British Columbia

B.C. paramedics, government announce tentative deal after talks with veteran mediator

VANCOUVER - Ambulance paramedics and dispatchers in British Columbia have reached a tentative contract with the provincial government after mediated negotiations. A joint statement Saturday from the H...

Jan 08, 2023

B.C.'s blue box recycling system to accept more items, primarily single-use plastics

VICTORIA - British Columbia is increasing the types of items it accepts for recycling in its residential blue box program. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change says it is adding more single-...

Jan 07, 2023

Pigeon with meth backpack caught in B.C. prison yard, says officers' union president

VANCOUVER - A prison union spokesman says a pigeon carrying a miniature backpack filled with drugs was captured last week at a B.C. correctional institution. John Randle, Pacific regional president of...

Jan 06, 2023

B.C. to reactivate its COVID emergency operations centres to prepare for more illness

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government will reopen 20 hospital emergency operations centres set up for COVID-19 to deal with an expected surge in flu, respiratory illness and COVID cases. Health ...

Jan 06, 2023

He sleeps in a van but drives a Tesla: life on wheels in Vancouver's camper community

VANCOUVER - At the end of his day, Lucas Philips drives to his home overlooking Spanish Banks Beach in Vancouver, near some of the most expensive real estate in Canada. He climbs out of his black Tesl...

Jan 06, 2023

B.C. yet to see post-holidays spike in COVID-19 hospitalizations: health minister

VANCOUVER - British Columbia's health minister says hospitals haven't yet seen the bump of COVID-19 infections that have been recorded after previous holidays during the pandemic, but the health syste...

Jan 05, 2023

B.C. boosts coverage of four drugs, including diabetes med in Hollywood weight fad

VANCOUVER - British Columbia has expanded PharmaCare coverage of four drugs used to treat diabetes, heart failure and blood clots, including one medication the health minister says has been promoted a...

Jan 05, 2023

No charges for Abbotsford, B.C., officer in 2020 shooting of suspect with beanbag gun

VICTORIA - The BC Prosecution Service says no charges will be laid against an Abbotsford, B.C., police officer whose use of a beanbag shotgun during an arrest seriously injured a suspect. A statement ...

Jan 05, 2023

Composer Joseph Koo, linked to 'Golden Era' of Hong Kong culture, dies in Vancouver

VANCOUVER - Renowned composer Joseph Koo, whose music helped form the soundtrack for what his family called the "Golden Era" of Hong Kong culture in the 1970s and '80s, has died in Vancouver. Koo's fa...

Jan 05, 2023

Rule requiring negative COVID test before Chinese flights takes effect

VANCOUVER - Airline passengers leaving China, Hong Kong and Macau will have to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test when they enter Canada starting today. The Canadian government announced las...

Jan 05, 2023