BC's Labour Minister Harry Bains says he understands the pressures facing employers during the COVID-19 pandemic, but workers are also struggling and the minimum wage will increase as planned on Monday.The BC government announced a series of minimum wage increases in 2018 and the June 1st wage boost goes up 75 cents per hour to $14.60.Bains says Labour Ministry data shows 60 per cent of people earning minimum wage in BC are female and 93 per cent of the province's minimum wage paying jobs are in the service sector, including cleaning services, grocery stores and restaurants.He says businesses

A white police officer seen on video kneeling on a black man's neck for eight minutes as he pleaded he couldn't breathe has been arrested. The arrest of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd follows three nights of increasing violence in Minneapolis. Last night, protesters torched the police station where Chauvin and three other officers seen in the video worked. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says the state is taking over the response to the protests and will show respect and dignity for those who are suffering.

Police in Metro Vancouver are searching for a woman who casually approached a senior who was using a walker, tripped her from behind and walked away.Burnaby RCMP have released video of the April 3 assault that was caught on surveillance cameras mounted at the Metrotown SkyTrain station.Police say the 84-year-old victim, who is of Asian descent, was shaken but not seriously hurt. The suspect is described as a woman, possibly Asian, wearing a face mask, a long, dark puffy jacket, dark tights, light shoes and carrying a large, beige purse.Investigators say there is no immediate indication the ca

The cruise-ship season in Canada is all but dead as Ottawa extends a ban on ships in Canadian waters until the end of October.Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says passenger ships with overnight accommodations for more than 100 passengers can't operate in Canadian waters until at least Oct. 31.In March the government barred ships with more than 500 passengers until July 1 but Garneau is expanding that ban today.He says he understands that this will have a big economic impact on the tourism industry and that the government is looking at what to do about that.Last year 140 cruise ships brou

Minneapolis police station torched amid George Floyd protestProtesters angered by the death of a black man who died while pleading for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck have torched a Minneapolis police station that the department abandoned.Thursday marked a third night of violent protests following the death of George Floyd, who died in a confrontation with officers outside a grocery store. Fires burned Friday morning in Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul.National Guard members were being stationed in locations to help stem looting.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's defended the cit

The COVID-19 outbreak at the Mission prison in BC's Fraser Valley has been declared over. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says there have been no new cases for two incubation periods in what was one of the largest outbreaks in the province. More than 130 inmates and staff tested positive for the virus and one inmate died. Henry says the protocols that were developed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the prison are being used in federal correctional facilities across the country. Two more people died in the province and nine others were diagnosed with the virus, while two thousan

Violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody rocked a Minneapolis neighbourhood for a second straight night as angry crowds looted stores, set fires and left a path of damage that stretched for miles.The protests that began late Wednesday and stretched into Thursday were the most destructive yet since the death of George Floyd. He was seen on video gasping for breath during an arrest in which an officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes.In the footage, George pleads that he cannot breathe before he slowly stops talking and moving.The U.S. Attorney’s Office and

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened a major United Nations' conference this morning saying a co-ordinated response is necessary for the global economy to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.The UN estimates without such a plan, the pandemic could slash nearly $8.5 trillion from the world economy over the next two years and force 34.3 million people into extreme poverty this year.Trudeau told more than 50 heads of state and government that "our citizens need to have confidence in international institutions that leave no one behind and are capable of overcoming global challenges."Earlier this we

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia: “Today, we are announcing nine new cases, for a total of 2,550 cases in British Columbia." “There are 244 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 2,144 people who tested positive have recovered. “Of the total COVID-19 cases, 37 individuals are hospitalized, seven of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.