A second school district in British Columbia has ended a program that put uniformed officers in its elementary, middle and secondary schools, but trustees are not rejecting further links with police. New Westminster school board members voted Tuesday night to immediately end the district's child and youth liaison officer program due to concerns that armed officers could be disturbing to racialized or LGBTQ youth. A letter from the board to the chief of the New Westminster Police says cancellation of the program is not a reflection on the department or its staff. The letter says the board look

A former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister who was responsible for gaming for more than a decade is scheduled to testify today at the public inquiry into money laundering.Rich Coleman, a six-term former member of the B.C. legislature and deputy premier, is the latest of several high-profile past and current politicians to appear before the Cullen Commission in recent days.Former premier Christy Clark recently testified at the inquiry, as did current Opposition Liberal MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike de Jong, both of whom were previous ministers in charge of gaming.B.C. Attorney General David Eby, who

A truck driver has been killed in a collision between two semi-trailers on the Coquihalla Highway. The unnamed driver died just after six last night when one of the rigs rear-ended the other. RCMP Traffic Services Corporal Mike Halskov says the driver in the trailing semi likely caused the crash, and died on impact. The northbound lanes of the highway north of Merritt re-opened at around three this morning.

People age 30 and older may now receive the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in British Columbia, starting with hot spots for transmission. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say in a statement on Tuesday the vaccine will be made available across the province as B.C. receives enough doses to add more pharmacy appointments. Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended last week that the vaccine may be offered to people 30 and up who don't want to wait for an approved mRNA vaccine, and if certain other conditions are met. Those condi

A report by British Columbia's auditor general says the province is effectively managing its highway avalanche safety program, but improvements can still be made. Michael Pickup says in a statement the audit found avalanche deaths on B.C. highways are rare events and road closures due to avalanches are declining. He says the audit looked at the Transportation Ministry's management of highway safety and the efforts to keep avalanche-related road closures to a minimum. Pickup says there haven't been any avalanche-related deaths on B.C. highways in more than 20 years and avalanche events are now

British Columbia has introduced legislation to convert an investment initiative into a Crown corporation with the authority to make independent decisions aimed at spurring economic recovery after the pandemic. The $500-million InBC investment fund was created last September as a way for the province to invest alongside the private sector to support small and medium-sized companies, which make up 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. The purpose of the fund is to make investments that achieve a financial return by meeting the government's social, economic and environmental policy obje

Vancouver Police are warning the public about a sexual assault on a child last month by an art instructor who operates out of his home in South Vancouver."This is a very disturbing incident where a child was left under the care of an adult and that adult allegedly took advantage of her," says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD. On March 22, it is alleged that 50 year-old Shao Zhai Chen, while teaching art classes out of his home near East 64th Avenue and Prince Edward Street, sexually assaulted a nine-year-old student.Chen is Asian and five feet eight inches tall. He has black and white hair and we

Police in New Westminster say a 24-year-old man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a 2019 shooting that sent a woman to hospital. They say Carlos Monteith has remained in custody since his arrest after the November 2019 that injured the woman. Police say Monteith pleaded guilty this month to charges of discharging a firearm with intent and possession of a loaded prohibited firearm. They say he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years on the first charge and three years on the second. New Westminster Police Department on Twitter: Suspect pleads guilty to two charges related to Osborne Avenu

Uniformed police officers will no longer be assigned to Vancouver public schools after trustees voted to end its school liaison officer program.The program has been under review for almost a year due to concerns that uniformed officers make some students anxious or upset, including many identifying as Black, Indigenous or people of colour.Trustees voted eight to one Monday in favour of a motion to halt the program at the end of June.The decision is supported by several groups, including the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council and associations representingelementary and secondary school