Strong winds are expected to hammer BC's coast, with gusts up to 110 kilometres per hour for Haida Gwaii, northern Vancouver Island and the central coast. Environment Canada says the strongest winds are expected late this afternoon and through tomorrow morning. Wind warnings or special weather statements are also up for the Sunshine Coast, Southern Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, including Victoria, Howe Sound and most of Metro Vancouver. The source is an intense but slow moving Pacific front and the weather office warns that the worst of the winds could damage buildings and blow down trees o

Federal leaders are paying tribute to the sacrifices of Indigenous veterans as well as the discrimination they faced after returning from war. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says all flags on federal government buildings, including the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill, were lowered to acknowledge the service of Indigenous veterans. He told his Caucus this morning that Indigenous people who served across this country often faced systems and discrimination and barriers that were greater than they were for others. It is estimated that more than 12,000 Indigenous people joined the Canadian military

A coroner's jury examining the police-involved shootings of a mother and her adult son in northern British Columbia has made five recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths. The jury released its recommendations Saturday after a weeklong inquest in Smithers examining the April 21, 2016 RCMP shootings of 39 year old Jovan Williams and his 73 year old mother Shirley Williams outside their home in Granisle, east of Smithers. The shootings, which the coroner's report shows happened within two minutes of each other, have been ruled homicides, a neutral term that does not imply criminal int

Police say a 48 year old man from Kamloops is dead after two pickup trucks collided on Highway 1 in Sicamus. The crash happened late Saturday. Police say the 52 year old Alberta resident who was driving the other vehicle suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. They say it appears the eastbound pickup crossed into the path of the one heading west.

B.C. is reporting 549 new cases of COVID-19, including one epi-linked case, for a total of 208,265 cases in the province.There are 4,483 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 201,267 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 441 individuals are in hospital and 129 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 2,201.There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Bethshan Gardens (Fraser Health). The outbreak at West Shore

Former BC Lions wide receiver Josh Boden could learn his sentence later this month after being convicted of the second-degree murder of his former girlfriend. Boden, who turns 35 in December, was found guilty of the May 2009 slaying of 33 year old Kimberly Hallgarth, who was killed in her Burnaby home. Police had considered Boden as a person of interest, but charges weren't laid until November 2018 when homicide detectives took another look at the cold case. Boden played briefly for the Lions in 2007 but was cut in 2008 and moved to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, although he never played a regular

The British Columbia government says it is phasing out mink farming because the threat of COVID-19 transmission is too great. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says mink are a reservoir for the spread of COVID-19 to humans and vice versa. Henry says the scientific data shows the risk of transmission on the farms will continue. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says the government will help the nine farms operating in B.C. to close by 2025. B.C. placed a moratorium on new mink farms and capped existing operations at their current animal populations in July after more mink tested positiv

BC Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon says the latest figures from Statistics Canada showing more than 10,000 jobs were created in this province last month solidify BC as a leader of the post-pandemic economic recovery. Kahlon says, at 5.6 per cent, BC has the second-lowest unemployment rate in Canada and he says there are 51,000 more BC residents working now than in March 2020 when pandemic shutdowns began. Kahlon says the Thompson-Okanagan region leads BC's job recovery rate but all regions are doing well. StatCan reports the number of people looking for work fell one full point to 4.4 per cent in K

The woman who beat and drowned Victoria teenager Reena Virk is back on day parole again after struggling to conform within the correctional system. Kelly Ellard, now 39 years old and the mother of two children, has returned to day parole after the privilege was revoked in August for what a Parole Board of Canada decision says were indications of drug and alcohol use. Ellard, who now goes by the name Kerry Sim, was 15 when she and a co-accused beat and drowned the 14-year-old girl in Victoria's Gorge waterway and she was later convicted of second-degree murder. Sim had been on day parole since