The living wage needed to make ends meet for the average worker in Metro Vancouver has reached $25.68 an hour, a six percent increase over last year.Living Wage refers to how much a person needs to earn to cover necessities such as food, rental housing, transportation, and childcare.The Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives and Living Wage for Families has calculated the hourly wage based on the income needed by two parents working full-time to support their family.Metro Vancouver households are spending $4,000 more for the same basket of goods this year than in 2022, the report says, while

A petition has been filed with Elections BC to remove BC Education Minister and Surrey Green Timbers MLA Rachna Singh.However, it could not be confirmed who filed it but Freedom Party leader Amrit Birring has raised his voice against Rachna Singh by posting several videos in this regard on social media.In a video posted on several social media websites with the username @recallrachna, Birring said that he wants Rachna Singh to be B.C. should be removed as Education Minister because he believes that sexual abuse of children under his care is on the rise in schools in the state.Birring said the

Officials in Surrey have made another large seizure of fireworks, a week after seizing 100-thousand-dollars' worth of the products leading up to Halloween.The City of Surrey says bylaw officers' investigations this week led to a seizure of $80,000 worth of fireworks from a property that appeared to be an abandoned house.Bylaw officers say they posed as customers to engage the sellers, and the owner of the latest seized fireworks may be the same person as the person who owned the fireworks seized last week.On October 30, the City of Surrey said it seized $100,000 worth of fireworks from a singl

British Columbia's human rights commissioner says the devastating events in and around the Gaza Strip are causing a surge of discrimination and violence targeting Jewish and Muslim people.Kasari Govender says in a statement that she is deeply concerned about the rising number of hate incidents and she's calling for immediate and sustained action to address and prevent further proliferation.Govender says Vancouver police alone have reported 18 hate incidents aimed at the Jewish community, while the National Council of Canadian Muslims has said the last few weeks have been the worst in decades f

A Crown attorney says a driver who was drunk when he killed two University of British Columbia students should serve three years in jail and be prohibited from driving from five years.A sentencing hearing in provincial court in Richmond, B.C., has heard that Tim Goerner an international student at the university drank alcohol at a party the night of Sept. 25, 2021.The court heard Goerner was driving on campus early the next morning between 100 and 120 kilometres an hour in a 40-kilometre speed zone.The two victims, Evan Smith and Emily Selwood, both 18, were on a sidewalk when they were hit fr

Vancouver police say high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley was likely worried about an upcoming court appearance and took "deliberate actions" to avoid it when he walked away from his Vancouver halfway house.Sgt. Steve Addison says at about 3 p.m. on Saturday Hopley told several people that he was going to a nearby thrift store, but removed his electronic monitoring bracelet a short time later and has not been seen since.Hopley has a history of convictions for assault, property and sexual crimes, including three sex offences against children.He was declared a long-term offender and handed a si

The NDP has decided to support a Conservative motion to include all forms of home heating in the federal carbon tax exemption.Peter Julian, NDP MP for New Westminster-Burnaby, gave this information.The motion will be voted on Monday, which will now put pressure on the Bloc Quebecois to either side with the Liberals to reject the motion or join the opposition party.A federal government source called the move by the NDP, which has been "tough talking" on climate action, a surprise.Meanwhile, NDP MP Peter Julian said he sees the Conservatives' motion for home heating as an equal benefit for all C

A death review panel from the British Columbia Coroners Service recommends community groups be allowed to hand out drugs without a prescription in an attempt to stop toxic drugs from killing more people.The panel’s report coincided with the monthly overdose death toll of 175 people in September, which the coroners service says is a 10 per cent drop from the same month a year ago, but still equal to 5.8 deaths a day across B.C.The report says an estimated 225,000 people in B.C. use unregulated substances but less than 5,000 people a month have prescriptions to receive safer supply drugs.Micha

The City of Surrey is looking for businesses that are willing to lease their industrial land and then use the land as a truck parking facility.At yesterday's Surrey City Council meeting, council voted on a request proposal for a potential parking operator.Mayor Brenda Locke said on this occasion that the problem of large truck parking in Surrey is almost a decade old.Due to lack of facilities for truck parking, they are parked on roads.Now the city staff has been urged to find such places which can be used for truck parking.The Mayor says that a large number of trucks are based in Surrey and t