The provincial health officer (PHO) has updated the Provincial Health Officer Order on Workplace Safety, to support the transition of employees back into the workplace.The previous version of the order contained a section that has been removed. That section required employers to allow workers to work from their private residence, if possible, given the nature of the work involved, unless the employer had an operational requirement to have the worker at the workplace.All workplaces must continue to have COVID-19 safety plans in place, and the PHO’s Face Coverings Order continues to apply to s

Today, February 17th, 2022, at 08:35 am, school administration from Colleen & Gordie Howe contacted the Abbotsford Police Department advising that a bomb threat to the school was received.Given the nature of the threat, Colleen & Gordie Howe was immediately put into Lockdown as per standard procedures. As well, noting the proximity to WJ Mouat Secondary, WJ Mouat Secondary was placed into Shelter in place as a precaution.Upon arrival, members of AbbyPD evacuated all students & staff from Colleen & Gordie Howe in a controlled fashion, relocating them to nearby offsite locations.

One person has been seriously hurt in a shooting in Vancouver. Police say it happened just before nine last night on the eastern edge of the Gastown neighbourhood. A statement from police says an investigation is continuing but doesn't indicate if any suspects have been identified. It says no charges have been laid. Multiple 9-1-1 callers reported hearing gun shots near East Cordova and Carrall streets at around 8:45 p.m. February 16. One person was taken to hospital for serious injuries.The investigation is ongoing. No charges have been laid.

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.