The federal government has announced that public servants must attest they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 29th, or be put on unpaid administrative leave. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement this morning, saying the new policy applies to the core public service, air travel and rail employees and travellers. He says there will be few exceptions.Officials say the policy will affect more than 267,000 core public-service and RCMP workers, and will apply even to those who work from home and outside of the country.

B.C. is reporting 593 new cases of COVID-19, including nine epi-linked cases, for a total of 190,372 cases in the province.There are 5,937 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 182,045 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 345 individuals are in hospital and 144 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, no new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,983.There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at the University Hospital of Northern BC (Northern Health). The outbreak at Men

British Columbia's 30 thousand provincial employees will need to be fully vaccinated by November 22nd. The province has announced the new measure, saying it's supporting the effort to increase vaccination rates by making the requirement for its workers. It says as more employees return to their regular workplaces later this fall, full vaccination will provide an additional and reassuring layer of protection for them. The government says public service employees working in core government ministries will be required to provide proof of full vaccination using the BC Vaccine Card.

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 1,986 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 189,680 cases in the province:Oct. 1-2: 617 new casesOct. 2-3: 707 new casesOct. 3-4: 662 new cases There are 5,986 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 181,304 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 326 individuals are in hospital and 142 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. In the last 72 hours, 10 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,983.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: fiveVancouver Coastal Health:

A BC First Nation says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has apologized for not responding to its invitations to attend a ceremony on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The Tk'emlups te Secwepemc says Chief Roseanne Casimir received a call from Trudeau on Saturday. PM Trudeau's office says he discussed the path forward and told the chief he hopes to visit her community soon. The prime minister has faced a deluge of criticism for spending Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on vacation with his family in Tofino rather than attending events marking the day.

B.C. is reporting 714 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 187,694 cases in the province.There are 6,317 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 178,980 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 328 individuals are in hospital and 138 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,973.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: fourInterior Health: sixVancouver Coastal Health: one From Sept. 23-29, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 71.3% of case

Surrey RCMP is cautioning the public after victims lose more than a million dollars to romance scams this year. Surrey RCMP received reports from 29 people who have been the victim of online romance scams between January and August 2021, with a total of $1,362,269.00 lost. During the same period, 213 victims lost $22,463,510.00 throughout the Lower Mainland.A romance scam involves any individual who uses false romantic intentions toward a victim in order to gain their trust and affection for the purpose of obtaining the victim’s money. Many romance scams begin via social media or online dati

Premier John Horgan and Indigenous Relations Minister Murray Rankin are urging all British Columbians to wear their orange shirts today to proclaim that every child matters. It is the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and orange shirt day in BC. Horgan says by wearing orange people acknowledge the truth of the residential school system, while honouring survivors, families and communities. The statement says while the truth of what happened at the schools is well-documented, people were horrified to learn of the findings of the remains of more than 200 children at the former Kaml

B.C. is reporting 813 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 186,245 cases in the province. There are 6,185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 177,729 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 340 individuals are in hospital and 146 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 1,953.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: twoIsland Health: threeNorthern Health: oneVancouver Coastal Health: five There have been two new outbreaks at Royal Inland Ho