A public mischief charge has been approved by a special prosecutor against the mayor of Surrey, B.C. The BC Prosecution Service says the charge comes after Mayor Doug McCallum complained to the RCMP that he was verbally assaulted and hit by a car. There were public discussions at the time about Surrey replacing the RCMP with a municipal police force and McCallum said he was attacked during a ``Keep the RCMP in Surrey'' gathering at a grocery store. McCallum was elected on a promise to replace the RCMP with a local force and some Surrey Police members are already on the job. Vancouver lawyer R

Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 should be a big, red, flashing part of the radar screen for anyone planning a trip outside Canada. Duclos says while Omicron is still relatively rare here, it is a different story in other countries, where governments are re-imposing lockdowns and tightening public health restrictions. And he's warning anyone thinking of leaving Canada for a winter vacation that they will face delays and hassles on their return. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says there have been 87 confirmed cases of Omicro

Canada's chief public health officer says a resurgence of COVID-19 is forecast for Canada, and it could speed up even more if the Omicron variant replaces Delta. Doctor Theresa Tam says there have been 87 confirmed cases of Omicron in Canada so far.New federal modelling shows that if Omicron does not predominate over Delta, Canada could see between 2,900 and 15,000 daily cases by mid-January. Dr. Tam says if Omicron becomes dominant, Canada could see 26,000 daily cases by then. Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada could see up to 15,000 COVID-19 cases per day by mid-January

The federal and provincial agriculture ministers will be touring a poultry farm today that was affected by last month's devastating floods. Ministers Marie-Claude Bibeau and Lana Popham are expected to address recovery and rebuilding efforts for farmers during the visit to Abbotsford. Popham has said 628-thousand chickens, 420 dairy cattle and roughly 12-thousand hogs died in the region's Sumas Prairie. Historic flooding resulting from a series of so-called ``atmospheric rivers'' triggered widespread evacuation orders in the area and submerged many properties.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for a critical highway linking B-C's Interior and the Lower Mainland.It says up to 30 centimetres is expected on Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton and blowing snow will add to the hazard with strong winds gusting up to 60 kilometres per hour.Environment Canada says the winter storm will gradually intensify with the heaviest snowfall and strongest winds expected tonight and Saturday afternoon.It warns visibility may be reduced at times and road surfaces may be difficult to navigate due to accumulated snow.

B.C. is reporting 341 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 221,576 cases in the province.Note: The numbers of total and new cases are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed.There are currently 2,915 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 216,185 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 220 individuals are currently in hospital and 73 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 24 hours, nine new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,378.The new deaths includ

With the holiday season approaching, Burnaby RCMP has released dash-cam video of a recently-convicted impaired driver to illustrate the dangers of drinking and driving.The video was taken on January 8, 2021 and was captured by the impaired driver’s own dash cam as he travelled from Richmond, to Vancouver, and into Burnaby. The video was later seized by police after a search warrant was executed. The video shows the driver crossing the centre line towards oncoming traffic multiple times, narrowly missing other vehicles. The video also shows the driver blowing through a stop sign and driving t

The B.C. government is warning of ``severe winter weather'' involving significant snowfall, avalanche risks and heavy water flow in many parts of the province this weekend. The government says in an advisory that heavy rain on the coast, snow in parts of the Interior and mountain passes, and high winds across much of the province may pose further challenges from Friday through Sunday in areas recovering from November's storms. Of particular concern is Highway 3, which remains closed to non-essential travel but is the main link between the Lower Mainland and the Interior while repairs continue

A report by the auditor general shows Canada failed to adequately enforce border measures designed to keep international travellers from importing cases of COVID-19. The AG says the Public Health Agency of Canada had no idea what became of 59 per cent of travellers suspected of flouting quarantine orders. The auditor assessed enforcement of quarantine and COVID-19 test mandates between July 1st, 2020, and June 30th, 2021. The report comes as Canada reinstitutes several stringent border measures, including mandatory quarantines, because of the emergence of the Omicron variant.