Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube says the situation in his province is critical, so new restrictions are necessary. Dube has announced the complete closure of bars and casinos and says restaurants can open only between 5 and 10 pm. Schools will also close as of today and until January 10th. Quebec reported a single-day record of 4,571 new COVID-19 infections today. Ontario reported 3,784 new cases today as many newly-eligible residents 18 and up scrambled to try to book a vaccine booster shot.

Homicide investigators say a man has been arrested following a deadly stabbing near the Metrotown Mall in Burnaby yesterday morning. A statement from the RCMP's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the man was picked up shortly after the attack, which was not random as the suspect and victim are known to each other. Police say there were also reports of several other ``serious offences'' in the same area at the time of the stabbing, but no one else was hurt and officers continue to investigate how all the events might be connected. The suspect in his 30s remains in custody and detectiv

The British Columbia government says it's extending the cap on fees charged by food delivery companies to help the restaurant industry through the COVID-19 pandemic. Ravi Kahlon, the minister of jobs, economic recovery and innovation, says the fee cap was to expire on Dec. 31, but it's now been extended to the end of 2022. The fee charged to restaurants by food delivery companies will remain at 15 per cent, while the additional cap of five per cent has been extended for other services, such as online ordering and processing fees. The original order was put in place on Dec. 22 last year under

The Coquihalla Highway (Highway 5) has reopened between Hope and Merritt to essential commercial vehicles only following a month of extensive repairs.The highway was closed by multiple washouts on Nov. 14, 2021."The people who build and maintain roads in B.C. have a reputation second to none, and their response to the recent disaster has been remarkable," said Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure. "Ministry teams, maintenance contractors and hundreds of workers going flat out in challenging conditions have allowed us to reopen the Coquihalla Highway today, giving B.C.’s

New COVID-19 restrictions ranging from audience capacities on large venues to the number of people able to attend indoor gatherings are in effect today.The health measures are scheduled to last until Jan. 31.Health officials say the restrictions, which also include the cancellation of all New Year's Eve parties, are being implemented over fears of the Omicron variant overwhelming B.C. hospitals.Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has said the Omicron variant is adding new and more complex challenges to managing the pandemic.B.C. reported 302 cases of the Omicron variant on Friday, up fr

B.C. is reporting 789 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 225,785 cases in the province.There are 4,313 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 218,960 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 191 individuals are in hospital and 74 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, three new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,399.The new deaths include:Fraser Health: oneVancouver Coastal Health: oneNorthern Health: oneThere have been 302 cases of the Omicron

BC's minister of agriculture says the government is providing up to one-million dollars in funding for commercial livestock producers affected by recent floods to buy emergency food supplies for their animals. Lana Popham says the government is working in collaboration with the BC Cattlemen's Association and the B-C Forage Council to deliver the program and help farmers resume operations. Producers that are eligible for the program are being asked to contact the program partners to complete an application for funding. The ministry has previously reported that 630 thousand chickens, 420 cattle

BC's coast experienced an small earthquake early this morning. Earthquakes Canada says the magnitude 3.5 quake happened at 4:13 A-M in the Strait of Georgia, 43 kilometres southwest of Vancouver. It says no reports of damage have been made, and none are expected. The U.S. Geological Survey says it happened at a depth of 17.3 kilometres.

Environment Canada has expanded its weather warnings for much of south and central B-C as strong winds and heavy snowstorms are expected to start today and continue into the weekend. It says areas of the central and north coasts could get up to 40 centimetres of snow, while Squamish, Whistler and the Sea-to-Sky corridor are expecting between 25 and 35 centimetres. Winter storm and snowfall warnings have also been issued for areas including East Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Canyon, and heavy snow is expected in the southern Interior, Cariboo and the Kootenays this weeken