The B.C. government is taking aim at organized crime through its members unexplained wealth, such as luxury homes or vehicles.Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced the government is changing the Civil Forfeiture Act to include unexplained wealth orders, requiring people to tell a court how they got the assets if there is suspicion of crime.It means the Civil Forfeiture Office would be able to ask a B.C. Supreme Court for an order against people or companies to explain where they got their wealth and if a three-part test is satisfied, that property can be seized.The changes are based

The Archdiocese of Vancouver and a private Catholic school have denied wrongdoing over claims of sexual abuse from former students and have filed their own lawsuits against the alleged abusers.The archdiocese and St. Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby filed separate lawsuits last week against the men who belonged to a Catholic order and transferred to B.C. from Mount Cashel, the Newfoundland orphanage notorious for the sexual abuse that took place there.The claims come soon after a court certified a class-action lawsuit by students, naming the archdiocese, St. Thomas More Collegiate and others

The important role pets play in families who are separating is being addressed in proposed amendments to British Columbia's Family Law Act.Attorney General Niki Sharma says amendments she introduced in B.C.'s legislature will clarify the law around pets, property and pensions for couples and families going through a separation or divorce.She says the amendments, if passed, will provide more guidance for people and judges involved in a legal dispute.The changes would require the consideration of factors that include each person's ability and willingness to care for a pet, the relationship a chi

British Columbia's health minister plans to announce how the government will ensure patients in the province will have secure access to the diabetes and weight loss drug Ozempic.Adrian Dix said in January that the government would be investigating why almost 10 per cent of prescriptions for the drug in B.C. were filled for American citizens.Dix said at the time that the dramatic increase in demand for the diabetes drug was partly because of social media "influencers" who spoke about its weight loss benefits.Dix announced in January that PharmaCare coverage of Ozempic would be widened to more p

A 32-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder following a fatal stabbing outside a Vancouver Starbucks.Police say the stabbing happened Sunday after a brief altercation between two men outside the coffee shop in the city's downtown core.Investigators say they don't believe the victim and suspect knew each other but the details of what led up to the stabbing are still under investigation.Police say in a statement that a constable patrolling in the area was flagged down moments after the stabbing and arrested the suspect at the scene.Other officers attempted to help the victim, wh

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ordered that a taxi driver be paid more than $9,000 in compensation because his caste was insulted during a physical altercation at a staff Christmas party.The tribunal's March 15 decision says Manoj Bhangu, an immigrant from Punjab in India, was discriminated against by two co-workers on the basis of his ancestry, place of origin, and race.Tribunal adjudicator Sonya Pighin says brothers Inderjit and Avninder Dhillon used a caste-based slur against Bhangu during the brawl at the B.C. firm's 2018 party, and ordered that they pay him $9,755 in compe

Mounties in British Columbia are asking for the public's help after a shooting left two people injured in Chilliwack.They say police responded to multiple reports of a disturbance followed by gun shots at the entrance to the city's Rotary Trail park on Saturday night.The RCMP say that police arrived and found two victims with multiple gun shot wounds.They say officers immediately provided first aid until Emergency Health Services arrived and transported the victims to hospital.Though the investigation is in its early stages, police believe the incident was targeted and may be linked to the ong

People living with complex mental-health and addictions challenges in New Westminster and the Tri-Cities area will have access to more supports to help them stabilize their lives and break the cycle of homelessness as the Province adds complex-care housing services for the region.Complex-care housing provides voluntary services to people who face overlapping mental-health and addiction challenges and other complex health issues, such as brain injuries.Outreach teams will connect with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and support their transition into housing, where they will recei

Pollution from Teck's mining operations in southeastern B.C. is expected to be on the table as U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today in Ottawa.Biden is expected to add his clout to calls from Indigenous leaders, experts and activists on both sides of the border for a bilateral investigation into toxic run-off threatening the Kootenay River basin.A long-standing treaty governing the management of cross-border waterways requires both Canada and the U.S. to agree to send the problem to a commission capable of addressing it but so far Canada has avoided signing of