Former Punjab DGP and senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Dinkar Gupta was on Thursday appointed as the new Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a central anti-terror probe agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The 1987 batch IPS officer, Gupta, has been given the charge up to March 31, 2024-- the date of his superannuation-- or till further orders whichever take place. Gupta was removed as the state police chief by the Congress government under Charanjit Singh Channi in October last year and was posted as chairman of Punjab Police Housing Corporation (PPHC

Alberta's health minister says the province will remain vigilant despite lifting most restrictions in the province related to COVID-19. Alberta lifted the last few pandemic restrictions last week including mandatory masking on public transit and isolation for people who test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms. Health Minister Jason Copping said Alberta is bracing for an increase in colds and flus again in the fall but he says more has to be done to reduce the strain on the health care system, which was already a problem before the pandemic. Copping says during the pandemic many people sto

Alberta's United Conservative government has announced two measures to help curb an increasing cost of living. The province says will keep a 13-cent provincial excise tax on gasoline in place for three more months after it first came into effect in April. The fuel tax relief program is to be reviewed in September. The province said in a second news release it will also provide homes, farms and small businesses with $50 monthly credits for electricity bills in July, August and September. The rebate will be applied to the bills automatically. The announcements were made after Statistics Canada r

Premier John Horgan has pulled the plug on a controversial 800-million dollar plan to build a replacement for the aging Royal BC Museum in Victoria. Horgan says he's heard quite clearly from the people of BC that it's the wrong time for such a project and they want his government to rethink its plans to protect the museum's priceless artifacts. He says he made the wrong call and his government will go back to the drawing board to find a project that all residents can get behind. His government had said it approved the project because the museum can't withstand a flood or earthquake, and renov

The Coquitlam RCMP is updating that the investigation into missing youth Noelle Elli O’Soup has come to a tragic end. The 14 year old reported missing on May 12, 2021, has been located deceased, in Vancouver. The Vancouver Police Department currently has conduct of the investigation into the circumstances of Noelle Elli O’Soup’s death and the Coquitlam RCMP will continue to support the VPD investigation, as is needed moving forward.The Coquitlam RCMP offer their deepest condolences to the family and friends and thank the public and media for their assistance with the investigation.Furthe

The federal government is freezing Hockey Canada's federal funding. It's over the organization's handling of an alleged sexual assault by members of the 2018 gold-medal winning world junior hockey team and an out-of-court settlement. Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge says the national sport body will only have its funding restored once it discloses the recommendations of improvement provided by a third-party law firm hired to investigate the alleged incident.

A leap in gas prices is blamed for the steepest climb in the cost of living in nearly 40 years. Statistics Canada says the national inflation rate in May rose to 7.7 per cent when compared with May of last year, and has jumped nearly one per cent since April. BC also saw a sharp hike last month as inflation in this province was set at 8.1 per cent, a 1.4 per cent vault over April's 6.7 per cent setting. Vancouver and Victoria posted identical rates of 8.2 per cent in May, well over a percentage point higher than the month earlier, with Stats-Can saying a nearly 10 per cent spike in food costs

The latest report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer confirms the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is leaking a lot of cash. A new analysis shows the pipeline running between the Edmonton-area and port in Burnaby is worth about 1.2 billion dollars less than its estimated value 18 months ago. Delayed completion, not expected until late next year, plus the ballooning cost of the project which is now set at more than 21-billion dollars, all factored into the troubling estimate. The pipeline was bought by the federal government in 2018 when environmental opposition encouraged Kinder Morgan to

A double shooting on Vancouver Island has left a man dead and a woman in hospital. RCMP in Campbell River say it happened yesterday. The woman is being treated for undisclosed injuries while a police statement says the man appears to have died by suicide. It says the investigation is continuing, but there is no ongoing threat to public safety.