The political agenda for British Columbia Premier David Eby's NDP government heading into an election this fall will take shape today with the delivery of a throne speech starting the spring legislative session. The speech outlining the government's goals this year comes just ahead of the provincial budget on Thursday and the election this fall. Recent forecasts from the Ministry of Finance and private financial experts suggest the province will experience slow economic growth this year. Eby has said he expects the government to table about 20 pieces of new legislation and a budget that look

Fire officials in Chilliwack, B.C., say an early morning blaze at an apartment complex has displaced six families. The Chilliwack Fire Department says the blaze was reported around 5:30 Monday morning, and more than three dozen firefighters responded to the apartment complex on Edward Street. The department says in a news release the ``heavy fire'' had destroyed three vehicles by the time firefighters arrived, spewing smoke and flames through the building. It says the building has six semi-detached units and all residents got out safely before crews extinguished the flames. The departmen

B2Gold Corp. says three employees have died after an attack on a bus transporting workers in Mali. The company says the bus, which was travelling under Malian gendarme escort, was going from its Fekola mine to Bamako, the capital of Mali. It says initial reports indicate several other employees travelling on the bus were also wounded. B2Gold says the attack occurred over 300 kilometers northeast of the Fekola mine, along a route that has been the focus of an increased security presence by the Malian armed forces. The company says it has been engaged with the Malian government on further improv

British Columbia's Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon is pitching a housing plan that aims to get more first-time buyers into homes, and it comes just days after Premier David Eby promised to build more affordable rental units for the middle class. Falcon says the BC United's "Fix Housing" plan includes four initiatives to reduce the high cost of housing and increase supply, which he pledges to introduce if his party takes power in this fall's election. He says he'll drop the province's property transfer tax for first-time homebuyers who purchase for less than $1 million, eliminate the provincial

BC is launching a public housing program that aims to fast-track rental property developments on under-utilized lands throughout the province. The province says the 2.95 billion dollar BC Builds program will provide low-cost financing to build affordable rental units for middle-income earners on government, community and non-profit owned lands. It says it has already identified 20 sites with the potential to build up to four thousand rental units. Premier David Eby says they are aiming for a concept-to-construction timeline of 12 to 18 months to build the housing, compared with the current thr

Mounties in British Columbia's Comox Valley say they have found the vehicle that was involved in a fatal hit and run earlier this week. They say officers responded to a report of an injured cyclist around 11 p.m. Thursday on the Comox Valley Parkway near Minto Road in Courtenay. Police say paramedics and firefighters also attended the scene and provided emergency first aid to the man, but he later died of his injuries in hospital. The RCMP says the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit has taken over the investigation and found the vehicle. Police did not disclose whether a person had b

British Columbia's premier says Selina Robinson, who resigned as post-secondary education minister recently over Mideast comments, has received a death threat. David Eby called the action inexcusable in a statement posted on the social media platform X. He says police are investigating to find out who is responsible and that Robinson is safe. Robinson stepped down from the cabinet post on Monday after facing growing criticism over her comments during an online panel that modern Israel was founded on a "crappy piece of land," which critics called racist and Islamophobic. Eby had said previously

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says repeat car thieves should not be allowed to serve their sentence "in their living room watching Netflix." Poilievre released a new policy today that insists the current Liberal government goes too easy on people who steal cars. He says a Conservative government would make sure auto thieves spend at least three years in prison if they are convicted for a third time, and ban house arrest for those convicted of an indictable offence. Indictable offences are the ones prosecutors consider to be more serious crimes. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says auto t

Surrey Police Service is deploying 11 more police officers for frontline policing for the safety of city residents.With this, the total number of Surrey Police Service officers in the city has increased to 200.Among the newly deployed officers are four sergeants and seven constables, who have good experience in frontline policing.This is the first batch of officers deployed by the Surrey Police Service in 2024 and will continue to be deployed this year for policing change.Surrey Police Service also hopes to be approved soon to deploy its own staff sergeants and inspectors to support frontline