A long-running and fractious dispute between the British Columbia government and the City of Surrey over its police department has ended with a cash agreement. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the deal sees the RCMP being replaced by the independent Surrey Police Service on Nov. 29 as part of a $250-million, 10-year agreement. Farnworth says the deal ensures safety for the residents of the Metro Vancouver city and comes with a guarantee that the local government will not levy a police tax to cover transition costs over the next decade. It ends a bitter two-year process of name-calling and

RCMP say a family of three, including a baby, has been killed in a head-on crash with a tractor trailer in Agassiz, B.C. Police say it happened early Tuesday morning on Lougheed Highway just outside the community. The two adults in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, and the infant was airlifted to hospital but died a few hours later. Police say alcohol or drugs are not suspected as a cause and they are working with a collision reconstruction team to determine what led to the crash. The driver in the semi was not injured. RCMP Sgt. Andy Lot, Agassiz's detachment commander, says in a

There has been a "major failure" in a well in Merritt, B.C., prompting the city to ask its residents to stop all non-essential water use. The city says in a statement that the failure is in the Voght well and affects the city's water distribution system. The statement says residents need to conserve water by all means possible so it can maintain its fire protection services. No lawn watering is permitted until a pump is repaired. It says the city's water remains potable and asks that residents be patient while repairs are underway. The failure comes as a heat warning remains up in the southern

More daily temperature records have fallen in British Columbia, with temperatures forecast to remain in the high 30s for the rest of the week in much of the southern Interior. A summary from Environment Canada shows 27 daily high temperature records fell across the province Monday, from Whistler, to Trail in the southeast, Smithers in the northwest, and Campbell River on Vancouver Island. The Lytton, B.C., area was a hot spot with a daily high of 42.4 C, breaking the old record of 39.4 set in 1952. In Pemberton, B.C., north of Whistler, the mercury hit 39.1 C, while in Osoyoos, B.C., the new r

Mounties in Squamish, B.C., say three bodies have been recovered from the area of Garibaldi Provincial Park where three mountaineers went missing last month. In a statement released by the RCMP, BJ Chute, manager of Squamish Search and Rescue, says the team worked with police to carry out the recovery operation in the Atwell Peak area Monday morning. RCMP did not release the names of those who died, saying their families have requested privacy. The three mountaineers were last seen on May 31 in terrain that local authorities had described as complex and remote. The early days of the search ope

An important salmon habitat will be protected after the multimillion-dollar purchase of an island in British Columbia's lower Fraser River by an environmental organization, with the help of the federal government and private donors. The Nature Conservancy of Canada announced the purchase of 248-hectare Carey Island near Chilliwack, in an important ecological area between Mission and Hope known to conservationists as "the Heart of the Fraser." The previous owners, Carey Island Farms Ltd., were using the island to grow corn. The conservancy says Carey Island is one of the Fraser's last salmon ha

A heat wave is settling over parts of British Columbia with Environment Canada warning of very high temperatures stretching into next week. The agency has expanded a series of heat warnings to include the Sunshine Coast and Howe Sound, where daytime highs are forecasted to reach 32 C. The hottest temperatures are expected to start hitting the province Sunday. Environment Canada had already issued heat warnings for eastern Vancouver Island, where daytime highs are expected to hit the low 30s. Another warning covers the Kitimat and Terrace regions, where highs near 30 C are expected Saturday unt

Three provincial New Democrat ministers have announced they won't seek re-election in British Columbia's fall vote. Harry Bains, Bruce Ralston and Rob Fleming were all first elected in 2005 and have served five terms in the legislature, but say they will not stand on Oct. 19. Bains, who represents the Surrey-Newton riding, says in a statement it was the honour of a lifetime to represent his constituents and serve as B.C.'s labour minister. Transport Minister Fleming says it's been a privilege to have served the constituents of Victoria-Swan Lake for "the better part of two decades." Ralston, w

A B.C. chicken named Lacey has earned a Guinness World Record for being able to correctly identify the most objects in one minute. Lacey's owner, veterinarian Emily Carrington, says the world record shows that chickens are intelligent, and Lacey now has bragging rights as one of the world's smartest hens. In a video of Lacey setting the record of six identifications, Carrington shows the hen a series of letters, numbers and coloured objects, before Lacey correctly pecks them out from among similar objects. Carrington, who lives with Lacey on Gabriola Island, says Guinness officials sent a lett