Employers and the union representing supervisors embroiled in a labour dispute that triggered a lockout at British Columbia's ports will attempt to reach a deal when talks restart this weekend. A spokesman from the office of federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has confirmed the minister spoke with leaders at both the BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, but did not invoke any section of the Canadian Labour Code that would force them back to talks. A statement from the ministry says MacKinnon instead "asked them to return to the negot

British Columbia's restaurant industry has expressed concern over the Trudeau government's tightening of the temporary foreign worker program, saying the move will increase food prices at restaurants. The government has banned low-wage temporary foreign workers in areas with an unemployment rate above 6 percent and raised the minimum hourly wage in BC to $34.62 for temporary workers hired under the high-wage stream. The intention is to ensure Canadian workers can find employment. However, the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association argues that restaurant sector wages cannot absorb these ch

British Columbia's new cabinet is set to be sworn in on Nov. 18, one month after the provincial election that gave Premier David Eby's NDP the slimmest of majorities, pending recounts. A statement from Eby's office says the swearing-in dates of cabinet and members of the legislature have been set based on the judicial recounts in three ridings and reporting information from Elections BC. Eby says the judicial recounts taking place Thursday and Friday will ensure every vote is counted. After those recounts, he says B.C. residents want to see "urgent action" on priorities including affordability

Doctors say they are seeing a spike in walking pneumonia cases in parts of Canada, particularly in kids, at a time when respiratory viruses typically circulate. Walking pneumonia is a mild form of pneumonia that often presents as a fever, cough or fatigue, but a small subset of severe cases can leave patients short of breath or with high fevers. Dr. Earl Rubin, director of the Infectious Disease Division at Montreal Children's Hospital, says he’s noticed more cases in toddlers, which is younger than the typical school-age and young adult demographic the bacterial infection usually impacts. A

British Columbia's Crown utility says crews have restored power to 95 per cent of some 290,000 businesses and homes that were in the dark at some point Monday as strong winds battered coastal areas and parts of the central Interior. BC Hydro says crews have been working around the clock to replace dozens of spans of power lines as well as power poles knocked down by toppled trees. Environment Canada had issued now-lifted wind warnings for most of the south and central coast, including Metro Vancouver, where the weather office said gusts of wind were expected to reach speeds of up to 100 kilome

The shutdown at BC ports is expected to impact $800 million in cargo per day. The BC Maritime Employers Association announced that, in light of foreman workers going on strike yesterday, it has also suspended union members from work. Among the most concerned are business owners, who are still recovering from the disruption caused by the railway strike earlier. Additionally, the 13-day strike by port workers last year had halted billions of dollars in trade. Bridget Anderson, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, stated that the latest port closures will disrupt the movement of $8

Environment Canada is warning of strong winds and heavy rain over much of coastal British Columbia and a large swath of the central Interior, while winter storm warnings are in effect for stretches of highway in the south. The weather office says gusts of wind could reach speeds of up to 90 or 100 kilometres an hour over southern Vancouver Island, including the Victoria area. It says gusts could jump to speeds of 110 kilometres an hour over northern Vancouver Island and stretching up to Bella Bella on the central coast. Winds were expected to reach speeds of 90 kilometres an hour over Metro Va

Negotiations between British Columbia's port employers and the union representing foremen are entering a final scheduled day in a bid to avoid a labour disruption. Both the BC Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 confirm talks are ongoing with the help of federal mediation services. The current negotiation session began on Oct. 29 and was said to be extendable by two days, if necessary. The union, which represents about 700 foremen at the ports, has said if talks break down it has a mandate from members to strike that expires on Nov. 2. N

Federal prosecutors have approved charges against 19 people, eight of them still at large, after an investigation into what police call a violent drug trafficking network in northeastern British Columbia. A statement from B.C.'s Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit says two of the 11 people who were arrested remain in custody, while the others have been released with conditions as they move through the judicial process. It says the other eight, all men, are wanted on outstanding charges that include trafficking, possession of a restricted firearm and careless use or storage of a gun. The u