Canada's emergency preparedness minister says Ottawa is providing $870 million to support recovery efforts after destructive flooding in British Columbia last fall. Bill Blair says the money is the first payment as part of a commitment the federal government made in the immediate aftermath of the severe weather, with more to come.He says the money is being distributed through the disaster financial assistance program.British Columbia has asked for about $5 billion from the program, and provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says getting access to the money can take time, so this adva

Ripudaman Singh Malik's son says he doesn't believe his father's murder in Surrey yesterday has anything to do with the acquittal in the Air Indian bombing trial 17 years ago. Jaspreet Singh Malik says he is ``very much convinced'' his dad's murder and results of the trial are unrelated, and he trusts the RCMP to solve this crime. A BC Supreme Court found Malik and a co-accused not guilty in the two bombings of Air India jets in June 1985 that killed 331 people. Police say the people inside a Honda CRV who shot Malik had been waiting for two about half hours for him to show up in the parking l

A vacuum truck is in operation at the site of a search for a person under the rubble where a rooftop parking lot fell into an office building in east Vancouver. Assistant deputy fire chief Trevor Connelly says the situation is very unstable and crews are carefully combing through the piles of dirt, concrete and other debris to find the person. He says they believe the person is amid the rubble based on eyewitness reports and the location of their cellphone. The roof collapsed yesterday during construction on the parkade and eight people were pulled from the building last night, including two

A wildfire blazing just west of Lytton, B.C., has now scorched five square kilometres of trees and bush, more than doubling in size in less than 12 hours. BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Taylor Colman says the out-of-control fire is burning vigorously and is being fuelled by gusty winds just under two kilometres northwest of Lytton. Several evacuation orders and alerts have been issued by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the Lytton First Nation for properties on the west side of the Fraser River, across the water from Lytton. The regional district is still working to confirm reports

A VPD investigation has led to charges against a man. The man allegedly confined and sexually assaulted a stranger in her East Van home. Incident happened on Saturday night. Howard Lethbridge, 32, was arrested by VPD after the officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from a woman asking for help.

The head of the Council of the Federation gathering in Victoria says the federal government needs to stop splitting hairs and work with provinces and territories on health care. BC Premier John Horgan wants to sit down with the feds to work out how to restore Canada's ``crumbling'' system. Horgan says the provinces can sit down and solve the problems for Canadians, not for provinces and the federal government, but for the people. The premiers have called on the federal government to boost its share of health-care funding to 35 per cent from what they have said amounts to 22 per cent currently

A moment of silence was held in Kelowna at 10:45 this morning, marking the time that a crane collapsed one year ago, injuring one worker and killing four others, as well as a man working in a nearby building. The construction crane was being dismantled beside a nearly completed condo in Kelowna's downtown core when the swing arm buckled and fell, carrying the four workers to their deaths and crushing part of the building where the fifth victim was working. RCMP say its ``complex'' and ``technical'' investigation into possible criminality is continuing and WorkSafe BC is also probing the regul

Canada's premiers have repeated their demand that the federal government sit down with them and resolve health-care funding issues. BC Premier John Horgan, chair of the Council of the Federation, commented today at the start of the second day of talks between Canada's 13 premiers. He responded to federal concerns that the provinces could reduce their own health spending if Ottawa tops up its payments. The premiers want the federal government to boost its share of health funding to 35 per cent from the current 22 per cent. They want the prime minister to make good on what Horgan says is an eigh

Vancouver Police are investigating the city’s eighth homicide of 2022, after a man was stabbed in Yaletown Monday morning. A bystander called 9-1-1 around 8:30 a.m. to report a man had been stabbed near Smithe and Homer Street. When VPD officers arrived moments later, they discovered a 29-year-old victim suffering grave injuries. The man was taken to hospital, but he died a short time later. A 34-year-old woman was arrested nearby and is currently in custody.