Canada's national budget watchdog says fixing the country’s long-term care system would come with a hefty price tag. A report published this morning by parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux estimates ending wait lists, increasing staff pay and benefits, providing more hours of care each day and expanding home care could cost around $13.7 billion. The analysis is based on a motion put on notice in March by Green MP Paul Manly. The problems in the system have been documented for years but came to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic as long-term care residents bore the brunt of outbre

Canadian Andre De Grasse beat two Americans to the finish line to win the gold medal in the men's 200 metres in Tokyo. It is his fifth career Olympic medal but his first gold. De Grasse also set a new Canadian record -- blasting down the track in just 19.62 seconds. He is the first Canadian to win the 200-metre event since 1928.

Over a four-day period, B.C. is reporting 742 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 150,631 cases in the province:July 30-31: 160 new casesJuly 31-Aug. 1: 196 new casesAug. 1-2: 185 new casesAug. 2-3: 201 new casesThere are 1,544 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 147,285 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 53 individuals are in hospital and 19 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 96 hours, one new death (Vancouver Coastal Health) has been reported, for an overall t

The New Westminster Police Department is warning of a recent scam that is using call spoofing technology to make it appear as if fraudulent calls are coming from the New Westminster Police Department.Some people receiving these calls say they were told by someone claiming to be a police officer that packages for them have been seized at the Canada USA border, and that there was a warrant issued for their arrest."They are using this as a tactic to solicit personal information from unsuspecting people," Stated Sergeant Kumar. "If you receive one of these calls block their number and hang up."If

Canada entered the quarterfinals of the Olympic women's beach volleyball event with two teams still in the running. After today's session, those medal hopes have run dry. The top seeded team of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan were upset in their quarterfinal, shortly after fellow Canadians Brandie Wilkerson and Heather Bansley were defeated. Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan faced Australians in the quarterfinal where Australia won by 2-1. For the second day in a row, Canadian athletes were kept off the podium at the Tokyo Olympics. There were some close calls, with Canada finishi

The Surrey Policing Transition Trilateral Committee (SPTTC) has approved an initial deployment date for a group of Surrey Police Service (SPS) officers to be operationally deployed beginning on, or before, November 30, 2021. A phased, integrated transition process has been agreed between the SPTTC partners (Public Safety Canada, Province of BC, and City of Surrey) and will be implemented with the first 50 SPS officers assuming operational policing duties this fall. These officers will be assigned to positions within the RCMP Municipal Police Unit in Surrey. "This is an exciting time for the Su

Montreal police say three people are dead and two have been injured in a shooting Monday night in the city's northeastern end. Police spokeswoman Veronique Comtois says several 911 calls were made at around 7 p.m. reporting gunshots in the residential neighbourhood of Riviere-des-Prairies. She says shots were fired toward an apartment building from the outside, striking five people. Police initially confirmed one death but two other victims died during the night, with the condition of the two injured not immediately known. No arrests have been made, and investigators were on the scene along w

The wildfire situation is continually evolving, and the information below is current as of 7 p.m. (Pacific time) on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021.For real-time updates on evacuation alerts and orders, visit: https://twitter.com/EmergencyInfoBCFor the latest wildfire information, visit: www.bcwildfire.caFires:Wildfires burning in B.C.: 250Since April 1, 2021:1,308 wildfires555,904 hectares of area burnedActive fires by fire centre:Cariboo: 43Coastal: 15Kamloops: 75Northwest: 6Prince George: 51Southeast: 60Resources:Firefighters and other personnel fighting the fires: 3,245Out-of-province firefighters: 3

A sixth candidate has entered BC's Liberal leadership contest. Kelowna-Mission MLA Renee Merrifield says she wants to bring her leadership success as an entrepreneur to the Liberals. Merrifield was first elected last fall and is currently the Opposition's health critic. Merrifield joins candidates Val Litwin, Michael Lee, Ellis Ross, Kevin Falcon and Gavin Dew in the February 5th race. Renee Merrifield on Twitter: Happy BC Day! I’m looking forward to meeting you in your corner of this beautiful province!