Plans are in the works in British Columbia for the province to accept thousands of Ukrainians fleeing as Russia's invasion pushes further into their country. Premier John Horgan says he has met with Ukrainian community leaders, refugee settlement agencies and faith groups to make preparations to meet the housing, health and transition needs of those fleeing the war.Horgan says he's not sure about the number of people from Ukraine who might come to B.C., but he told a news conference it could be tens of thousands.He says community leaders indicate housing will be the top issue and discussions a

Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon says job creation in BC in February helped nudge the province's jobless rate down two basis points to 4.9 per cent. Kahlon says the province continues to lead the country in economic recovery with 84,000 more people working than before the pandemic, a number he says is the highest job recovery rate in Canada. Statistics Canada data show jobless figures in Kelowna barely budged last month and are pegged at 7.1 per cent while Victoria's rate climbed three basis points to 4.2 per cent. Unemployment in Abbotsford-Mission saw a steep drop in February, falling more than on

Surrey RCMP is investigating a break and enter into a grocery store where a substantial amount of cash was stolen from an ATM. On February 2, 2022, Surrey RCMP received a report that a grocery store in the 15900-block of Fraser Highway was broken into while closed overnight between 1:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. Police attended and determined that the suspect entered the store from the rooftop where they cut a hole through the ceiling and used a 40ft extendable ladder to climb down into the store. Once inside the store the suspect targeted the ATM machine and was able to steal a substantial amount of

A man is recovering from injuries after the latest shooting in Surrey. RCMP say it happened just before midnight in the Guildford neighbourhood. They say the attack appears targeted but a motive is unknown, although detectives don't believe it's linked to the ongoing gang conflict in Metro Vancouver. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact Surrey RCMP.

January was another grim month in BC for deaths caused by toxic illicit drugs. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says 207 people died, an average of 6.7 every day, the third-highest monthly toll since 2016 when a public health emergency was declared due to rising toxicity of street drugs. Lapointe says there were also concerning increases in drug-related fatalities in small and medium-sized communities in January, with 11 deaths in Kamloops and 19 recorded across the Northern Health region. She says a safer drug supply is one key to solving the crisis, a recommendation contained in a report issued

Masks are no longer required in indoor public settings or on most transit options in BC as provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry lifted the province's mask mandate effective today. But Dr. Henry has urged patience and understanding, saying not everyone is ready to abandon the most visible safeguard against COVID-19, and she also says individual businesses have the right to decide if face coverings are required on their premises. Some places where masks must still be worn include Vancouver International Airport and on all flights, courthouses across the province, the University of BC wher

B.C. is reporting 336 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 351,751 cases in the province.There are 388 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 52 are in intensive care.In the past 24 hours, four new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,932. There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Yucalta Lodge (Island Health). The outbreaks at Overlander Residential Care and Gillis House (Interior Health) have been declared over, for a total of 14 facilities with ongoing outbreaks. From March 2-8, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 18.0% of cases. From Feb. 23 to Marc

BC is repealing its indoor mask order as well as capacity limits on faith gatherings tomorrow and will end its COVID-19 vaccine card system on April 8th. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says restrictions on visitors to long-term care facilities will also be lifted by March 18th as long as visitors are fully vaccinated and screened. Dr. Henry says high levels of vaccination and decreasing transmission of the coronavirus are allowing the province to switch to what she describes as an ``empowered self-management approach.'' She is calling on people to support those who wish to continu

An unlicensed massage practitioner has been arrested and charged following a VPD investigation, after two women came forward with allegations they were sexually assaulted while receiving treatments last month.VPD launched an investigation in February after the women, aged 34 and 44, reported being sexually assaulted while receiving treatments at two Happy Feet Massage locations in East Vancouver. Investigators worked with the owners, who were cooperative throughout the investigation, and arrested 46-year old Jun Dong Gao on February 10, 2022.BC Prosecution Service has approved two counts of se