The New York lawyer who says he is both the representative and a friend of the Surrey Sikh leader fatally shot earlier this week, says Hardeep Singh Nijjar knew people wanted him dead.Gurpatwant Singh Pannun says in an email that Nijjar had been warned by Canadian intelligence officials that 'mercenaries' had targeted him for assassination.Pannun says he was told by Nijjar that he, too, was on the hit list because both men were advocating for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan, within India's Punjab region.No arrests have been made since Nijjar was shot and killed on Sunday night as he left th

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the government has received the report it was waiting for from Surrey officials on the future of policing in the city.That's after Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke announced Friday that a majority on council had reviewed the report and voted to keep the R.C.M.P, reversing the transition to a municipal force that had been initiated by her predecessor.The B.C. government recommended in April that Surrey continue the transition to an independent force and Farnworth set out requirements for safe and effective policing, which the city would need to follow in orde

The president of a Sikh gurdwara who was accused of murder and terrorism in India has been shot dead outside his temple in Surrey, British Columbia.The general secretary of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Society said Hardeep Singh Nijjar was alone in his pickup truck when he was attacked Sunday night as he was leaving the gurdwara's parking lot.Surrey RCMP said in a news release that the shooting happened at about 8:30 p.m. and the victim died at the scene.They said they are searching for suspects and trying to confirm a motive for the homicide.India's National Investigation Agency last year iss

Brenda Locke, the mayor of Surrey, B.C., says the council has voted to revert its policing back to the RCMP, a move than will cost the city millions of dollars.In a news conference at Surrey City Hall on Friday morning, Mayor Brenda Locke announced the decision, saying both SPS and RCMP deserve certainty about their future in the City of Surrey. The B.C. government recommended in April that Surrey continue its transition to the independent Surrey Police Service, offering $150 million over five years to help the city cover costs, but saying it would not pay the estimated $72 million in severanc

Four people have been found dead in a home in British Columbia's northwest in what police are calling a homicide.Prince Rupert RCMP say officers responded to a call on Tuesday evening to the 100 block of Silversides Drive.Once there, police say they found four individuals dead in the home and began a homicide investigation.Police say they do not believe there are any outstanding suspects in the case at this time, and there should be no further risk to the public.Prince Rupert is located about 1,200 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

B.C. is expanding the program it uses to help patients kick their dependence on opioids.A statement from the Health Ministry says B.C. will now provide universal coverage for eligible drugs which include methadone that are rated as opioid agonist treatment medications.The statement says the expanded program differs from safer supply which provides alternatives to illicit drugs and will help the roughly 1600 B.C. patients who can't get PharmaCare coverage for the drugs needed to manage their opioid-use disorder.Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says removing cost barriers

A Vancouver family known for its philanthropy is making a $20 million donation to a British Columbia substance use treatment centre in memory of their adult son and brother who died of an opioid overdose.Jill Diamond, executive director of Vancouver's Diamond Foundation and sister to Steven Diamond, said in a statement that her brother might still be alive today if he had received the care being offered at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital."No matter where we turned, we never found the help that Steven needed," Diamond said in a news release."We’re speaking out today for the first time because

British Columbia will soon be the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement a licensing requirement for asbestos abatement contractors.The Labour Ministry says workers must be licensed by Jan. 1.This comes following changes to the Workers Compensation Act last year, requiring that contractors who remove the cancer-causing material use only trained and certified workers.The ministry says required training for worker certification is scheduled to begin this summer.It says WorkSafeBC will begin to accept applications from contractors performing asbestos abatement work by September.The ministry sa

Vancouver Coastal Health is joining other health authorities in the province in a move to a unified provincial text alert system warning of toxic drugs.Vancouver began its own system called Radar in 2017, while a toxic drug and health alert system developed by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has been adopted by all other health districts in the last year.Those who want to get the alerts need to text the word ``join'' to 253787, and Vancouver Coastal says in a statement that anyone who receives the Radar messages will be automatically added to the province wide alert for toxic drugs.Jennife