British Columbia's provincial health officer has mandated masks for all schoolchildren across the province after three school districts announced their own policies to include kindergarten to Grade 3 students. Dr. Bonnie Henry says she has heard the concerns of parents as COVID-19 cases have risen over the last couple of weeks among kids, especially those between the ages of five and 11, and in communities with lower vaccination rates. Dr. Henry says her school mask mandate will be in place until at least January, when it will be assessed based on whether vaccines would be available for child

The Royal Canadian Navy is showing off its newest Arctic and offshore patrol ship today. HMCS Harry DeWolf is set to pull alongside the Burrard drydock pier in Vancouver at about 10 this morning. The navy is encouraging the public to stop by to see the first vessel of its class as it remains berthed there until Sunday when it leaves for Esquimalt. The DeWolf is nearly halfway through its maiden operational deployment, which included crossing through the Northwest Passage. Royal Canadian Navy on Twitter: A beautiful sight Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes After travelling 10,050 nautical mil

Surrey RCMP is cautioning the public after victims lose more than a million dollars to romance scams this year. Surrey RCMP received reports from 29 people who have been the victim of online romance scams between January and August 2021, with a total of $1,362,269.00 lost. During the same period, 213 victims lost $22,463,510.00 throughout the Lower Mainland.A romance scam involves any individual who uses false romantic intentions toward a victim in order to gain their trust and affection for the purpose of obtaining the victim’s money. Many romance scams begin via social media or online dati

The chief of Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation says true reconciliation requires truth and she'd like more of that from the federal government and Catholic Church. Chief Rosanne Casimir says they want the promised records as they work to identify the remains of what are believed to be more than 200 children found in unmarked graves around the former residential school in Kamloops. Casimir says the nation has had enough apologies, now it needs the information that the government and Catholic Church have agreed to provide. The chief says the ground-penetrating radar that found the remains was

Several trailers in a large trailer park in Williams Lake have been ordered evacuated as ground slumps on the slope above the Williams Lake River. The city issued the evacuation order for the Green Acres Trailer Park yesterday after a geotechnical evaluation of the land slippage that happened Tuesday. The order says the slide exposed a section of sewer pipe and an access hole and the area is of ``imminent concern.'' The rest of the trailer park has been placed on evacuation alert and Williams Lake officials say they are monitoring and will provide updates when information is available. City o

Premier John Horgan and Indigenous Relations Minister Murray Rankin are urging all British Columbians to wear their orange shirts today to proclaim that every child matters. It is the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and orange shirt day in BC. Horgan says by wearing orange people acknowledge the truth of the residential school system, while honouring survivors, families and communities. The statement says while the truth of what happened at the schools is well-documented, people were horrified to learn of the findings of the remains of more than 200 children at the former Kaml

RCMP say they have made an arrest in the murder of a woman at a Vernon hotel in February last year. Police say the accused was arrested Friday in Surrey after an 18 month investigation into the death of Alishia Lemp. The BC Prosecution Service approved a charge of second-degree murder against 28 year old Paige Howse. She remains in custody pending her next court appearance on October 19th. Vernon North Okanagan RCMP on Twitter: Charges laid in 2020 homicide https://bit.ly/39NMKsy

Two BC school boards are taking mask rules into their hands. Vancouver was the first to say it would expand its mask mandate for children from kindergarten to Grade 3 and Surrey's board followed suit yesterday. The BC Teachers Federation is calling for a provincewide mask mandate for those grades after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry left those children out of her order in March. Beginning Monday, October 4th the district's current COVID-19 mask mandate will be expanded to include all students in the district from kindergarten to Grade 12. Masks are an effective layer of protection

B.C. is reporting 813 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 186,245 cases in the province. There are 6,185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 177,729 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 340 individuals are in hospital and 146 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,953.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoIsland Health: threeNorthern Health: oneVancouver Coastal Health: five There have been two new outbreaks at Royal Inland Ho