Provincial officials say shipments of Pfizer's new COVID-19 vaccine targeting the Omicron variant are expected in British Columbia soon, after Health Canada approved the shot. A joint statement from B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix, says the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccine will be available to people aged 12 and older from next week. They say B.C. is set to receive 1.7 million doses of the newly approved shot, which will be available in health authority clinics and pharmacies across the province. Approved last month, Moderna's equivalent biva

Vancouver Police have launched an investigation after the Komagata Maru memorial was vandalized for the second time in 14 months. "Detectives from a number of VPD specialized units are working together to collect evidence and identify the suspect(s) in this troubling incident," says Constable Jason Doucette. "This investigation will take time, but we’ll leave no stone unturned in our attempts to solve this senseless crime."VPD initiated an investigation on October 4, after learning from a social media post that the glass on the front of the Komagata Maru memorial had been shattered. The memo

The Correctional Service of Canada says an inmate convicted of second degree murder and other offences has died at the Matsqui Institution. CSC says in a release that Jagjit Singh Saran died on Sunday and his next of kin have been notified but a cause of death is not being provided. It says he had been serving a life sentence since February 17th, 2005. CSC says it will review the circumstances of the death as it does in all such cases and its policy requires that police and the coroner be notified.

RCMP say two women have suffered life-threatening injuries after a bear attacked a family near Dawson Creek, then guarded the victims from help when officers arrived. The BC Conservation Officer Service says the family of four was out hiking last night and tried to run when they were charged, but the bear attacked one woman and injured the second as well as a teenage boy who tried to help. Police say they were called to the scene and found the 30 year old and 48 year old women badly hurt, but the bear would not leave the scene and was eventually shot dead. The Mounties say one of the women wa

A Langley man pled guilty to murder in BC Supreme Court in the deaths of three family members in June 2020, in Langley, B.C. Background: On June 13, 2020, Langley RCMP officers responded to a call in the 19600-block of Wakefield Drive and found the residence engulfed in flames. Officers located Francesco Zangrilli inside the residence, suffering from fatal stab wounds. The bodies of Tatiana Bazyar and Befrin Ebrahimian were later located deceased inside the residence. IHIT took conduct of the investigation and worked closely in partnership with the Langley RCMP, BC Coroners Service and the Int

Surrey needs new facilities. Surrey Forward, led by mayoral candidate Jinny Sims will construct a new performing arts centre, entertainment district and 10,000 seat stadium in the Tom Binnie Park region. In addition, new office buildings and residential towers will be included in the project. The area will consist of a performing arts centre with two theatres. The largest will have a seating capacity of between 800 and 1,400 seats and will be designed to accommodate large touring shows such as cultural dance performances, broadway shows, musical acts and the like. The second theatre will be b

The City of Surrey is in the first phase of upgrading the dyke network to protect against flooding from increasingly more common high magnitude storm events. As a next step in enhancing the network, the City will be applying for $10 million in funding to upgrade the Nicomekl River Dyke. "It is important that the city expand and enhance our dyke network to protect against the increasing effects of rising sea levels and storm events," said Mayor Doug McCallum. "Upgrading and maintaining Surrey’s dykes are important because it provides effective protection against flooding from increasingly mo

Vancouver Police are praising the actions of quick-thinking bystanders who stopped a violent attack on woman last night in downtown Vancouver. "These witnesses jumped into action to help the victim as she was being attacked by a stranger," says Sergeant Steve Addison. "They are heroes, and they deserve full credit for their bravery. There is no question this victim could have suffered serious physical injuries had they not acted so decisively."The victim, a 29-year-old woman, had just entered the lobby of her apartment building, near Davie and Howe Street, when she was followed into the buildi

25 senior Iranian officials and nine government entities are facing new Canadian sanctions, including an assets freeze and a ban on entering the country. The new sanctions follow the recent violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran. The protests are in response to 22 year old Mahsa Amini's death in mid-September, after she was arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says the sanctions are a result of Iran's grave and ongoing breaches of international law and its blatant disregard for human life.