With recovery efforts still underway in communities affected by severe flooding and highways damaged by flooding and mudslides, the Province is extending the provincial state of emergency.Given the continued need for public safety measures under the Emergency Program Act and ongoing work to repair damaged highways, the provincial state of emergency is being extended until the end of the day on Dec. 28, 2021."While we’re making significant progress in our recovery, there is still a lot of work to do to reopen our highways and get people back into their homes," said Mike Farnworth, Minister of

Winter weather is making its way back into southern B.C. with Environment Canada issuing heavy snowfall warnings for several areas. The agency says a low-pressure system is moving into the southern part of the province starting Monday night and is expected to stay on until Tuesday, bringing up to 20 centimetres of snow in some areas. It says the areas affected will include parts of Elk Valley, the Fraser Canyon along Highway 3, and Lytton, Boston Bar and Hope. The highway is the only provincial access route into the Interior and remains open to essential traffic only. Environment Canada says

The University of Victoria says it will no longer be holding in-person exams this year to reduce COVID-19 risks. School officials issued a statement asking teachers to adjust their exam plans to offer assessments online or in another format starting today. They are also asking students to avoid campus if they feel sick or test positive for the virus, saying ``timely academic consideration'' will be given if a student becomes too sick to complete their schoolwork. The university says the decision was made after consulting with public health experts at Island Health.

R-C-M-P say they're investigating what's believed to a targeted weekend shooting in Nanaimo. Police say a man was treated in hospital for serious but non-life-threatening injuries and that a vehicle was seen speeding from the scene Saturday night. Mounties then received a call about a vehicle on fire and say it's believed to have been associated with the shooting. Constable Gary O'Brien says police don't believe there's any risk to the public but anyone who has information about the incident is being asked to call the detachment.

B.C. is reporting 437 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 222,013 cases in the province.There are currently 2,994 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 216,542 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 211 individuals are currently in hospital and 72 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, three new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,381.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: oneVancouver Coastal Health: oneIsland Health: oneThere have been 10 cases of the Omicron variant of conc

Highway 11, between Hazelwood Avenue and Clayburn Road, is open to commercial vehicle traffic, supporting the movement of goods and services between the Sumas border, Abbotsford and Mission. This stretch of highway was reopened to passenger and emergency vehicles on Dec. 6. Traffic is moving on the two southbound lanes of Highway 11 using a single lane in each direction. Drivers should expect a slower commute and delays.The two northbound lanes remain closed until the highway can be repaired. A timeline for these repairs has not been determined. Although it is not subject to the essential trav

A public mischief charge has been approved by a special prosecutor against the mayor of Surrey, B.C. The BC Prosecution Service says the charge comes after Mayor Doug McCallum complained to the RCMP that he was verbally assaulted and hit by a car. There were public discussions at the time about Surrey replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force and McCallum said he was attacked during a ``Keep the RCMP in Surrey'' gathering at a grocery store. McCallum was elected on a promise to replace the RCMP with a local force and some Surrey Police members are already on the job. Vancouver lawyer R

The federal and provincial agriculture ministers will be touring a poultry farm today that was affected by last month's devastating floods. Ministers Marie-Claude Bibeau and Lana Popham are expected to address recovery and rebuilding efforts for farmers during the visit to Abbotsford. Popham has said 628-thousand chickens, 420 dairy cattle and roughly 12-thousand hogs died in the region's Sumas Prairie. Historic flooding resulting from a series of so-called ``atmospheric rivers'' triggered widespread evacuation orders in the area and submerged many properties.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for a critical highway linking B-C's Interior and the Lower Mainland.It says up to 30 centimetres is expected on Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton and blowing snow will add to the hazard with strong winds gusting up to 60 kilometres per hour.Environment Canada says the winter storm will gradually intensify with the heaviest snowfall and strongest winds expected tonight and Saturday afternoon.It warns visibility may be reduced at times and road surfaces may be difficult to navigate due to accumulated snow.