The newly created B.C. Ministry of Housing says it is taking steps to speed up and strengthen the process that handles disputes between landlords and tenants. A statement from the ministry, which was boosted to full ministerial status when Premier David Eby announced his new cabinet earlier this month, says renters and landlords will benefit from the more timely and efficient services. The B.C. government will increase the operating budget for the Residential Tenancy Branch, which has seen long wait times for dispute resolutions as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, coupled with more people movin

Coquitlam RCMP is appealing for public assistance following an altercation that left a man with serious non-life-threatening injuries.Coquitlam RCMP Front-line officers received a report of an altercation that occurred at the basketball court of Citadel Middle School located at 1265 Citadel Drive in Port Coquitlam shortly before 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 17, 2022. The victim had been involved in an altercation with a group of young men before the assault.The victim was transported to hospital to be treated for his injuries.One of the suspects can be described as:Caucasian maleBetween 16

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has charged three men with the murders of Arnold and Joanne De Jong, from May 2022 in Abbotsford. Background: On May 9, 2022, at around 10:26 a.m., Abbotsford Police Department (AbbyPD) responded to a residence in the 33600-block of Arcadian Way at which time two adults were found deceased. AbbyPD patrol members confirmed the deaths as being suspicious and IHIT was called in to investigate. The victims were identified as 77-year-old Arnold De Jong and his wife, 76-year-old Joanne De Jong, of Abbotsford. IHIT continue to work closely in partners

The BC RCMP has notified the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia of an incident in Burnaby where one man has died.On December 16, 2022, at approximately 5:57 a.m., Burnaby RCMP responded to a call from Emergency Health Services regarding an overdosing man who had reportedly been in a physical altercation with an employee at a local business.When the man was being apprehended he began to show signs of medical distress. Emergency Health Services and Advance Life Support attempted to revive the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene.IIO BC is investigating to determine whet

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is committed to keeping Canadian communities safe from illicit drugs. Today, the CBSA announced the significant seizure of nearly 2,500 kilograms of opium in Vancouver, British Columbia – the largest opium seizure to date for the CBSA.In September 2022, the CBSA Intelligence Sections and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Federal Serious and Organized Crime (FSOC) unit initiated an investigation into a potential significant importation of controlled substances concealed inside marine containers. On October 25, 2022, the CBSA’s Metro Vancouver

As the weather around British Columbia gets colder, WorkSafe BC is reminding employers about their responsibility to protect workers from weather-related hazards. That includes extreme temperatures, wet and slippery walkways, and poor road conditions. The organization says working in cold-weather conditions can lead to serious injuries if employees are unprepared. WorkSafe says sees an approximate 11 per cent increase in injuries caused by slips and falls between November and March, many of them resulting in serious injuries including fractures, sprains, and dislocations.

City councillors in New Westminster and Surrey are calling for a Metro Vancouver ``snow summit,'' with the threat of another storm on the way. Daniel Fontaine of New Westminster and Linda Annis in Surrey want representatives from the province, Metro Vancouver, first responders, road maintenance contractors, and municipalities to meet and find ways to avoid the chaos caused by a snowstorm last month. The November storm led to crashes that blocked off major roads, took out power for nearly 10,000 BC Hydro customers and led to a plane skidding off a taxiway at the Vancouver International Airport

More than 77,500 people were vaccinated against influenza from Dec. 5 to Dec. 11, 2022, including 42,582 people who were vaccinated during the weekend’s influenza-vaccine walk-in clinic blitz. This was part of government’s efforts to support people and families with children to get vaccinated before the holidays. This effort resulted in approximately 1.6 million individuals, or 30% of the general population aged six months and older, having now received the influenza vaccine in B.C. From Dec. 5 to Dec. 11, 2022, more than 77,532 influenza vaccinations were administered to more than:9,016 c

Premier David Eby says the provincial auto insurer is applying for a two-year rate freeze on basic auto insurance to help alleviate some of the high cost-of-living pressures on British Columbians. He says if the application by the Insurance Corporation of B.C. is approved by the provincial utilities commission, it will mark five years with no increases for the basic rates.The announcement comes as ICBC reported $117 million in net income for the first half of the 2022-23 fiscal year, alongside lower investment income and a significant decline in value for the insurer's equity investments by th