The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales in Metro Vancouver hit an all-time record last year. The board says sales in 2021 rose 42.2 per cent to 43,999 compared with 30,944 in 2020. The previous record was 42,326 set in 2015. The record year came as home sales in the region in December totalled 2,688, down from 3,093 sales recorded in December 2020 and 3,428 homes sold in November 2021. The benchmark price for all residential properties increased 17.3 per cent from the prior year to $1.23 million. Sales of detached homes in December 2021 totalled 794, down from 1,026 sales i

Environment Canada says most of central and southern British Columbia will be smacked by a powerful storm due to dump as much as 30 centimetres of snow in some areas tonight and overnight. Forecasters say the snow should turn to rain in most places by tomorrow, but freezing rain is very likely from the Fraser Valley eastward, adding to already challenging conditions in those regions. As much as 40 centimetres of snow could blanket southern Interior mountain passes and heavy accumulations are also expected on the Sea-to-Sky Highway and along the Malahat Highway northwest of Victoria. Extreme c

Prime Minister Trudeau has provided his first COVID update for the new year. His message to Canadians was that he can understand that they're frustrated. Trudeau says after two years, Canadians now know how to keep their loved ones safe and how to keep our health-care system from being overwhelmed. He says as long as we keep doing our part, we'll be looking at a better spring. Trudeau expresses frustration over flight videos: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's "extremely frustrated" by video that shows passengers on board a Sunwing flight to Mexico last month apparently ignoring public he

Assessed values of properties in British Columbia are up again, but the pricey Vancouver area has been upstaged by small towns where value estimates rose by more than 40 per cent. Data posted on the BC Assessment website shows market value as of July 1, 2021, increased over 40 per cent in the communities of Hope, Port Alberni, Lake Cowichan and other rural areas, while Vancouver was up seven per cent. Bryan Murao, BC Assessment's deputy assessor, says the provincial real estate market remains resilient and homeowners provincewide can expect higher assessment values for 2022. But he says large

Stricter COVID-19 measures are taking effect in Ontario today. School classes will run remotely until at least Jan. 17, while most other measures, including business closures, are slated to last at least 21 days. Hospitals are ordered to pause all non-urgent surgeries to free up staff to cover absences and the rising number of hospitalized virus patients. Several kinds of business including cinemas, gyms, theatres and restaurants must close for indoor activities. Some other businesses including retail stores and personal care services are limited to 50 per cent capacity. Social gatherings are

The Prime Minister's Office says Justin Trudeau and B-C Premier John Horgan spoke Tuesday about flooding relief efforts as well as how governments can keep citizens safe during the wave of Omicron variant cases. Trudeau says he and Horgan -- who is the chair of the Council of the Federation -- discussed how provinces and territories can deal with the surge of cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Trudeau's office also says a talk will be scheduled with provincial leaders next week on efforts to reduce the health, economic, and social impacts of the variant. He and Horgan also spoke about

Over the past 24 hours, B.C. is reporting 2,542 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 266,710 cases in the province.There are 27,106 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 236,309 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 298 individuals are in hospital and 86 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:1,458 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 12,729329 new cases in Vancouver Coastal HealthTotal active cases: 8,274270 new cases in Interior HealthTotal active cases: 2,250125 new cases i

British Columbia's provincial health officer is advising businesses to put contingency plans in place to continue operating as up to one-third of their staff could be off sick with the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Dr. Bonnie Henry says private companies, schools and health-care sites must all prepare for a wave of illness by reinforcing safety protocols like physical distancing to protect as many people as possible. She says businesses that require employees to come into a workplace should stagger shifts and break times, use Plexiglas barriers and limit the number of customers entering the pre

Elizabeth Ann Laird, a pioneer in B-C's broadcast industry, has died. Laird moved to BC from Ontario in 1967 and lived in the North Okanagan before settling with her husband and family near Merritt and investing in radio station CJNL1230, now Q-101, in 1994. Laird became the sole owner in 2016 and is credited with giving many broadcasters their start in the industry while she was involved with the station. The active community volunteer, business leader and longtime Merritt-area school trustee sold CJNL to Pattison Media last year. An announcement about a memorial service is expected later.