The woman who was the face of the Surrey RCMP detachment for several years is jumping into politics. Elenore Sturko has taken a leave from her post as a sergeant and media relations officer for the detachment and has accepted the Liberal party nomination to run in the Surrey South byelection, when it is called. Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon announced Sturko's candidacy today, saying she is an outstanding example of the diversity he is seeking for the party. Elections BC has said the N-D-P government has until the end of October to call the byelection.

A British Columbia Indigenous man and his granddaughter who were arrested as they tried to open an account at the Bank of Montreal have settled a human rights complaint.A statement says the settlement agreement includes a monetary payment from BMO to Maxwell Johnson and his granddaughter, a private apology, and a pledge from the bank to update its policies on how Indigenous status cards are handled.Johnson and his granddaughter, who are from the Heiltsuk First Nation, were trying to open an account when police were called over suspicion they were using a fake status card.A retired judge who le

Mounties say a piano teacher in Kelowna, B.C., has been charged with sexual crimes against a child and there could be more victims or people who can help their investigation. Police say in a news release that Neil Wong, also known as Nein-Nein Wong, offered private piano lessons in his home and online, but the total number of his students is not known. Cpl. Tim Russell of the RCMP's vulnerable persons unit says they are asking the families of students who have taken lessons from Wong to contact police. Police say the assaults are alleged to have taken place over an eight-month period while a

British Columbia's Opposition Liberal leader says he will target the New Democrat government's weak spots on the issues of crime, affordability and health care when he takes his seat in the legislature later this month. Kevin Falcon was elected Liberal leader earlier this year and won a byelection in the Vancouver-Quilchena riding over the weekend.Falcon says he'll pressure the NDP for answers on its failures to address crime in urban centres, doctor shortages, increasing health-care wait times and rising home, fuel and food costs.He says people in B.C. are feeling unsafe in communities due to

Over the past month, members of Prince George RCMP’s Street Crew Unit conducted an investigation into drug trafficking in Prince George. Police arrested two men in the course of the investigation, seizing over 70 grams of suspected fentanyl, cash and drug trafficking paraphernalia off one of the suspects. Both of the men are well known to police for their ties to the illicit drug trade in Prince George.Police executed two Controlled Drug and Substance Act warrants, one at a residence on the 2000 block of Pine Street, the other at an apartment building on the 1700 block of 17th Ave, where inv

Police in Saskatoon say five Surrey residents, all aged 19 or younger, are facing a total of 28 charges in that Saskatchewan city. Police say they were called yesterday to reports of vehicles racing and, when they arrived, a man told them he had been threatened by a suspect carrying a gun. The 5 BC residents were spotted near a BC registered minivan and a search of the vehicle turned up a knife, bear mace, an axe, BB gun, two baseball bats and bottles of alcohol. Two men aged 18 and 19, a girl aged 14 and a girl and boy both aged 15, are in custody and police say they are expected to appear i

Health Minister Adrian Dix says BC has almost wiped out the backlog of surgeries that developed during the pandemic and was made worse by last summer's heat wave and November's catastrophic floods. Dix says 400 nurses and 100 technicians have been trained through the province's surgical renewal program and efforts are underway to increase hiring. He made the announcement at a news conference this morning, saying most of the surgeries postponed during the fifth wave of COVID-19 have now been performed. Dix says 1,7000 operating room hours were added last year, allowing completion of more than5

Police say an off-duty corrections officer who was gunned down in a Walmart parking lot in Delta, B.C., was killed in a case of mistaken identity. The Delta Police Department says investigators believe Bikramdeep Randhawa was shot because his killers thought he was part of the Lower Mainland gang conflict. Police also say they are confident they have identified the suspects involved in the murder. Deputy Chief Harj Sidhu says it's a tragedy to see an innocent person caught up in such senseless violence. Police say they are publicly relaying to Randhawa's family and B.C. Corrections Services t

The latest report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver shows home sales in April calmed dramatically from the pace of last month and the records set last year. The Board says just over 3,200 homes were sold around Metro Vancouver in April, a drop of over 1,100 in just one month and a decline of more than 1,700 when compared with April of last year. Real estate board chair Daniel John says the cooler market gives would-be buyers more time to secure financing and arrange for inspections. But the board says while sales are down, so are new listings, meaning competition for available p