Premier John Horgan has released the following statement on Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colours:"This week, on the last full moon in the lunar month of the Hindu calendar of Phalguna, people and communities here in British Columbia and around the world will be celebrating Holi."Known as the Festival of Colours, Holi marks the end of winter and the start of spring. It is a time for new beginnings and renewal, for hope and optimism."After two of the most challenging years we have ever faced, British Columbians are coming back together to reconnect, recover and rebuild stronger than ever."For tho

The federal government has begun accepting applications from Ukrainians and their families fleeing Russian aggression who want to come to Canada while they decide their next steps. The program to allow an unlimited number of Ukrainians to come to Canada was first announced two weeks ago. At the time, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser suggested Ukrainian citizens would be allowed to stay for two years before deciding whether to apply to stay permanently. The government has since extended that period to three years, and extended eligibility to family members of Ukrainian nationals, regardless of

British Columbia is reporting another eight deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 2,953.Hospitalization numbers continue to drop in the province, with 329 people in hospital Wednesday compared with 345 a day earlier while 51 people are in intensive care.Surrey Memorial Hospital is reporting a new outbreak.There are nine facilities with ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, most of them in long-term care homes.Nearly 91 per cent of eligible people aged 12 and up have had their second vaccine and 56.8 per cent of those have had a third dose.Since December 2020, almost 11.5 million doses of va

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says NATO continues to look at ways it can help support and protect Ukrainians, and continue to prevent the war from expanding and escalating elsewhere. He says that involves making heartbreaking decisions, including turning down Ukraine's request for a no-fly zone. Trudeau says Canada is providing Ukraine with lethal weapons, humanitarian aid and refugee support. He says and there will be further talks on how to support Ukraine when he flies to Brussels next week for a NATO summit.

The Integrated Homcide Investigation Team says it has found the car linked to a deadly, targeted shooting in the parking lot of a North Vancouver shopping centre on Friday that killed 34 year old Milad Rahmi. Detective Corporal Sukhi Dhesi says the dark blue Mazda 3 hatchback used by the suspects to flee after the shooting was found burning in North Vancouver's North Lonsdale area at about 7 p.m. Saturday. Dhesi says homicide investigators also have pictures and descriptions of two people seen leaving the car before it burned and she says police want to speak to anyone with information about t

The British Columbia government is pushing the minimum wage up to $15.65 an hour, which it says is the highest among the provinces. Labour Minister Harry Bains announced today that the hourly wage will jump by 45 cents starting June 1.The increase is the first to be tied to B.C.'s annual inflation rate, which was 2.8 per cent last year.Bains says the decision to use the provincial rate of inflation rather than the national rate was made to better reflect the needs of B.C. workers.He says the increase is expected to attract more workers to the province, while providing certainty of costs for bu

Plans are in the works in British Columbia for the province to accept thousands of Ukrainians fleeing as Russia's invasion pushes further into their country. Premier John Horgan says he has met with Ukrainian community leaders, refugee settlement agencies and faith groups to make preparations to meet the housing, health and transition needs of those fleeing the war.Horgan says he's not sure about the number of people from Ukraine who might come to B.C., but he told a news conference it could be tens of thousands.He says community leaders indicate housing will be the top issue and discussions a

January was another grim month in BC for deaths caused by toxic illicit drugs. Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says 207 people died, an average of 6.7 every day, the third-highest monthly toll since 2016 when a public health emergency was declared due to rising toxicity of street drugs. Lapointe says there were also concerning increases in drug-related fatalities in small and medium-sized communities in January, with 11 deaths in Kamloops and 19 recorded across the Northern Health region. She says a safer drug supply is one key to solving the crisis, a recommendation contained in a report issued

BC is repealing its indoor mask order as well as capacity limits on faith gatherings tomorrow and will end its COVID-19 vaccine card system on April 8th. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says restrictions on visitors to long-term care facilities will also be lifted by March 18th as long as visitors are fully vaccinated and screened. Dr. Henry says high levels of vaccination and decreasing transmission of the coronavirus are allowing the province to switch to what she describes as an ``empowered self-management approach.'' She is calling on people to support those who wish to continu