BC's chief coroner says the status quo of making illicit drugs a crime has been an abject and costly failure and officials have to admit it won't stop overdose deaths. A coroner's report released today says 2,224 people died of suspected overdose deaths last year in BC, a jump of 26 per cent from the year before. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says making illicit drugs a crime has created chaos in communities, killed thousands across the country and made enormous profits for the drug trade. She says it's hard to see why anyone would think it was an effective system because it has resulted in sha

Canada's latest census shows British Columbia had the second-highest population growth among the provinces, second only to Prince Edward Island. The census released today says five million people call the western province home, after growth of 7.6 per cent between 2016 and 2021. Data also show resort towns like Squamish are among the fastest-growing communities in the country. But a population hike of 22.2 per cent since 2016 in the town north of Vancouver has fuelled competition among young buyers drawn to the area's world-class climbing, hiking and biking trails. A local Realtor says that's

RCMP say a man is critically injured and woman has serious wounds after they were shot late last night while inside a car in Surrey. Police say the attack appears related to the ongoing Lower Mainland gang conflict. The Integrated Homicide Investigation team has been called because the man's injuries are considered life threatening. No arrests have been made, but a statement from police says everything is being done to gather intelligence and target those posing the highest risk to the community.

Avalanche Canada warns the risk of a slide in alpine areas of mountains along the northwest coast is ranked as ``extreme'' and backcountry users are urged to stay clear for the next few days. Analysts say heavy snow, rain and rapidly rising temperatures will cause a widespread avalanche cycle in the region that includes Terrace and Kitimat. The extreme rating means large or very large natural and human-caused avalanches are a certainty. Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for a wide area of the north coast, including Terrace and Kitimat, as up to 60 millimetres of rain is expected

A 24 year old Prince George woman has won Canada's seventh medal of the Beijing Olympics, and the finish marks this country's first women's snowboard cross medal since a silver in 2014. Meryeta O'Dine wasn't expected to be a contender at this Olympics but qualified with the third fastest time and dominated her preliminary rounds. O'Dine grabbed bronze behind France's Chloe Trespeuch, who took silver, and American Lindsey Jacobellis who captured the USA's first gold of the Games. Another Prince George woman, Tess Critchlow, who trains out of Big White, was also in the snowboard cross final and

The leaders of the B-C Liberal and Green parties say the government's throne speech was more of the same and lacked vision. The throne speech yesterday highlighted a commitment to make health and safety through the COVID-19 pandemic the government's top priority. Kevin Falcon, the B-C Liberals' new leader, says the speech repeated previous N-D-P promises and was more of a look back than a look-ahead document. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau says it acknowledged the sacrifices of British Columbians but rather than offering a vision for the future the government patted itself on the back for pas

B.C. is reporting 1,117 new cases of COVID-19, including five new epi-linked cases, for a total of 335,042 cases in the province.There are 24,372 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 306,888 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 986 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 146 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. The new/active cases include:189 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 9,711180 new cases in Vancouver Coastal HealthTotal active cases: 4,355376 new cases in Interior HealthTotal active

Today's BC Throne speech says the NDP government's top priority in the months ahead is helping to keep people safe through the rest of the pandemic. The speech outlining the government's agenda for the new session of the legislature also promises it will introduce a long-term economic plan aiming to deliver a ``fairer, greener economy.'' Specific commitments to make life more affordable include introducing a cooling-off period on home purchases and tying the minimum wage to the rate of inflation. The government says it will also move forward with reconciliation by working to implement a plan

A former women's soccer coach with the Vancouver Whitecaps and Canada Soccer has pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching. Charges against Bob Birarda were laid just over a year ago related to offences between 1988 and 2008, and he entered the guilty pleas today in provincial court in North Vancouver. Women who played for the Whitecaps or those who were being considered for Canada's under-20 squad alleged inappropriate actions by Birarda, who coached both squads before his 2008 dismissal. He originally faced six counts of sexual exploitation, two count