Councillors in Surrey, B.C., plan to use newly allotted provincial funding to reduce the city's proposed 17.5 percent property tax increase slated for the 2023 civic budget. During a finance committee meeting on Monday, councillors voted to send the budget back to staff so an $89.9 million allotment from the province's Growing Communities Fund could be applied to the bottom line.A statement from the city says council has asked staff to use the money to cut the overall proposed property tax increase from 17.5 percent to no more than 12.5 per cent.The revised budget is expected to be ready for r

The failure of a massive, multi-year money laundering investigation to yield charges is a "shocking" example of the shortfalls of federal financial crime law, British Columbia Premier David Eby said Thursday. Eby called for tougher laws a day after B.C.'s prosecution service announced no charges will be laid in the E-Nationalize investigation into millions of dollars that moved through B.C. casinos and Chinese bank accounts. "Obviously, there's a serious problem with federal criminal law that allows this conduct to continue in our province," he said.Special prosecutor Chris Considine issued wh

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is "as surprised as" British Columbia Premier David Eby after a firm received Health Canada licence amendments to produce and sell cocaine. Trudeau says the federal government is talking to Adastra Labs of Langley, B.C., about changing the language of its statements, after the company said it is looking for ways to incorporate cocaine into its business plan. This comes as a second B.C. company says it is now licensed to produce, sell and distribute cocaine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy, although Health Canada says they cannot sell products to the general

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says February's home sales were up 76.9 per cent from January, but down 47.2 per cent from the year before. The board says sales for the month totaled 1,808, roughly 33 per cent below the 10-year February sales average. The board says the numbers reflect a continued reluctance from prospective home sellers to list their properties, pushing sales well below historical norms. However, the number of homes for sale in the region have continued inching upwards, moving up by 16.7 per cent from February 2022 and 5.2 per cent from January. Ther

RCMP confirm at least one person has been killed in an avalanche in southeastern British Columbia, about 150 kilometres southwest of Banff, Alta.Cpl. James Grandy says several other people among a group of heli-skiers were hurt when the avalanche hit near the B.C. community of Invermere.A statement from the B.C. Emergency Health Service says it was informed about the avalanche just before noon on Wednesday.The service sent four ambulances to Invermere to meet incoming helicopters and four patients were taken to hospital, but their conditions were not released.Grandy says he can't confirm how m

The provincial government is providing $150 million to upgrade B.C's 911 emergency communications system. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, says the money will be used to help local governments shift to Next Generation 911. $90 million will fund technological upgrades at E-Comm, which handles almost all of B.C's 911 calls and the rest of the money will go to the Union of B.C. Municipalities to cover staffing, training and quality assurance costs. Next Generation 911 is a countrywide emergency communications network that accepts all types of data, including real t

Property taxes in Vancouver will jump by nearly 11 per cent this year after city councillors approved a $1.97 billion operating budget for 2023.Council voted Tuesday to pass the budget which contains a property tax increase of 10.7 per cent, one per cent higher than the hike proposed last month and more than double the five per cent amount put forward by staff last November. A statement from the city says that it means average increases of $549 for business properties, $326 for single-family homes and $125 for condominiums, although the assessed value of each property will determine the specif

B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy while presenting the budget today said that her budget was addressing affordability issues and now was the time to bring in more relief for renters.The highlights of the 2023 British Columbia budget presented on Tuesday include:$6.4 billion in new health spending, including $2.6 billion for health services such as cancer care, $1.1 billion to attract and retain family doctors, and more than $1 billion for mental health and addictions services. There’s also $875 million in 2023-2024 for COVID-19 measures.$4.2 billion in new housing funding, including $1.7

Traffic is back to normal through central Kelowna, B.C., after RCMP detonated an explosive device found near a busy route in the Okanagan city.A stretch of Highway 97N, also known as Harvey Avenue, was closed in both directions for more than seven hours on Monday.Police say a suspicious package was spotted at around noon and the highway, which runs past restaurants, businesses and busy malls, was closed as a precaution.A bomb disposal unit was sent from Vancouver to assist.It arrived shortly before 6 p.m. and detonated the device about an hour later.RCMP say more information is expected later