Park board commissioners in Vancouver are preparing to vote on a proposal that could impose stiff fines for feeding any type of wildlife in city parks. Commissioners are considering amendments that include a fine of $500 for anyone feeding wild animals ranging from pigeons, crows and geese to squirrels, raccoons and coyotes. If the board adopts the recommendation at its meeting Monday night, a bylaw could be drafted and presented for enactment within weeks. Attracting or feeding dangerous wildlife, including as coyotes, bears or cougars, is already banned under the Provincial Wildlife Act and

Starting today, the only acceptable proof of vaccination in British Columbia to dine at restaurants and attend indoor recreational events is the B.C. Vaccine Card. The government says the transition period allowing people to present their vaccine records from their immunization appointments expired Sunday. The vaccine card, under orders from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, is required at most restaurants and indoor events to help ensure businesses can stay open and people can feel safe in these settings. Health Minister Adrian Dix says more than three million people in B.C. have a

Kelowna RCMP are investigating an all-terrain vehicle accident that left one man dead and another airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The RCMP says the Mounties and area search and rescue and emergency crews responded to a remote area northeast of the city after receiving a distress signal from a global positioning system. A 52 year old male was pronounced dead at the scene and a second man the same age was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. The accident scene was near Postill Lake, located about 30 kilometres northeast of Kelowna. Kelowna RCMP on Twitter: RCMP and

British Columbia's homicide team was deployed to Maple Ridge after a body was discovered inside a pickup truck destroyed by fire. The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says it is not yet known if the discovery of the body is related to the Lower Mainland's ongoing gang conflict. IHIT has yet to identify the person found inside the truck. Investigators are appealing to the public for information, saying the pickup did not have a muffler and would have been making loud noises. IHIT on Twitter: IHIT deployed to Maple Ridge. More info when it becomes available.https://bc-cb.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/Vi

B.C. is reporting 743 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 182,541 cases in the province.Note: The numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.There are 5,979 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 174,281 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 319 individuals are in hospital and 149 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, seven new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,922.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: fo

Three Vancouver police officers have been charged after an arrest where a male suffered serious injuries. The BC Prosecution Service says the case was investigated by the Independent Investigations Office, which passed on its report for consideration of charges to Crown counsel in February 2019. The officers allegedly tried to stop a man for riding a bike with no helmet, lights or suitable reflectors near a SkyTrain station in May 2017, when he was injured. Const. Brandon Blue is charged with assault causing bodily harm, while constables Beau Spencer and Gregory Jackson are accused of assault

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has signed off on a discharge order for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, withdrawing a U.S. extradition order and allowing her freedom. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes thanked Meng for her behaviour during the hearing and released her from bail conditions. The development comes as Meng pleaded not guilty to all charges in a New York courtroom and a judge signed off on a deferred prosecution agreement that all but ends the 34 month saga of her detention in Canada. Assistant U.S. attorney David Kessler told court that the agreement would allow for the charges aga

British Columbia's naloxone supply is depleted, forcing some police agencies to buy their own supplies of the overdose-reversing drug. Premier John Horgan says his government is working to allocate funding to buy more naloxone kits, which have successfully been used to reverse opioid overdoses in thousands of people in the province. The Victoria Police Department has been paying for its own naloxone kits this past year after funding ended in April 2020, while the Saanich Police Department says its naloxone kits will expire at the end of the year. The province declared a public health emergenc

A wildfire that began on Aug. 2 in British Columbia and grew to more than 833 square kilometres is now estimated to have caused $77 million in insurance damage.The cost estimate from the Insurance Bureau of Canada says the so-called White Rock Lake fire destroyed 78 properties in the Central Okanagan.The bureau says the fire was one of the most destructive blazes in the province this year and they are expecting more than 800 claims related to the disaster.Aaron Sutherland, vice-president of Canada's Western region at the bureau, says the growing frequency and severity of wildfires are costing