Abbotsford police are warning of a recent uptick in scams revolving around claims a relative has been jailed and needs money to be bailed. Police say victims were called by someone impersonating a criminal lawyer who stated they were calling on behalf of the victim's family member, asking for money. Police say alleged fraudsters are able to make their phone number appear to have originated from a legitimate source. Officers say those who are targeted need to resist the urge to send money right away and to check the story's accuracy with a family member first. Abbotsford Police Department on T

Vancouver Police are investigating the city’s eighth traffic fatality of 2021, which occurred early Wednesday morning when a motorcyclist was thrown from a bike near Queen Elizabeth Park. The incident occurred around 1:40 a.m., when the 27-year-old motorcyclist was heading south on Cambie Street, near 35th Avenue. VPD investigators believe he somehow lost control of the red Honda CRB, struck the curb, and was thrown from the bike. A passerby provided first aid until VPD and BC Ambulance Service arrived moments after the collision, however the rider sadly died at the scene. VPD’s Collision

British Columbia health officials say about 70 per cent of eligible adults in the province have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Officials say in a news release that they will be following the National Advisory Committee on Immunization guidelines on mixing and matching vaccines. They say those who got a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can now receive either the same one, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second shot. Officials say more information will be given later this week on second doses for those who received AstraZeneca for their first shot. The provinc

An Indigenous author has just won a major award for her first novel which tracks the paths of five residential school survivors living in east Vancouver but Michelle Good says instead of celebrating she's mourning the children whose deaths at residential schools are just now being acknowledged. Good who lives in Savona near Kamloops but is a member of Red Pheasant Cree Nation west of Saskatoon, was awarded the 25,000 dollar Governor General's Literary Award for fiction today for her work ``Five Little Indians.'' She won the Amazon Canada First Novel Award last week but the lawyer-turned-autho

The City of Vancouver says it has submitted its final proposal for decriminalization of simple possession of drugs to Health Canada, making it the first jurisdiction in the country to apply for such an exemption for federal drug laws. The city says in a statement the so-called ``Vancouver Model'' proposes personal possession threshold levels for 15 common substances and would lead to a dramatic reduction in seizure by police. The news comes the same day the BC Coroners' Service said 176 British Columbians died from toxic illicit drugs in April, bringing the total number of deaths this year to

The family of a 48-year-old homicide victim has posted a 50,000 dollar reward for information that could lead to charges in the case. Relatives of Port Moody resident Trina Hunt announced the reward at a news conference today. The news conference was arranged by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. Hunt was last seen in January at her suburban Vancouver home and her body was found March 29th near Hope, although the identity of the remains was not confirmed for several days. The family is optimistic that the reward will produce new information that will help investigators. IHIT on Twitt

Preliminary reporting released by the BC Coroners Service confirms at least 176 British Columbians were lost to toxic illicit drugs in April, bringing the total number of deaths recorded in 2021 to 680."Once again, we're reminded that the scale of this public health emergency is truly unprecedented," said Lisa Lapointe, chief coroner. "I offer my heartfelt condolences to every family in the province that is experiencing the unimaginable pain of sudden and unexpected loss. Every life lost to toxic drugs in our province is a profound tragedy. Every one of them mattered, and every one of them wil

Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting on three periods. From May 28 to May 29, we had 258 new cases. From May 29 to May 30, we had 238 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we had a further 212 new cases."This results in a total of 708 new cases, for a total of 144,289 cases in British Columbia."There are 2,953 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 139,562 people who tested positive have recovered."Of the acti

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says no words can do justice to the children whose bodies were found in unmarked graves at a residential school in Kamloops. She started her COVID-19 briefing today by expressing her sorrow for the 215 Indigenous children and the countless others who died alone, scared and far from their families in residential schools. Dr. Henry pledged her commitment to changing systems and laws that continue to perpetuate racism that hurts Indigenous peoples in countless ways. She added Canadians can't get stuck in the shame and grief of what was done to First Nat