British Columbia is expected to start informing people over age 80 about their vaccinations for COVID-19 starting next week as the province prepares to open mass clinics while doing more in-depth testing for variants. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. is in a phase of "vaccine hope and pandemic reality" but an age-based immunization plan will remain in place despite some calls to prioritize essential workers. Dr. Henry says the province is expanding its pool of immunizers to include dentists, midwives and paramedics before 172 sites open up to eventually offer a vaccine to

Teachers marched today outside an elementary school in Surrey, B.C., where a confirmed case of a COVID-19 variant has been reported to demand more safety measures. Members of the Surrey Teachers Association dressed in red and also marched with their colleagues outside Woodward Hill Elementary in a physically distanced protest before classes began. Matt Westphal, the president of the Surrey Teachers Association, says the biggest concern is that students in elementary schools are not required to wear masks inside their classrooms. Earlier this month, the province changed safety protocols to requ

The only Indigenous councillor ever elected to Terrace council says systemic racism has forced her to resign. Jessica McCallum-Miller, who is also the youngest person ever elected to council in that northwestern BC city, made the comment in a social media post announcing her departure. McCallum-Miller was just 25 when she won a council seat in 2018 and says, since then, she has felt "unheard or unsupported" due to her ethnicity, age and gender. Terrace Mayor Carol Leclerc says council has become "better" for McCallum-Miller's "honesty, dedication and thoughtfulness," and more details will be

British Columbia will permanently allow restaurants, bars and tourism operators to buy liquor at wholesale prices, a move that industry hopes will help revive the struggling sector. The provincial government made temporary changes last June to allow the hospitality industry to buy alcohol at the same cost as liquor stores and it has now made that decision permanent. Previously, restaurants, pubs and tourism businesses with liquor licences paid full retail price, the wholesale price, plus a markup set by the government on most alcohol purchases. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says in a news

Victoria police say they seized drugs and weapons following a traffic stop. They say the officers conducted a traffic stop late Sunday in the 400 block of Gorge Road East. Police say officers found drugs, cash, three firearms, an SKS style rifle and two replica handguns, as well as knives and an extendable baton. They say they are investigating the case and no other details were given. Victoria police on twitter: Yesterday Patrol officers conducted a traffic stop in the 400-block of Gorge Road East & discovered drugs, cash & weapons-including multiple knives, a collapsible baton, 2 re

Oak Bay police say a driver who offered an officer a chance to appear on TikTok ended up being investigated for impaired driving. They say the offer was made after by a 20 year old man Saturday around 10 pm after he was pulled over for failing to halt at a stop sign. Police say the officer "reluctantly declined" the offer to be on TikTok, an online social networking service for sharing videos. They say the driver's vehicle was towed, his licence was suspended for 24 hours and he received a 230 dollars ticket for operating a motor vehicle with cannabis in it. They say he was also issued a 167

Public health officials in British Columbia are reporting 1,428 new COVID-19 cases over the past three days, for a total of 77,263 since the pandemic began in the province.There have also been eight more deaths, bringing the number of fatalities linked to the new coronavirus to 1,335 in B.C. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that 218,726 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, of which 55,057 are second doses.Henry and Dix also reported two new health-care facility outbreaks at Vancouver General Hospital and Kelowna Gen

A group of people caught gambling at a local business in Surrey, B.C., face fines for not following COVID-19 regulations. RCMP say they saw several people leave through the back of a business as officers knocked on the front door late Thursday during a compliance check on the business. Police say in a statement that officers saw people without masks playing cards inside the business, which was closed to the public at that time. Officers handed out tickets to 14 people, totalling just over $5000 in fines. Spokeswoman Sgt. Elenore Sturko called the business a ``full house'' of non-compliant peo

A mild earthquake occurred early this morning in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Vancouver Island. The US Geological Survey says the quake measured 4.5 and occurred 10 kilometres below the earth's crust, roughly 250 kilometres southwest of Tofino. Officials say there are no reports of damage or injury and none would be expected. The shaker occurred near the eastern edge of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where the Juan de Fuca plate is sliding under the North America plate, causing as many as one-thousand small temblors every year. And it's raising the potential for a much larger quake as the tw