An inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act has heard first-hand testimony about the effect of the so-called ``Freedom Convoy'' protest. Several witnesses have given their perspective on how the convoy protest affected life in downtown Ottawa. The protest saw large semi-trucks relentlessly honking their horns and blocking off the streets of downtown Ottawa for over three weeks. Similar demonstrations took place across the country. Over the next six weeks, the hearings will see testimony from 65 witnesses across government, police and organizers of the convoy. A legally

The BC government is following through on its commitment to invest another 50-million dollars in the new home for the Vancouver Art Gallery. This is the last half of the instalment, after the province committed 100-million in 2008 to support the new gallery just a few blocks from its current downtown location. The project has already received more than 190 million dollars in private donations, much of it from the Audain and Chan foundations. Gallery CEO Anthony Kiendl (Kendall) says the support brings them closer to realizing the vision of the new art gallery, which has an estimated total cos

Police say a 15-year-old boy fatally shot two people in the streets of a neighborhood in North Carolina's capital city, then fled toward a walking trail, where he killed three more people and wounded two others. Raleigh police Chief Estella Patterson said Friday that the teen is hospitalized in critical condition following the shootings late Thursday afternoon. Those killed were of different races and ranged in age from 16 to their late 50s. The dead include off-duty Raleigh police Officer Gabriel Torres, who was on his way to work when the shooting began. The teen eluded officers for hours b

Firefighters in West Vancouver are responding to a what they describe as a wildfire at the top of the Caulfeild neighbourhood on the lower slopes of Cypress Falls Park. West Vancouver Fire Rescue duty chief Matt Furlot says crews responded at around 7 a.m.He said they were trying to pinpoint the exact location of the fire and the best way to access to the flames.The neighbourhood is a heavily wooded area with many homes and businesses.Smoke from the fire could be seen across much of Vancouver.Conditions across the Lower Mainland remain extremely dry, with less than 20 millimetres of rain recor

The Alberta government says people in the province 12 years of age and older can soon get the latest COVID-19 vaccine booster. Health Minister Jason Copping says starting on October 24th, the bivalent (bye-VAY'-lent) Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which includes some protection for the Omicron B-A-4 and B-A-5 subvariants, will be available This is in addition to the currently available bivalent Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which includes the B-A-1 subvariant. Copping says many Albertans are looking to receive their COVID-19 booster dose and the B-A-4 and B-A-5 are the prevalent strains in the provin

The British Columbia government says it's ready to deploy sand bags and tiger dams in case flooding follows the ongoing drought. Emergency Management BC says when rain falls after long dry spells, the parched soil can increase runoff and river flow. It says the transition to the rainy season doesn't typically cause extensive flooding and the devastation wreaked by last year's atmospheric rivers was rare. However, it adds that flooding is natural in B.C. and people living near streams and rivers that have breached their banks in previous years are encouraged to keep an eye on the weather and r

Vancouver Police are searching for witnesses after a 93-year-old man was knocked to the ground and suffered a broken hip in Chinatown Tuesday night. The victim, a neighbourhood resident for 30 years, was walking to a bakery near Main Street and East Pender when he was pushed over by a stranger around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. Several witnesses stopped to help the senior, who was taken to hospital. "Our officers have been canvassing the neighbourhood since the assault, and we have now located video of the incident," says Sergeant Steve Addison, adding the suspect has not yet been identified. "W

A joint VPD and Metro Vancouver Transit Police investigation has led to the arrest of Bryce Michael Flores-Bebington for two alleged sexual assaults. At 7:30 p.m. on July 6, a 24-year-old woman reported she had been sexually assaulted while on the escalator at the Granville SkyTrain Station by a suspect who ran away. The investigation was completed by Metro Vancouver Transit Police.A second incident occurred the following day on West Broadway at Ash Street. Just before 2 p.m. a 38-year-old woman was sexually assaulted.Bryce Michael Flores-Bebington, 19, has been charged with two counts of sexu

Vancouver Police are searching for a suspect after a woman was assaulted last night in another downtown stranger attack. "This is another concerning unprovoked assault," says Constable Jason Doucette. "The victim was simply walking down the sidewalk when a man came up and sucker-punched her in the face for no reason."At 6:30 Wednesday evening, the 29-year-old woman was walking near Cambie and Pender streets when a man approached and suddenly lashed out. He punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. The suspect was last seen running west on Dunsmuir Street."A number of people came to