British Columbia's parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives says the government will engage residents to create a new anti-racism act. Rachna Singh says in a statement that the government also plans to work with the province's human rights commissioner and others to pave the way for race-based data collection. She says the goal is to reduce systemic discrimination in various sectors, including health care. Singh issued the statement following the release of a report by former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond that found 84 per cent of Indigenous respondents reported some form of discr

It has been exactly two years since Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou arrived at Vancouver's airport for a flight layover and instead was taken to a police station in handcuffs. Meng was arrested at the behest of US law enforcement, who have charged her with fraud based on allegations that both she and Huawei deny. She remains in Vancouver where hearings are ongoing in her extradition case. The arrest soured Canada's relationship with China and has been linked to the ongoing detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians in China.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is reporting a record 46 deaths over the past three days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Henry says that brings the total in the province to 441 with most of the latest deaths among residents in long-term care. She says 2,364 new cases of COVID-19 were reported over the past three days, including 277 historical cases due to a problem with lab reporting last week in the Fraser Health region. Dr. Henry says the province now has 8,855 active cases, with 316 people in hospital including 75 in intensive care.

A naval exercise called Trident Fury 20 is set to begin today off western Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands. Maritime Forces Pacific says the exercise will continue until December 13th and include participation from the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, US Navy aircraft and US Coast Guard. Trident Fury 20 is designed to provide tactical warfare training to offshore threats and improve co-ordination between forces. The public may be able to see ships, divers and aircraft in the area around Esquimalt Lagoon. Naval exercise begins today off the western Vancouver Isl

Police in Abbotsford say they are investigating a shooting incident that appears to be a case of mistaken identity. Major crimes detectives say young children and other family members were at a home in the 32000-block of Adair Avenue Saturday night when shots were fired. Police say the home and family are not known to police, leading to concerns the wrong address was targeted. Police are asking anyone who may have dash camera footage or other video images of the area to contact them.

The newly appointed cabinet minister Premier John Horgan has tabbed to lead economic recovery says he will mount a large team effort from inside and outside government. Ravi Kahlon says the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred innovation by many businesses, communities and governments, and he wants to ensure the teamwork continues. The former Olympian says his initial priorities as jobs, economic recovery and innovation minister involve helping small businesses survive the pandemic, but supporting innovation will be the impetus of the future. Kahlon previously served as a parliamentary secretary in

British Columbia's top doctor has a message for people who don't follow a provincial order to wear a mask in indoor public spaces: order takeout, shop online or stay home. Dr. Bonnie Henry says she's saddened after hearing about store and restaurant employees facing aggressive customers who refuse to wear masks as COVID-19 numbers rise. The RCMP say they arrested a shopper at a Walmart in Dawson Creek this week after he allegedly assaulted an employee who asked him to wear a mask. Henry says B.C. set another single-day record with 911 cases of COVID-19. There have been a total of 30,884 diagno

A man has died after a confrontation with Vancouver police and the office that handles all cases of police-involved death or serious injury in British Columbia is investigating. Police say it happened at about 6 p.m. Thursday night in a fast-food restaurant at the east end of False Creek. A man had been asked to leave the restaurant's bathroom and became agitated. Officers were called and say the man was aggressive and combative when he came out of the bathroom, leading to a physical altercation. An email from police says the man went into medical distress and died, despite the efforts of par

Premier John Horgan says, "belligerent people should grow up" and follow COVID-19 measures. Horgan says he recently witnessed a group of customers abusing two young waiters and a receptionist at a restaurant when they wanted to sit at one table. He says similar behaviour will not be tolerated in the retail sector because police can be called to remove aggressive customers not wearing a mask. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry introduced an order recently to make masks mandatory in all indoor public spaces.