Brenda Locke, the mayor of Surrey, B.C., says the council has voted to revert its policing back to the RCMP, a move than will cost the city millions of dollars.In a news conference at Surrey City Hall on Friday morning, Mayor Brenda Locke announced the decision, saying both SPS and RCMP deserve certainty about their future in the City of Surrey. The B.C. government recommended in April that Surrey continue its transition to the independent Surrey Police Service, offering $150 million over five years to help the city cover costs, but saying it would not pay the estimated $72 million in severanc

Four people have been found dead in a home in British Columbia's northwest in what police are calling a homicide.Prince Rupert RCMP say officers responded to a call on Tuesday evening to the 100 block of Silversides Drive.Once there, police say they found four individuals dead in the home and began a homicide investigation.Police say they do not believe there are any outstanding suspects in the case at this time, and there should be no further risk to the public.Prince Rupert is located about 1,200 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.

Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole has been named as the president and managing director of risk advisory firm ADIT North America.The firm provides services to companies, investment funds and agencies that operate or invest globally.It describes itself as specializing in strategic intelligence, business diplomacy, due diligence, security and compliance.The regional branch of the Paris-based firm that O'Toole will helm encompasses operations in both Canada and Mexico.O'Toole, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Stephen Harper, announced in March that he would not return to t

B.C. is expanding the program it uses to help patients kick their dependence on opioids.A statement from the Health Ministry says B.C. will now provide universal coverage for eligible drugs which include methadone that are rated as opioid agonist treatment medications.The statement says the expanded program differs from safer supply which provides alternatives to illicit drugs and will help the roughly 1600 B.C. patients who can't get PharmaCare coverage for the drugs needed to manage their opioid-use disorder.Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says removing cost barriers

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says deportation orders for international students caught up in a fraud scheme have been put on hold while a task force investigates each case.Hundreds of students might have been affected by the scheme, which saw immigration agents issue fake acceptance letters to get international students into Canada.Some students had no idea their documents were forged until it came time for them apply for permanent residency.Fraser says the department is aware of only few dozen who have been ordered to leave the country, and that process will be paused.A task force of seni

Justice Russell Brown is retiring from the Supreme Court of Canada effective immediately, ending a probe into alleged misconduct.The Canadian Judicial Council, the body tasked with disciplining judges, says it no longer has jurisdiction to continue investigating allegations of misconduct stemming from an event at an Arizona hotel in January.Brown has vigorously denied accusations that he was intoxicated and harassed a group of friends at an event in Scottsdale, Ariz., honouring another judge.The justice, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2015 by then-prime minister Stephen Harper, had

A Vancouver family known for its philanthropy is making a $20 million donation to a British Columbia substance use treatment centre in memory of their adult son and brother who died of an opioid overdose.Jill Diamond, executive director of Vancouver's Diamond Foundation and sister to Steven Diamond, said in a statement that her brother might still be alive today if he had received the care being offered at Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital."No matter where we turned, we never found the help that Steven needed," Diamond said in a news release."We’re speaking out today for the first time because

British Columbia will soon be the first jurisdiction in Canada to implement a licensing requirement for asbestos abatement contractors.The Labour Ministry says workers must be licensed by Jan. 1.This comes following changes to the Workers Compensation Act last year, requiring that contractors who remove the cancer-causing material use only trained and certified workers.The ministry says required training for worker certification is scheduled to begin this summer.It says WorkSafeBC will begin to accept applications from contractors performing asbestos abatement work by September.The ministry sa

WestJet says it will wind down operations at its budget carrier Swoop by October.The move comes after ratification of a new collective agreement that brings pilots of both carriers onto a level pay scale, with a 24 percent pay bump over four years.The airline says it will integrate Swoop's operations into its main banner.WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech says keeping Swoop separate would make little sense financially given the higher labour costs.He says each WestJet flight will offer a portion of ultra-low-cost tickets.