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

Veteran British Columbia legislator Mike Bernier will run in the fall provincial election as an independent instead of joining several former BC United candidates in running under the B.C. Conservatives banner. Bernier says he did not want to "bend" his morals and values by running with the provincial Conservatives, describing some of the party's candidates as holding views that are "anti-women's rights, anti-climate change" and "anti-First Nations." The Peace River South MLA had said previously that he might run as a B.C. Conservative if asked, but says when announcing his decision to go inde

Vancouver police say extra officers are patrolling an area of downtown after two serious incidents this morning that may be linked. Police say in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the crime scenes are on Georgia Street near Homer and Hamilton streets, and investigators are unsure if they are related. The post says the incidents happened between 7:30 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. and no arrests have been made. A white evidence tent was covering a corner of the plaza in front of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre downtown, with the entire plaza cordoned off and several police vehi

B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad says British Columbia needs to have a "conversation" about nuclear power playing a role in the province's energy future, and review educational materials that he says are designed for "indoctrination" of children. Speaking on an episode of Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson's podcast released Monday, Rustad says he also wants to get rid of the carbon tax, which he says taxes people into poverty in "a vain attempt to change the weather." In the episode, which runs just over an hour and 45 minutes, Rustad and Peterson discussed a variety of topics includin

British Columbia is moving ahead with 13 new First Nations primary care centres in the province, with 10 scheduled to start operating this fall. The province's First Nations Health Authority and the Health Ministry say in a joint statement that there will be a total of 15 such clinics in B.C. once the 13 new locations are all opened. Health minister Adrian Dix says in a statement that the expanded slate of First Nations primary care clinics is another step in "dismantling and eradicating Indigenous-specific racism from B.C.’s health-care system." The clinics combine primary care and social s

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