More public sector organizations in BC are now protected under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, better known as the Whistleblower act. A statement from the Ministry of the Attorney General says employees at B-C's tribunals and certain agencies, boards and commissions are now covered. It means workers can confidentially speak to designated officers or BC's ombudsperson and share details about a serious wrongdoing that affects the public interest, while being protected from reprisals, such as demotion or firing. Whistleblower laws currently only cover government ministry staff and independen

A Metro Vancouver-based Olympic swimmer is retiring again. Swimming Canada says Brent Hayden, the former 100-metre freestyle world champion and bronze medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, made the announcement this morning. Hayden came out of retirement in 2019 and rejoined the national team in time for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. At the age of 37 he was also the oldest swimmer in Canadian history, but he helped the team to 4th in the 4x100 metre freestyle and his leadoff leg of 47.99 seconds made him the oldest person to ever swim 100 metres under 48 seconds.

British Columbians are embracing zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) faster than any other jurisdiction in North America, with ZEVs representing 13% of all new light-duty vehicle sales in B.C. last year, according to the province’s 2021 Zero-Emission Vehicle Update. "With the highest reported uptake rate of ZEVs in North America, B.C. is quickly becoming a leader in the ZEV industry," said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. "The annual ZEV update shows that people and businesses in B.C. are eager to make the switch to cleaner energy, and we’re helping people make

B.C. is reporting 249 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 356,501 cases in the province.There are 281 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 42 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, two new deaths (Fraser Health) have been reported, for an overall total of 2,998.There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at Parkview Place and Monahsee Mews (Interior Health), for a total of nine facilities with ongoing outbreaks. From March 23-29, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 17.3% of cases and from March 16-29 they accounted for 21.9% of hospi

The unsolved murders of Lisa Gavin and Glenna "Dusty" Sowan have been added to the Vancouver Police Department’s cold case website, with hopes someone will come forward with information to solve the 34-year-old killings. "No homicide case is ever closed until it’s solved, and we know there’s someone out there with information that can help solve these two murders," says Sergeant Steve Addison. "Even the smallest bit of information could lead to a break in these cases and help us catch the killers."Gavin and Sowan were friends when they were killed just six weeks apart in 1988.Gavin was l

Charges of aggravated assault have been approved for two youths arrested by Metro Vancouver Transit Police in connection with an alleged assault involving a machete in Coquitlam. On March 10, 2022, just after 6 p.m., a man was chased into the Burquitlam SkyTrain Station by two suspects, one of whom was seen carrying a large machete. The man attempted to use a pylon to protect himself, while one of the suspects allegedly swung the machete in his direction several times. The machete eventually made contact with the side of the victim’s head.The suspects then ran out of the station while a witn

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the brakes on a CP Rail locomotive failed due to cold temperatures, leading to a 2019 train derailment that killed three workers. The train was parked on a grade near Field, BC, when it started rolling. Investigators found it gained speed before 99 grain cars and two locomotives plummeted off a bridge. An inbound train engineer had warned the trainmaster of brake system irregularities, but due to inexperience and a lack of training, he did not see that they were problematic. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its findings into

B.C. is reporting 291 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 356,252 cases in the province.There are 276 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 43 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, six new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,996.From March 22-28, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 17.7% of cases. From March 15-28, they accounted for 20.4% of hospitalizations.Past week cases (March 22-28) - Total 1,583Not vaccinated: 256 (16.2%)Partially vaccinated: 23 (1.5%)Fully vaccinated: 1,304 (82.3%)Past two weeks cases hospitalized (March 15-28) - Total 363Not vaccina

Nanaimo RCMP say they have made an arrest in the assault of a 19-year-old man last weekend but are continuing to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime. Police say they have received information that the victim was targeted early Sunday morning at a house party due to his sexual orientation. They say the victim was allegedly punched in the head, then thrown to the ground where he received several more punches before his friends intervened to stop the assault. The Mounties say a 19 year old man was arrested yesterday on one count of assault.