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

A former BC Liberal cabinet minister turfed from the party caucus last year for his climate change views says he's running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of British Columbia.John Rustad, who has been sitting as an Independent in B.C.'s legislature, says he wants to build a grassroots coalition of supporters under the Conservative banner to offer an alternative to the current New Democrat government and Opposition Liberals.A Conservative leadership vote is set for May 28, with former leader Trevor Bolin serving as interim leader until the vote.Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon said he d

A B.C. judge says former Vancouver mayor Kennedy Stewart can recover more than $100,000 in legal costs related to a failed defamation case launched by political rivals in the once-dominant Non-Partisan Association.B.C. Supreme Court Justice Wendy Baker says in her March 20 ruling that the defamation case against Stewart by current and former members of the NPA's board of directors was a "strategic lawsuit against public participation."They sued Stewart after he issued a press release in January 2021 denouncing "hate and extremism" in the NPA in response to media reports on the party's internal