First-dose vaccine numbers in British Columbia have risen to above 75 per cent of the eligible population, with second-shot totals hovering near 25 per cent. A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says the increasing vaccine numbers allow for the gradual and safe reopening of the province with the lifting of more restrictions. It says more than 4.5 million doses of vaccine have been delivered in total, and of those, slightly over one million were second shots. There are 87 new COVID-19 cases across B.C., with no new cases in the Northe

The BC Wildfire Service says a week-old blaze near Lytton hasn't grown, despite burning almost unchecked in dangerously steep, rocky terrain on two flanks. The fire, just south of the Fraser Canyon community, has charred three-and-a-half square kilometres of bush but evacuation alerts covering more than a dozen properties were lifted several days ago. Two specialized initial attack crews have been lowered by helicopter into the cliff-strewn areas that can't be reached from the ground and they are working to build guards around the north and south flanks of the fire. In all, 48 firefighters, f

The mother of a 13 year old girl fatally stabbed by a man who entered the teen's Abbotsford high school has told a New Westminster courtroom of her grief since the 2016 attack. Ellie Reimer told the court it's still hard to know her daughter Letisha died ``on the cold floor of her school.'' She told Klein she hopes he never has another moment of peace in his life. Letisha's father, Ulrich, says he doubts his daughter's attacker will receive a sentence that fits the suffering his family has endured since Letisha and her friend were attacked in the rotunda of Abbotsford Senior Secondary. A sent

Premier John Horgan is remembering the 329 passengers and crew killed 36 years ago today when a bomb blew apart Air India Flight 192 over the Atlantic Ocean. 280 of those aboard were Canadian, many of them from BC, and the bombing remains the worst terrorist attack and mass murder in this country's history. A statement from Horgan's office says we remember all Canadians whose lives have been disrupted by terrorism, including the four members of a family from London, Ontario, slain for their Muslim faith earlier this month. Horgan says anyone, especially anyone with privilege, who has never be

An armed standoff that shut down part of a Richmond neighbourhood for several hours ended peacefully. The Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team and Richmond RCMP were called yesterday by bailiffs trying to enforce a Supreme Court order to remove a man from a residence. Police say the bailiffs reported the man came out on a second-storey balcony and fired several shots into the air. A negotiator was called and the man left the house peacefully about four hours after the standoff began. Richmond RCMP on Twitter: 1. Officers attending incident in East Richmond. Avoid the area. Police situation

RCMP have arrested another 11 people at blockades set up to prevent old-growth logging on southwestern Vancouver Island. The Mounties were enforcing an injunction ordering the people off land in the Braden Mainline Forest Service Road area near Port Renfrew. All 11 were charged with breaching the injunction, with one person also arrested for designing and building the locking devices which are actively being used to breach the injunction. The RCMP began enforcing a B.C. Supreme Court injunction on May 17 ordering the removal of blockades and protesters at several sites. Since then, 271 people

British Columbia's provincial health officer is encouraging anyone who is offered a different COVID-19 vaccine than the one they first received to take it. Dr. Bonnie Henry says fluctuating vaccine supply means if you received Pfizer-BioNTech, you may be offered Moderna for your second shot, or vice versa, and she says health officials are confident both vaccines are safe, effective and interchangeable. Dr. Henry made the comment as she announced a sustained drop in new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and clusters. She says 56 new infections were confirmed Tuesday and there were no new death

A British Columbia official whose job it is to tackle racism is condemning threats of violence that led to the postponement of an anti-racism rally on Vancouver Island over the weekend. Rachna Singh, parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives, says a partner with the province's anti-racism network in Nanaimo and Ladysmith decided to cancel the car rally after organizers received threats of physical violence. She says the threats came ``from individuals'' whose behaviour will not be tolerated. Singh says in a statement the incident is further proof of why it's so important to oppose r

A 26 year old man is facing several charges after police say a stolen vehicle rammed two police cruisers in Abbotsford, injuring one officer. Police say the van rammed a police vehicle to get away from officers responding to a theft on Saturday night and then rammed another cruiser nearby before it came to a stop after fleeing into Langley. An officer injured while outside the second police vehicle was taken to hospital for treatment and released. Jordan Buskink has been charged with offences including two counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, possession of stolen property and