British Columbia's representative for children and youth says the system of funding child welfare services for Indigenous kids is ``deeply flawed'' and there's an urgent need to overhaul practices to make data accessible and transparent. Jennifer Charlesworth says in a report released today that data from the Children's Ministry makes it impossible to compare allocation of funds for First Nations, Metis, Inuit and urban Indigenous youth with non-Indigenous service providers. Charlesworth says there's no way to know how much money is being spent on child welfare for Indigenous children in orde

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia says it has suspended a doctor from practising while it completes an investigation into allegations that he circumvented COVID-19 public health orders.The interim suspension order, effective March 24 but posted on the college's website on Monday, affects Dr. Stephen Malthouse, a family practitioner on Denman Island.The order says an inquiry panel hasn't decided on the merits of the allegations, but it has determined there would be "a real risk of harm to the public" if Malthouse continued to practise without restriction.It says Malthou

Surrey R-C-M-P are investigating more gunfire reports in the city, following a series of targeted shootings over the past week.Police say they received reports of shots fired in Whalley yesterday and found evidence of a shooting, including bullet casings in the street, but no victims or suspects were found.The Mounties say Monday's gunfire was the fourth reported shooting in the past six days, with the other three believed to have been targeted attacks.They are investigating possible ties between the series of shootings and the local drug trade, as well as the wider Lower Mainland gang conflic

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 556 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 355,648 cases:March 25-26: 207 new casesMarch 26-27: 197 new casesMarch 27-28: 152 new casesThere are 288 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 48 are in intensive care.In the past 72 hours, six new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,989.There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreak at Hillside Village (Interior Health) has been declared over, for a total of six facilities with ongoing outbreaks. From March 18-24, people not fully vacc

Amendments to the Property Law Act introduced on Monday, March 28, 2022, will enable the creation of a new Homebuyer Protection Period to protect people buying a home in a challenging real estate market. The Homebuyer Protection Period, sometimes called a "right of recission," responds to concerns that in the highly competitive housing market, buyers are reporting pressure to submit offers without basic conditions intended to protect their interests.The amendments would enable the creation of a period to give people buying a home more time to consider their offers, ensure financing and obtain

Vancouver Police have arrested a suspect in the killing of Justis Daniel, the beloved caretaker of Tatlow Park who was found murdered in his west-side home last December."VPD homicide investigators have worked meticulously for more than three months to gather and analyze evidence obtained from the crime scene and beyond," says Inspector Dale Weidman, officer in charge of VPD’s Major Crime Section. "After a painstaking review of all evidence, investigators identified a 51-year-old suspect. He was arrested without incident Saturday afternoon and has since been charged with murder."Daniel, 77,

A Fraser Valley resident is among the Metis and Inuit Canadians who met with Pope Francis at the Vatican today. Pixie Wells, from the Abbotsford area, says it was a proud moment to be a two-spirit person in the room with the pope. Wells says First Nations are bringing back the cultural importance of two-spirit individuals as leaders and healers, an importance that was lost during colonization and more than a century of forced residential schools. During today's meetings, the pope did not offer an apology for the Catholic Church's role in residential schools but more meetings are slated with t

Vancouver police say they tracked and arrested a suspect within 40 minutes of a violent assault in downtown Vancouver. A statement from police says yesterday's assault, the latest stranger attack in the city, briefly knocked out the 18-year-old victim as she walked through the downtown core around noon. Passers-by, including a doctor, helped the injured exchange student who was taken to hospital as a precaution, while officers canvassed businesses for video that could identify the suspect. Using those details, police say a 26-year-old Coquitlam man wanted on a Mental Health Act warrant was sp

RCMP say they are investigating a fire at a Walmart store in Surrey this week as a case of arson. Police tell CTV that they received a report on Wednesday night that a man in the store lit something on fire before running away. Walmart Canada says the upper floor of the store has been closed for cleanup and repairs and many items will likely need to be destroyed. It says no customers or staff were hurt but setting a fire while the store was open with people inside is ``shocking, dangerous and shameful.''