Mounties in Maple Ridge found a unique use for their handcuffs this week as they worked with conservation officers to save a curious but unwelcome cougar. The big cat had wandered into a busy neighbourhood of the Metro Vancouver city on a sunny Sunday and there were concerns it might have to be shot because so many people were nearby. Instead, police shooed residents into their homes and secured the area while conservation officers tranquilized the cougar and police handcuffed its front paws as a precaution in case it woke up and tried to run before it was caged. The statement from Maple Ridg

Premier John Horgan has laid out what he says is BC's new, long-term economic plan, which includes a goal of filling one million jobs over the next decade, though the announcement offers just one immediate first step. Horgan says his government will invest nearly 137 million dollars in a trades and technology complex at the BC Institute of Technology campus in Burnaby. He says more than 20 trades and technologies will provide skills training, help develop resilient communities and mark BC as a world leader in a low-carbon economy. Other goals of the ``StrongerBC Economic Plan'' include antici

B.C. is reporting 750 new cases of COVID-19, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 342,282 cases in the province.The new cases include:Fraser Health: 167Vancouver Coastal Health: 93Interior Health: 277Northern Health: 108Island Health: 105People who reside outside of Canada: zeroThere are 762 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 121 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,777.There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks. The outbreaks at Queen’s Park Care Centre (Fraser Health), Arrowsmith Lodge and Woo

The victim of a fatal stabbing in Abbotsford has been identified as a 30-year-old man who was known to police. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says it believes the stabbing of Cody Corbett yesterday in Inspiration Park was targeted and not random. But it says there is no known connection with the Lower Mainland gang conflict. Sergeant David Lee says Corbett lived a transient lifestyle but had contact with people in the community and anyone who knew of his activities is being asked to call I-HIT.

A lawyer who advised British Columbia's former Speaker about a retirement allowance that is the subject of a criminal charge says the name of then-clerk Craig James never came up in those conversations. Donald Farquhar told a B.C. Supreme Court trial for James that it was his legal opinion that all so-called table officers, who support the work of the clerk in the legislature, were eligible in 2011 for the retirement allowance, which has since been eliminated. He says he never advised then-Speaker Bill Barisoff specifically about James's eligibility. However, Farquhar says James had already a

BC's police watchdog and the Coroner's Service are investigating the death of a man following a traffic stop in Dawson Creek. The Independent Investigations Office says a member of the BC Highway Patrol arrested a driver without incident yesterday morning who was the subject of outstanding warrants. The agency says the man reportedly went into medical distress and was pronounced dead at the scene. It says it has begun investigating to determine what if any role police may have played in the death while the coroners service is working to determine the cause.

British Columbia's education minister says capacity at school-based events will be capped at 50 per cent for spectators to provide some physical distancing because proof of vaccination will not be required. Jennifer Whiteside says the measure is in contrast to the lifting of capacity limits starting at midnight for community-based gatherings, where COVID-19 vaccine passports must still be shown. Whiteside says the capacity cap applies to extracurricular events, whether they are on or off school property, and marks a return to the rules that were in effect last fall. Provincial health officer

Two-time Olympic Bronze medallist Meryeta O'Dine received a boisterous welcome as she returned to her hometown of Prince George for the first time in five months. Family members and supporters waving welcome home signs cheered yesterday as O'Dine walked through the arrivals gate at the Prince George airport. She called the greeting ``just amazing,'' saying she's looking forward to a few days of rest and maybe a trip to her favourite fast-food restaurant. The 24 year old, who finished third in the women's and mixed snowboard cross events in Beijing, is the first Olympic medallist from Prince G

On February 15th at approximately 11:00 am, New Westminster Police Department officers were called to Glenbrook Middle School for a report of indecent exposure.Staff at the school phoned the New Westminster Police Department to report that an unknown male exposed his genitals to a group of children on the school grounds. The suspect is described as a Caucasian man, between 40 to 50 years of age, standing 5’6" tall, with a medium build, balding dark hair, wearing a blue puffy jacket, dark blue jeans, and black shoes. The suspect fled across 8th Avenue and towards McBride Boulevard and the Roy