Rachna Singh, Parliamentary Secretary for Anti-Racism Initiatives, and Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education, have released the following statement for the National Summit on Islamophobia, hosted by the Government of Canada on Thursday, July 22, 2021:"Over the past year, we’ve seen a significant increase in hateful attacks against Muslims across Canada. In June, the cowardly attack in London, Ontario shocked the country, taking the lives of four members of the community and leaving a son without a family."In B.C., we’ve also seen a rise in anti-Muslim comments on social media, women at

The latest wildfire evacuation order in BC is in the Shuswap where the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District says 39 people were ordered out of an area near Seymour Arm on the northern edge of Shuswap Lake early this morning. The tiny rural community of Seymour Arm remains on evacuation alert, threatened by the 11-square kilometre Hunakwa Lake fire. This morning's evacuation adds to the several residents ordered out yesterday north of Lillooet, north of Kamloops and in the Slocan and Lower Arrow Lakes regions of the Kootenays. They come as the BC Wildfire Service warns strong winds will complica

At approximately 8:00 pm on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 the AbbyPD responded to an arson on the south side of Central Heights church at 1661 McCallum Rd. Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service attended the scene and extinguished the fire.Patrol members reviewed CCTV and the suspect is described as a dark-skinned male, average build, approximately 30-40 years old, 5’8-5’10, wearing a grey baseball hat, a bright yellow rain jacket, white muscle shirt, blue/green shorts with a pattern, black and white shoes, and carrying a dark brown or black backpack.At the time of the fire, the church was closed and u

The union representing Rio Tinto employees in British Columbia has issued a 72-hour strike notice after nearly seven weeks of negotiations. Unifor Local 2301, which represents about 900 workers at the smelting facility in Kitimat and the power generating facility in Kemano, have unanimously voted in support of a potential strike. Union national president Jerry Dias says the historic member vote ``speaks volumes to the culture of disrespect and unfair treatment Rio Tinto has created over many years.'' The union says it has proposed the first changes to workers' retirement income and benefit le

Burnaby RCMP’s Criminal Collision Investigation Team is investigating a serious motor vehicle collision that has resulted in two fatalities.This evening, at 5:20 p.m., Burnaby RCMP frontline officers responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision at Duthie Avenue and Montecito Drive. Two people have died as a result of this collision. There were no other injuries.The investigation is in it’s early stages and we are trying to piece together what occurred. Says Corporal Mike Kalanj of the Burnaby RCMP. If you witnessed the incident or have dash cam video of the incident, please come forwar

Vancouver Police are calling on witnesses to report suspicious activity around churches, following a major spike in crimes at religious properties this summer. "We’re reminding people to be proactive and to report anything unusual at church properties, because we’re concerned this could escalate into a situation where someone gets badly hurt," says Sergeant Steve Addison, VPD. "If you see anyone who looks suspicious and you think they’re about to commit a crime, please don’t hesitate to call 9-1-1." Vancouver Police are currently investigating 13 incidents of mischief and vandalism at

British Columbia's premier is vowing to continue supporting the tourism industry, which was hoping to begin its recovery from COVID-19 just as hundreds of wildfires ignited in the province.John Horgan says the B-C government will build on close relationships it formed during the pandemic with businesses and workers to deliver the help they need.Horgan toured wildfire operations in the Kootenays yesterday as some 300 blazes burned across the province.Hundreds more British Columbians joined the thousands already forced from their homes by wildfires as several local governments ordered residents

Langley RCMP Criminal Collision Investigative Team (CCIT) has assumed conduct of the investigation into an injury collision on July 20th at approximately 5:45 p.m.Police were called to the intersection of 244th Street and Robertson Crescent for a report of a two vehicle collision where a person was trapped inside one of the vehicles.The vehicles involved were a red Jeep and a black Hyundai Santa Fe. The Jeep had significant front end damage and it appeared to have collided with the passenger side of the Hyundai.Two of the four occupants had to be extracted from the vehicles by Langley Township

B.C. is reporting 78 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 148,641 cases in the province.There are currently 729 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 146,142 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 48 individuals are currently in hospital and 16 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the last 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,763. Since December 2020, the Province has administered 6,297,149 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. As of Wednesday, J