The union local for Metro Vancouver HandyDART workers says it will hold a rally in Vancouver today to mark the beginning of its strike after members voted down a final offer by employer Transdev Canada last week. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 says the rally will begin at noon across from Pacific Central Station in Vancouver. The union local says the majority of its members are "frustrated," and rejected the company's offer after dealing with staffing shortages and "poor compensation" compared to other transit employees. A statement from the union says the rally will feature speakers

The British Columbia Coroners Service says at least 192 people died in July in the province due to unregulated drug toxicity, down 15 per cent from the same month last year. The service says in a release that 1,365 people have died of drug toxicity this year up to the end of July, a rate of death that is also down. The annualized death rate is 41 per 100,000 residents, compared to 46.6 in 2023 and 43.9 in 2021. Chief coroner Dr. Jatinder Baidwan says the current rate equates to about 6.2 people dying every day in the province from the drug toxicity crisis. Coroners service data show the greate

A strike is set to halt HandyDART transit services in Metro Vancouver next week, after the workers' union issued a strike notice. The Amalgamated Transit Union and the company contracted to provide HandyDART in the region both say they are preparing for the workers to go on strike next Tuesday. Transdev Canada says it has received the intention to strike from the union and is "disappointed" staff this week rejected its "last offer," which was made after nine months at the bargaining table. Union local president Joe McCann says workers are preparing picket lines and a potential rally. The compa

An earthquake early detection system has been activated in British Columbia to provide the public and infrastructure managers with up to 10 seconds of warning ahead of a potentially harmful tremor. Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says when a strong earthquake is detected, alerts will be transmitted automatically to British Columbians via cellphones, radio and televisions. He says the system, jointly announced by the federal and B.C. government, will also allow critical infrastructure to take immediate action, such as halting traffic from driving onto bridges or

A former correctional officer is facing nine charges including obstruction of justice as part of a criminal organization and accepting a bribe, after a smuggling investigation in British Columbia. Mounties say the arrest is the result of a collaboration between Chilliwack RCMP and the Correctional Service of Canada following the discovery of evidence consistent with a correctional officer smuggling drugs, weapons, and cellphones to inmates within an institution in the Fraser Valley. Police say search warrants were executed almost a year ago at several locations in Chilliwack resulting in the s

The number of out-of-control wildfires continues to drop in British Columbia on the heels of a cold front bringing rain and fall-like temperatures to many areas. About 280 blazes remain active across the province with 15 per cent or just over 40 of those fires classified as burning out of control. That's down from more than 100 out-of-control fires last week. None of the current blazes are considered "wildfires of note," a designation issued when a fire is highly visible or poses a threat to people or infrastructure. B.C. government officials are set to provide an update on the wildfire and dr

A 29-year-old man has been arrested after what police say was a violent carjacking outside the Prince George Airport. Prince George RCMP say the elderly driver suffered serious injuries when the vehicle crashed and he was thrown from the scene. They say the incident happened just before 1 p.m. on Saturday when the suspect approached the parked car and pushed an elderly female passenger out of the vehicle. The suspect then tried unsuccessfully to shove the driver out of their open door before the vehicle accelerated away and crashed after a short distance. Police say after the driver was hurled

Workers at British Columbia's HandyDART transit service have rejected a final contract offer, and their union says it is now considering its next move. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 has said it would give a 72-hour strike notice if membership voted down the latest offer by Transdev, the contracted operator of HandyDART. A potential disruption of the door-to-door service was averted Monday, after workers suspended job action to vote on the contract offer. Local 1724 president Joe McCann called the suspension of job action "a gesture of goodwill" after what the union described as "months

Cellphone use will be restricted in all British Columbia school districts when pupils return next week, as the province becomes the latest to curtail the use of the devices in classrooms. Premier David Eby says all school districts now have policies in place to ban cellphone use "bell to bell," in line with a government directive announced in April. The province is also imposing "access zones" around schools allowing police to arrest or issue tickets to anyone found impeding access, disrupting educational activities, or attempting to intimidate an individual within 20 metres of school property