More than 200,000 people turned out to vote in two unofficial referendums at the centre of Canada's ongoing tensions with India, officials said Sunday, after the latest one in the MetroVancouver municipality of Surrey wrapped up in the evening.A second referendum on Khalistan, an independent state in India proposed by some Sikhs was held today at the same Surrey gurdwara where activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in June.Sarbraj Kahlon, news director at Radio Punjab who was at the referendum site, called the latest vote a success after 65,700 people turned out in Surrey Sunday to cast b

BC Hydro is warning customers to be prepared for significant power outages after the province endured one of its driest summers on record this year. Hydro spokeswoman Susie Rieder says trees weakened by drought can be more susceptible to winds and as storm season ramps up, a substantial number of dead and damaged trees are expected to fall, leading to power outages.The Crown corporation says its crews replaced more than 1400 power poles for 20,000 customers affected by wildfires since May, but the ongoing drought means there are still risks of outages this fall.Reider says residents should hav

A police crackdown on violent and chronic shoplifters in Vancouver has ended in 258 arrests and the recovery of almost $57,000 in stolen goods.Vancouver police say the arrests were made during a two-week operation in September, which was co-ordinated with other Lower Mainland police departments, resulting in another 82 arrests in Delta, Langley, Richmond and Burnaby.Staff Sgt. Mario Mastropieri says Vancouver isn't alone in dealing with rampant theft, and other North American cities have seen some major retailers shut down because of violent shoplifting.He says police are determined not to let

Organizers of an upcoming vote on an independent Sikh state say Canada's allegations of an Indian link to the killing of an activist in Surrey have significantly bolstered support for their cause.A lawyer for Sikhs For Justice says many supporters of an independent Sikh state in India had been reluctant to voice their opinions over fear of being labelled terrorists.But Gurpatwant Singh Pannun says discussions about India's possible role in the killing are allowing supporters to discuss the issue without fear.Sikhs For Justice will hold a second round of voting for its unofficial referendum ab

A man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail with another 18 months of conditional supervisionafter pleading guilty to manslaughter in the high-profile overdose death of a 14-year-old boy in Metro Vancouver.Justice Kathleen Ker says Carson Crimeni died of acute intoxication from an "exceedingly high" dosage of the drug MDMA sold to him by the man, who cannot be named because he was a youth at the time of the crime on Aug. 7, 2019.Before delivering the sentence in British Columbia Supreme Court, Ker told the gallery that other young people saw Carson in "obvious distress" that day in a park in

Vancouver police have executed search warrants at the offices of the Drug User Liberation Front, an activist group that says it runs a 'compassion club' for distributing drugs.Police arrested two people and say the group has publicly admitted to trafficking heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines. Vancouver Coastal Health's website says the Drug User Liberation Front Society received $200,000 of public funding in 2021-2022.The group says its ``fulfilment centre'' allows drug users to receive up to 14 grams of cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine per week, with the substances tested for safety bef

The BC government says it's changing legislation to increase access to services for victims of crime.The province says the Crime Victims Assistance Act is currently too restrictive, leaving victims, family members and witnesses without adequate support.The provincial government says it's proposing amendments to allow family members such as grandparents and grandchildren to access benefits, eliminating the need to be financially dependent on a victim for eligibility under the law.It says the province also plans to provide funding for sexual assault support service centres in Vancouver, Victoria

The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to Mukhtiar Singh Panghali.In fact, in 2006, Panghali strangled his pregnant wife and burnt her body.Mukhtiar was sentenced to life in prison in 2011, with the possibility of non-parole for up to 15 years, for murdering his wife Manjit Panghali at their home in Surrey.In October 2006, Manjit was four months pregnant.Mukhtiar himself had reported her missing.Five days later, police found Manjit's decomposed body on a beach in B.C.'s Delta region, after which Mukhtiar was first arrested for the crime in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison in 20

Wind and rainfall warnings cover much of the British Columbia coast as a wave of stormy weather washes over western parts of the province this week.Environment Canada says winds gusting up to 110 kilometres per hour are expected over Haida Gwaii, the central coast and northern Vancouver Island.Heavy rain is also forecast for Kitimat on the north coast, as well as most of Vancouver Island and the Howe Sound region, north of Vancouver.Rainfall accumulations of 70 millimetres in Kitimat to more than 200 millimetres on western Vancouver Island are likely before the storm eases early Thursday and t