On the occasion of Hola Mohalla, Premier David Eby has issued a statement wishing a happy and joyous festival to the Sikh community of B.C. and worldwide. The statement read, "Today, we join the many Sikhs in British Columbia and around the world who will celebrate the beginning of Hola Mohalla. The three-day festival is a time for communal meals, prayer and religious songs, as well as lively, colourful processions, including displays of Gatka, the traditional Sikh form of self-defence martial arts. On behalf of all British Columbians, I wish a joyous festival to everyone celebrating Hola Moha

The province is moving to improve food security in B.C. by creating new and enhanced programs to strengthen the food supply chain and expand local food production.Premier David Eby made the announcement today, saying more than 200-million dollars is being pumped into food security supports.A statement from the premier's office says food security provides an available, affordable, uninterrupted supply of nutritious food while building effective programs for people and communities most at risk from inflation, climate events and supply chain upheavals.The Ministry of Agriculture and Food will inv

Councillors in Surrey, B.C., plan to use newly allotted provincial funding to reduce the city's proposed 17.5 percent property tax increase slated for the 2023 civic budget. During a finance committee meeting on Monday, councillors voted to send the budget back to staff so an $89.9 million allotment from the province's Growing Communities Fund could be applied to the bottom line.A statement from the city says council has asked staff to use the money to cut the overall proposed property tax increase from 17.5 percent to no more than 12.5 per cent.The revised budget is expected to be ready for r

Migration in both directions across the Canada-U.S. border is likely on the agenda today as Immigration Minister Sean Fraser visits Washington, D.C.Fraser's office says he is scheduled to meet with his American counterpart, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.The federal Liberal government is under mounting pressure, particularly from Quebec, to do something about the flow of undocumented migrants into Canada from the U.S.Some Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, have been actively trying to make a political issue out of the number of migrants moving in the opposite direction.Prime Mini

The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government has more than enough staff to process applications for economic immigrants on time.In a report released today, Yves Giroux analyzed the cost of processing applications for economic immigrants through the express entry system for five fiscal years.The report says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has 65 per cent more staff than needed to process the 2022-23 applications on time, and has more staff than needed for all years assessed.The federal government's goal is to process 80 per cent of those applications within six mon

Canada Border Services Agency says it helped put two Montreal-based companies with alleged ties to the Russian military on a United States sanctions list.The U.S. Department of Commerce last month added CPUNTO Inc. and Electronic Network Inc. to a list of entities subject to export controls.Both companies are headquartered in the Montreal borough of St-Laurent and describe themselves online as sellers of electronic components.The export controls bar them from exporting almost any item manufactured in the U.S., including intellectual property.Canada's border services says they are working close

A Montreal elementary school teacher has pleaded guilty to several sex-related crimes involving five young girls.Dominic Blanchette today entered guilty pleas on eight counts, including sexual interference, possession of child pornography, child luring and sexual exploitation.His crimes occurred between September 2017 and May 2022, when he was arrested.Court documents say that Blanchette, 28, who taught in the city's Montreal North borough, used his influence as a teacher and basketball coach to groom and exploit a total of five girls in grades 5 and 6.The case will return to court in July for

The Alberta government is promising $92 million in funding for youth mental health. Premier Danielle Smith says the spending over three years would provide critical mental health support for children and youth across Alberta in partnership with CASA Mental Health. The United Conservative Party-led government says the money would fund two new in-patient CASA House sites in Fort McMurray and Calgary. Nicholas Milliken, who is minister of mental health and addiction, says the funding would help more than 700 additional youth in Alberta every year and would reduce the need for hospital

A senior defence official says Canadian taxpayers are on the hook when it comes to fixing at least two of the Royal Canadian Navy's new Arctic patrol vessels. Defence Department deputy minister Bill Matthews says that is because the one-year warranty on those two ships has expired. The federal government is planning to buy eight Arctic patrol vessels from Halifax-based Irving Shipbuilding, including six for the Navy and two for the Canadian Coast Guard. Three of the ships are finished, though Matthews told a parliamentary committee today that it will be up to Irving to fix the problems in the