All health-care workers and volunteers will soon have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in British Columbia as the provincial government expands its immunization program. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says additional pandemic measures are needed to fight the spread of COVID-19. She says the vaccine mandate will take effect Oct. 26 and it will be a condition of employment for all workers, physicians, contractors and volunteers in health facilities. It also applies to people who work in home and community care locations, including client homes. The province is also giving third vacc

Vancouver Police were kept busy during the weekend, with a series of shootings, stabbings, and other major crimes that sent several people to hospital with serious injuries."Our front-line officers and specially-trained detectives have been going full tilt since Friday in an effort to stem the violence and make headway on these cases," says Sergeant Steve Addison, VPD. "Dozens of police officers have been assigned to these investigations. We’re doing everything we can to solve them and to prevent more violence."More than 30 officers were already investigating the case of a 76-year-old woman

The BC Coroners Service has announced new dates for an inquest examining the death of Peter de Groot, who was fatally shot by police at a cabin in southeastern BC in October 2014. The inquest will begin September 27th in Nelson after being cancelled in May of last year due to the pandemic. The 45 year old was shot at a cabin in Slocan four days after he disappeared into the bush following a confrontation with officers. A report released by the Independent Investigation Office in 2018 ruled police were justified in shooting de Groot when they believed he raised a rifle as a Mountie opened a ca

British Columbia's COVID-19 vaccine card system is now in effect as the province aims to curtail cases and hospitalizations in the fourth wave of the pandemic.Anyone who wants to access a range of non-essential indoor settings must show proof of at least one dose of vaccine, with a second shot required by Oct. 24. The digital or paper vaccine card is required at settings such as ticketed sports events, concerts, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, casinos, gyms and movie theatres. The card will not be required at grocery and liquor stores, pharmacies, fast food restaurants, salons, hotels, banks, r

The RCMP say the death of a man who was found critically injured on a school playing field in Penticton, B.C., is now being treated as a homicide. Police have identified 22 year old Taig Savage as the man who was found at Penticton Secondary School on Sept. 5. A statement from the police says Savage's name and photo are being released in the hope someone will come forward with information. Savage died in hospital shortly after a passerby reported seeing him unresponsive early last Sunday morning. The RCMP have not said how Savage died. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and grey pants, a

British Columbia's budget deficit is expected to be lower than forecast but the COVID-19 pandemic remains a risk to the economy. Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the province's financial statement for the first three months of the 2021-22 fiscal year projects a deficit of $4.8 billion, about half the $9.7 billion that was originally forecast in the budget. She says the lower deficit projection is the result of an improved job market along with higher revenues from natural resources and federal transfers. Robinson says B.C.'s economy is forecast to grow by four per cent, slightly higher t

The ongoing battle over blockades set up to prevent old-growth logging on Vancouver Island is heading back to BC Supreme Court this week. Several days of hearings are scheduled in Nanaimo as logging company Teal-Jones seeks to extend an injunction order against protesters in the Fairy Creek area. The injunction granted is set to expire later this month, four months after police enforcement began and more than a year after the blockades were first set up. The RCMP say officers have made at least 989 arrests since May, including 110 people who've been arrested more than once.

Police on Vancouver Island say BC's police watchdog has been called to investigate after an officer fatally shot an armed man yesterday morning. They say officers in Saanich responded to a report of a man who was armed, in crisis, making threats and who allegedly stole from a nearby liquor store. A statement from police in neighbouring Victoria says they engaged with the man for about an hour until an ``interaction'' occurred and an officer shot him. They say officers and paramedics gave first aid, but the man died at the scene, the Independent Investigations Office has been notified.

B.C. is reporting 820 new cases of COVID-19, including 11 epi-linked cases, for a total of 173,158 cases in the province.There are 5,850 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 165,027 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 281 individuals are in hospital and 135 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, nine new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,856.The new deaths include:Vancouver Coastal Health: threeInterior Health: threeNorthern Health: twoIsland Health: one From Sept. 2-8, pe