The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province. Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, says it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a "better and second chance at life in the wild." B.C. government figures say conservation officers destroyed 603 black and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year. Scapillati says the group will publish a

The BC Wildfire Service says rain, light winds and cooler temperatures are expected to decrease fire behaviour in the province this week, just as a newly discovered blaze in the East Kootenays prompts an evacuation order and alerts for more than 50 properties. The service says in its situational report Tuesday that a cold front is sweeping across the Kamloops and Southeast Fire Centres, bringing shifting winds and potential thunder storms as temperatures drop. It says rain is also forecast in the Peace region. The update comes as crews battle a fire discovered on Monday in the Southeast Fire C

British Columbia's Public Safety Ministry says it has filed an unexplained wealth order application in court following a 2023 shooting at a Vancouver home. As part of a criminal investigation, the ministry says a suspect's home was searched and police discovered an illegal cannabis-growing operation, ammunition and more than $1.4 million in cash. The ministry says two other properties owned by the suspect and his partner were also searched and police uncovered another illegal cannabis operation, an air rifle and more than $21,000 in cash. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says in a news release

Wildfire smoke has prompted Environment Canada to issue an air-quality advisory for several regions in central and northeastern British Columbia.The weather office says pollution levels are either expected or occurring in the region, and are likely to persist for the next 24 to 48 hours. The advisory comes after the BC Wildfire Service says the fire situation is still active as above seasonal temperatures persist in the province.The service says in its situational report posted Monday that much of B.C. remains "unseasonably dry" due to the ongoing drought, leaving fuels susceptible to ignitio

A 24-year-old woman faces a charge for what RCMP in Kelowna, B.C., say was a home invasion where another woman was repeatedly stabbed. Officers responded to the call on Saturday and found a 28-year-old woman with life-threatening injuries after she had been stabbed several times. RCMP say the unknown suspect left the scene after "being confronted" by others in the home, but officers found a woman who matched her description later the same day. She has been charged with aggravated assault. The woman remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Police say the victim was is

Most services for Metro Vancouver's specialized HandyDART transit system remain cancelled for a second week, with the operator saying it will respond to a new proposal from the union representing striking workers on Thursday. TransDev Canada says that's when talks were "previously scheduled" to resume, and no agreements were reached in Sunday's initial mediated talks. Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says it's disappointed as it was willing to negotiate around the clock for its riders, accusing Transdev of lacking the same urgency. About 600 employees of the d

About 800 litres of light hydraulic oil have spilled into the sea from a BC Ferries vessel after one of its propellers fell off this week. BC Ferries says the type of oil leaked "disperses quickly in the marine environment" and no oil sheens have been detected as a result of the spill from the 60-year-old Queen of New Westminster. The company says it is working with the Canadian Coast Guard to take "all appropriate measures" to mitigate possible impact to the environment. BC Ferries says in a statement that the Queen of New Westminster was taken out of service from its route between Metro Vanc

B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau has announced an election policy to make all public transit in the province free. She says the policy, released ahead of the fall provincial vote, would relieve financial strain on families, create more livable communities and reduce carbon emissions. The proposal also calls for hourly services on key regional routes, a doubling of city buses within four years and a tripling within eight years. The party, which currently has two MLAs in the 87-seat legislature, says $720 million in funding for Translink and BC Transit would come from "reprioritizing exis

Greater Vancouver Realtors says home sales in the region dropped 17.1 per cent in August from a year earlier and were more than a quarter below the 10-year seasonal average. The real estate body says sales in the market totalled 1,904 last month, down from the 2,296 recorded in August 2023. The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver was $1,195,900, a 0.9 per cent decrease over August 2023 and a 0.2 per cent decrease compared with July. There were 4,109 newly listed detached, attached and apartment properties in August, which was 4.2 per cent more than the s