Police say two people are dead after an amateur-built plane crashed north of the Merritt, B.C. airport, about 270 kilometres northeast of Vancouver. Merritt RCMP say emergency personnel responded to a report of the crash on Sunday evening and found the pilot and passenger had died. The Mounties describe the two-seat aircraft as being "homebuilt" and "amphibious." The say the plane was two kilometres from the airport when it went down east of Highway 5A. The Transportation Safety Board said it would deploy a team of investigators to look into the crash. The board says the plane was a Coot A amp

A small town in the B.C. interior has been evacuated due to wildfires raging nearby. The Regional District of Central Kootenay issued a statement Saturday night issued an evacuation order for the village of Slocan. The evacuation order also applies to over 400 properties in the areas around the village, a community about 370 kilometres east of Kelowna. Several fires are burning out of control in the area, including the Komonko Creek and Aylwin Creek wildfire. Both blazes total over 29 square kilometres. There are 372 wildfires burning in British Columbia as of Sunday morning, 177 of which the

British Columbia's top doctor says she is ending the public health emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says any remaining restrictions, including the vaccination requirement for health-care workers, are being rescinded. Henry says after reviewing all the data she is confident the province has reached the point where there is no longer a need for the public health emergency and all requirements that remain can be lifted. She says wastewater indicators and testing data show COVID-19 has levelled off and the number of p

A team has been selected to design a new eight-lane tunnel to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel under the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver, with British Columbia's transportation minister calling it a "huge step" for the project. Rob Fleming says the selection of the preferred proponent for the tunnel project, Cross Fraser Partnership, means design plans can now be finalized. A statement from Fleming's ministry says the proponent will build on extensive design work the province has already completed, working toward a final design and construction agreement that considers the risks and cost

The numbers seem ever increasing for British Columbia wildfire statistics, including more than 400 fires, tens of thousands of lightning strikes and at least six homes lost. The homes were in the Venables Valley, and Colton Davies with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District says they were among 20 buildings destroyed by the Shetland Creek wildfire. The BC Wildfire Service says recent thunderstorms brought 58,000 lightning strikes, and they expect to see new fire starts from those over the next few days. More than 80 per cent of current wildfires were started by lightning and about two-thirds of

Police in Vancouver say they have identified the two women whose bodies were found on the shores of English Bay on Sunday and Monday. Sgt. Steve Addison says police now know the women's names and their families have been informed of their deaths. He says in a statement that police are still investigating both cases, but they are confident the deaths are not connected. They say the cause of death of the woman found on Sunset Beach on Sunday is not yet known and police are not releasing her name at this time. Police say criminality is not suspected in the death of the second woman found near Kit

Ottawa is providing $426 million to support heath care in British Columbia. A statement from Health Canada says $232 million will flow through an "aging with dignity agreement" to help pay the salaries of nearly 13,000 health-care assistants in public long-term care and assisted living facilities over the next five years. That agreement was first struck in February and Health Canada says the funding will be extended through to 2029. The remaining $194 million is being provided through an agreement to help B.C. expand access to drugs used to treat rare diseases. The funding is part of close to

Police in Vancouver say they are investigating the discovery of the bodies of two women found near beaches along the city's English Bay within two days. A statement from Sergeant Steve Addison says the first body was spotted by a passerby at Sunset Beach on Sunday. The department issued a statement saying officers had also responded to a report of a second body being found on the opposite shore of English Bay, near the Kitsilano Yacht Club, on Monday afternoon. Police say neither cause of death has been determined, and investigators are working to figure out whether a crime occurred and if the

Officials with the K'omoks First Nation and the B.C. and federal governments have signed a draft treaty in a step toward the nation's self-governance. K'omoks Chief Ken Price says it was an "exciting, memorable, and emotional day" for the community on Vancouver Island as it marked another step toward a treaty. Price says in a statement that many K'omoks leaders have been part of negotiations over the last 30 years aiming to "build the best treaty possible." He says treaties are "the highest form of reconciliation between nations." The draft treaty must still be ratified by a vote among K'omoks