convince him to step aside before the next election. It's not clear how many members of Trudeau's team of MPs plan to confront him, or exactly what their message will

Mounties are investigation after a 19-year-old driver was killed in a crash on Vancouver Island on Monday night. Police were called to the single-vehicle crash scene near the Nanaimo airport shortly after 10:30 p.m. The collision occurred in the southbound lanes of the Trans-Canada Highway, south of Aqua Terra Road, between Ladysmith and Nanaimo. In a news release Tuesday, the Ladysmith RCMP said the 19-year-old man was the lone occupant of a Nissan 350Z and he was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving efforts from first responders. The Trans-Canada Highway was closed for several ho

Record numbers of people in British Columbia are being vaccinated against COVID-19 and flu, as the province ramps up its immunization campaign for respiratory illness season. The health ministry says in a news release invitations for priority populations started going out on Oct. 8, and on the first day of delivery on Oct. 15, B.C. pharmacies administered almost 82,000 vaccinations. It says that was a record for any single day, with about 50,000 shots for the flu, and about 32,000 for COVID-19. The ministry says there are updated vaccines for both influenza and COVID-19 on offer, including new

British Columbia police say three people have been charged with first-degree murder in the overdose death of a woman from Nanaimo. A statement from B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says their team on Vancouver Island began investigating in August 2023 after obtaining information that led them to believe the woman's death was ``suspicious.'' The investigation led to the identification of three suspects, two men and one woman, all from nearby Duncan and ranging in age from 41 to 59 years old. The statement says the B.C. Prosecution Service approved first-degree murde

Police say a woman has been found dead after her home was swept away by a mudslide triggered by torrential rain across British Columbia’s south coast. RCMP in Coquitlam, B.C., east of Vancouver, say emergency crews had been searching for the 57-year-old since the slide occurred on Saturday. They say she was found the following evening by firefighters and members of Canada Task Force 1, a specialized search and rescue team based in Vancouver. The Mounties say officers responded to the slide near Pinecone Burke Provincial Park midday on Saturday, and found one home had been “swept away.”