A report from British Columbia's seniors' advocate say the province will need almost 16,000 new long-term care beds by 2036 to meet the demands of an aging society. Dan Levitt's report tabled at the provincial legislature pegs the current shortfall at over 2,000 beds, and predicts the gap will "grow exponentially" over the next decade. It says the number of people waiting for beds has grown significantly in the past 10 years to 7, 212 in 2025, and people are also waiting longer. The average wait time for a long-term care bed had almost doubled to 290 days by 2024, according to the report, whic

Vancouver Police have released video of suspects in the alleged strong-arm robbery of an 84-year-old woman downtown on Sunday. The senior was standing near Homer and West Pender Street shortly before 11:30 a.m. on July 27 when she was approached by a man and woman who accused her of stealing from them. One suspect allegedly took the woman’s cane, while the other tried to take the purse off her shoulder. The senior held on to the purse until another person intervened. The suspects were last seen walking north on Homer Street. “Every indication suggests this senior was targeted because s

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September – unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace. Starmer called ministers together for a rare summertime Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza. He told them that Britain will recognize a state of Palestine before the United Nations General Assembly, “unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the West Bank, and commits to a long-term

British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says a grizzly attack on a couple in the province's Interior over the weekend was likely "defensive in nature," and it's unlikely the bears were stalking people. In an update posted on Facebook, the service says its investigation into the Saturday attack along the Kootenay River near West Creston, B.C., found no evidence the two bears were hunting humans. The update adds there were no reports of bear activity or aggressive behaviour in the area before the attack, and the service is no longer trying to capture and kill the animals. The attack on a

On July 27th at approximately 4:00am the New Westminster Police Department received a request for assistance from Richmond RCMP to locate a woman in crisis who was believed to be in the Fraser River. Two officers boarded Shaw 1, the NWPD police boat, and joined alongside the Canadian Coast Guard to search for the missing women. After approximately 30 minutes of searching, officers located the woman clinging to a log boom. Officers provided life-saving first aid to the woman before BC Emergency Health Services paramedics arrived on scene. “One of the overarching goals of the New Westminster

Temperatures in parts of the British Columbia Interior are expected to reach 38 C as heat warnings activate across large parts of the region. Environment and Climate Change Canada says the very high temperatures are forecasted in the Okanagan Valley, Fraser Canyon, South Thompson, Boundary and West Kootenay regions of the southern B.C. Interior. Another warning covers the North Thompson, Cariboo, 100 Mile, Prince George and Stuart-Nechako regions further north, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 34 degrees. The weather agency says the heat is being brought on by a ridge of high pre

An out-of-control wildfire in the British Columbia Interior has triggered evacuation alerts for a number of properties near Lytton. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District says at least five properties in the Spencer Road South area have been given the warning to prepare for evacuation on short notice. The Lytton First Nation has also issued a similar alert for an area west and south of Lytton due to the nearby Cantilever Bar wildfire which has grown to 1.5 square kilometres. The BC Wildfire Service says the fire was discovered Monday and is suspected to be human-caused. The service says there a

A gunman opened fire in a high-profile building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on Monday evening, killing four people, including a police officer. The gunman then shooting himself. The gunman has been identified as 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Las Vegas. Police say he had mental health issues. The building where the gunman opened fire houses the National Football League as well as financial and other large firms such as Blackstone and KPMG. According to reports, Tamura was a football player while studying in a high school in California. Reports suggest that the National Football League

A potential referendum question on separating from Canada has been referred to a judge to confirm it doesn't violate the Constitution. The proposed question seeks a yes or no answer to whether people agree with Alberta becoming its own country. Alberta's chief electoral officer says provincial laws require potential referendum questions to respect more than 30 sections of the Constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The question was submitted earlier this month by Mitch Sylvestre with the Alberta Prosperity Project, which has been touring the province to promote inde