Every community in British Columbia will be eligible for infrastructure grants coming from a one-time $1-billion government fund.Premier David Eby says the money has been set aside in the provincial budget surplus, which was estimated at $5.7 billion last fall.He says he expects the government's Growing Communities Fund grants to help local municipalities improve roads, build arenas and water facilities and improve recreation options for families.The premier says the grants are available to B.C.'s 188 municipalities and regional districts, and can be used to prepare for future growth and build

A First Nation on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island has declared a state of emergency over what its leadership describes as the "unrelating impact of drugs and alcohol" on its members, particularly children and youth.A statement from the Ehattesaht First Nation says six young people have died from drug overdoses in the small village over the past few months.It says the nation's chief and council are calling on officials from the British Columbia and federal governments to sit down with them to help find the resources necessary to create a "survival plan."The nation's council has been try

Former British Columbia premier John Horgan says he is leaving politics, and gave an emotional farewell speech in the legislature.While he didn't give a specific time for his departure, he suggested St. Patrick's Day on March 17 might be a good day to go.Horgan, who's 63, has twice battled cancer, and announced last June that health reasons were forcing him to retire from the premier's job after five years.He did tell members of the house that he was healthy, and thanked all those who supported him during his battle with throat cancer.In his 35-minute speech, he also thanked several members of

The British Columbia government has fined Teck Coal Limited more than $16 million for exceeding pollution thresholds as well as failing to build an active water treatment facility on time at one of its operations in southeastern B.C.The province's natural resources compliance and enforcement database shows three fines were issued at the end of January, including one penalty of nearly $15.5 million as a result of the company's failure to get its Fording River south water treatment facility operational by the December 2018 deadline in its permit.The decision document from the B.C. Environment Mi

A Toronto woman says she's devastated after seven members of her family were killed in the massive earthquake that hit parts of Syria and Turkey earlier this week.Aya Hammoud, who came to Canada as a refugee in 2017, says her grandfather, his wife, her four cousins and their mother died when the quake destroyed their apartment building in the Syrian city of Harem, near the country's border with Turkey.Hammoud, 24, says rescue teams have recovered the bodies of her grandfather and his wife, but the bodies of her cousins, who were all under the age of 13, and their mother remain under the rubble

British Columbia's minister of post-secondary education says she is undergoing chemotherapy after a scan revealed cancer had returned.Selina Robinson told the B.C. legislature that she got the news on Jan. 27.Robinson, who was replaced as the finance minister in December, says she is ``confident'' that she will be fine, but it was hard to tell her father and children that she has cancer again.Robinson has previously shared her 2006 diagnosis about a ``rare form of intestinal cancer'' in a post on social media.The member of the legislature for Coquitlam-Maillardville says she's undergoing a ``f

Donations are pouring into a Vancouver warehouse for those affected by Monday's devastating earthquake in Turkey, but a volunteer organizer says the country could most benefit from professional search and rescue teams."The next 72 hours is crucial," said Cansoy Gurocak, who was one of dozens of volunteers dealing with donations of food, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, diapers and other goods in a fundraising event that was quickly co-ordinated by the Canadian Turkish Educational and Cultural Foundation.Both Turkey and Syria were rocked Monday by the massive quake, setting off international aid

The British Columbia government has introduced legislation to make September 30 as a paid statutory holiday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.Labour Minister Harry Bains introduced a bill in the legislature today, saying the holiday will be observed this September and every September 30 afterwards.The decision comes after a call to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that asked the federal government to establish a day to honour residential school survivors, their families and communities.In case the legislation passes as expected, B.C. will join Prince Edwar

The Law Society of Alberta has voted in favour of keeping a requirement for its members to complete a course on Indigenous history and culture. Almost 3,500 lawyers voted on the motion, which would have struck down the society's right to require such courses. Last week, 51 lawyers signed a petition calling that right into question, with some of the signatories calling the required course political indoctrination. In the end, their petition was defeated by a roughly three-to-one margin. That means lawyers will continue to have to take the course as a condition of practising law in Alberta. Brit