The final debate of the BC Liberal leadership race is tonight, with barely two weeks left before the party selects a new leader on February 5th. Candidates at tonight's debate include Gavin Dew, Kevin Falcon, Michael Lee, Val Litwin, Renee Merrifield, Ellis Ross and Stan Sipos. The race began last February when former leader Andrew Wilkinson officially resigned after the Liberals won just 28 seats and saw the New Democrats capture a large majority in the 2020 provincial election. Tonight's debate can be viewed online at the BC Liberals website.

Grocery stores are struggling with rising labour and product shortages that experts warn could threaten Canada's food security. Gary Sands, senior vice-president of public policy with the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, says employee absenteeism due to COVID-19 protocols has hit about 30 per cent across Canada, and rising. Without access to rapid testing in many provinces, he says workers are repeatedly forced to isolate for a week or more after an exposure to COVID-19. Sands says if the situation worsens, some grocery stores won't be able to open, threatening food security in rur

New figures show the Canadian Armed Forces are struggling with a growing shortage of personnel even as the military faces more and more demands at home and abroad. While the military is supposed to have just over 100,000 troops at full strength, new Defence Department figures show it was short about 12,000 regular force troops and reservists at the end of November. The shortfall is worse than at the end of 2020, when military was short about 7,000 troops as the onset of the pandemic forced recruiting centres and training schools to close for months. The latest figures also show another 10,000

While the most challenging days are predicted to be ahead for B-C's health-care system as COVID-19 cases peak in the latest wave, representatives for doctors and nurses say their members are already reaching their breaking points. Doctor Ramneek Dosanjh, president of Doctors of B-C, says physicians are feeling emotionally exhausted as they enter the third year of the pandemic. She says the COVID-19 has highlighted shortages of not just critical supplies such personal protective equipment but also the need for additional human resources and support in the workforce. Aman Grewal, president of

British Columbia's anti-gang police unit says officers have seized cash, drugs and weapons after a year-long investigation on Vancouver Island. The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says the investigation focused on an alleged organized drug trafficking network with ties to members of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. During the execution of four search warrants on homes in the Comox Valley and Campbell River, police say they seized about 3-point-5 kilograms of suspected cocaine, 160-thousand dollars in cash and several guns.Six people were arrested and have been released from custody

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 5,625 new cases of COVID-19, including six epi-linked cases, for a total of 299,146 cases in the province:Jan. 14-15: 2,383 new casesJan. 15-16: 1,733 new casesJan. 16-17: 1,509 new casesThere are 35,985 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 257,677 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 819 COVID-positive individuals are in hospital and 99 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.The new/active cases include:1,884 new cases in Fraser HealthTotal active cases: 17,7891,155 new

British Columbia's top doctor has extended a COVID-19 order that will keep gyms and fitness centres closed before providing more details tomorrow. That's when restrictions were set to expire, but Dr. Bonnie Henry said last week that they believed COVID-19 hospitalizations were expected to spike after cases within the community had peaked. Restrictions on gatherings and events will stay in place, and Henry has now also directed school boards to collect information on the vaccination status of their staff. The BC Teachers' Federation says on Twitter that it was not consulted or notified ahead o

A huge snowstorm continues to blast southern Ontario and parts of Quebec. The city of Toronto and other centres were brought to a standstill today with major highways having to close for a time. Environment Canada had issued snowfall or blizzard warnings for a stretch of the province but some of those have since been lifted. Dozens of flights to and from Toronto's Pearson airport were also delayed or cancelled this morning. The region was forecast to get as much as 50 centimetres of snow. Canada Post has issued a red delivery service alert for southern and eastern Ontario as a fierce storm h

A man with a meat cleaver was arrested by Vancouver Police on Sunday after threatening to kill people at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.A witness called 9-1-1 just after 1 p.m. yesterday after the 31-year-old suspect followed a woman into the Columbia Street community centre and began uttering threats while holding a large knife.VPD officers were close by and responded to the 9-1-1 call. The officers arrested the suspect nearby, after he tossed the knife and walked away.Vancouver Police applaud a number of quick-thinking witnesses who grabbed the knife off the ground, called 9-1-1, the