VICTORIA - Offenders in British Columbia convicted of serious Criminal Code offences will no longer be permitted to legally change their names under legislation introduced today. Health Minister Adrian Dix says the proposed law would amend the province's Name Act to ensure people convicted of dangerous offences can't c...

VICTORIA - The B.C. and federal governments have set aside nearly $254 million to expand rebates to convert home heating and cooling systems to more climate-friendly options with a focus on low- and middle-income households. A joint statement from Environment Canada and B.C.'s Energy Ministry says Ottawa is providing u...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - A fire behaviour specialist with the B.C. Wildfire Service says an intense wildfire could hit Fort Nelson this morning, based on forecasts that have been calling for strong winds that have been fuelling the out-of-control blaze to continue throughout the day. Ben Boghean said in a video posted to so...

SURREY, B.C. - A fourth Indian national living in Canada has been charged in last year's killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside of a temple in British Columbia. The province's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said in a release Saturday that 22-year-old Amandeep Singh was already in the custody of P...

SQUAMISH, B.C. - Officials say a woman was attacked by a bear while she was walking her dog at a nature estuary in Squamish, B.C. British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service says in a Facebook post that the trails have been closed since the attack happened Friday, when the woman was walking her dog and it ran off i...

The wildfire that forced thousands to evacuate from a northeast British Columbia town doubled in size early Saturday and is now burning merely a few kilometres west of the city limits. The BC Wildfire Service said the Parker Lake fire near Fort Nelson, B.C., reached almost 17 square kilometres in size overnight, up fro...

COQUITLAM - R-C-M-P in Coquitlam say they recently recovered $50 thousand worth of stolen sports memorabilia from a storage lockerThe items were stolen from a storage locker where the police say they've been investigating a series of break-and-enters in recent weeks.Image: Stolen sports memorabilia / contributed by RCM...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - Thousands of people in northeast British Columbia were ordered to evacuate and flee south late Friday as a fast-growing wildfire neared the town of Fort Nelson. The evacuation order was issued by the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nations around 7:15 p.m., with resident...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - The B.C. Wildfire Service says the tactical evacuation of "multiple neighbourhoods" is underway in Fort Nelson, as an out-of-control wildfire threatens the town in the province's northeast. It says the fire is "highly visible" from the town, and the closure of Highway 97 is expec...

CASTLEGAR, B.C. - British Columbia's finance minister says she won't be running again in the next provincial election after serving in the legislature for nearly two decades. Katrine Conroy says it will be hard to leave the people she's worked with over the years, but at 66, it's time to step back to spend time with he...

VICTORIA - British Columbia has prohibited mining activities on new jade tenures in the northwest, while setting a five-year wind-down period for existing operators. A statement from the Ministry of Energy and Mines says officials have been working closely with First Nations to address concerns about the effects of jad...

WEST KELOWNA, B.C. - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada's dispute with Meta is a "test moment" for the country to stand against the social media giant that's making billions off people, but taking no responsibility for the well-being of communities they profit from. Trudeau made his comments in West K...

VICTORIA - The head of British Columbia's public service says there's high confidence that cybersecurity attacks targeting the provincial government's networks were conducted by a state or state-sponsored actor. Shannon Salter says there's no evidence sensitive information was compromised in the incidents that were rev...

SAANICH, B.C. - Police in Saanich, B.C., say an assault investigation is underway following two alleged incidents at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the grounds of the University of Victoria. Deputy Chief Robert Warren says in a statement the investigation started when special Saanich duty officers at the campu...

Toronto's bid to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs for personal use has been plunged into uncertainty in recent days, as drug policy experts suggest political debates over British Columbia's backtracking on the issue have hurt the city's application. The prime minister and the federal minister for mental h...

VANCOUVER - Canfor has announced it is permanently closing its Polar sawmill in Bear Lake, B.C., shutting a production line at its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, and suspending its "planned reinvestment" in Houston, B.C. The company says in separate news releases that the closures will impact 400 jobs,...

VICTORIA - A B.C. legislature committee looking into taxi and ride-hailing services has issued recommendations, including measures to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and services in small and rural communities. The cross-party committee that was appointed a year ago to review the Passenger Transport ...

VICTORIA - British Columbia is forming a specialized gang-related homicide investigation team, saying gangland murders now make up almost 50 per cent of the killings in the province. Data from the Ministry of Public Safety says gang-related homicides have climbed from 21 per cent of all killings in the province in 2003...

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia Supreme Court has rejected lawsuits by mink farmers challenging a provincial shutdown of the industry over COVID-19 concerns. A ruling by Justice Amy Francis says "highly publicized incidences" of COVID-19 outbreaks on mink farms prompted provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie H...

OTTAWA - Prominent business groups are backtracking their claim that one in five Canadians would be affected by the federal government's proposed changes to capital gains taxation. In a letter sent to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland today, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and other groups said the government's asser...

RICHMOND, B.C. - The president of London Drugs says he doesn't know why the company was targeted in a cyber attack that forced it to close its stores for more than week, but hackers with sophisticated methods are "constantly probing for weaknesses" in online systems. Clint Mahlman says the Richmond, B.C.-base...

VANCOUVER - Telus Corp. raised its quarterly dividend as it reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago. The telecommunications company says it will now make a quarterly payment to shareholders of 38.91 cents per share, up from its previous rate of 37.61 cents per share. The increased payment to sha...

VICTORIA - British Columbia's premier says the province has identified "sophisticated cybersecurity incidents" involving government networks. David Eby says the provincial government is working with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and other agencies to determine the extent of the incidents, but there i...

QUILCHENA, B.C. - The Upper Nicola Band in B.C.'s southern Interior says construction crews building a new community centre have discovered human remains. The band says in a news release that police were contacted immediately after crews unearthed the remains, which were determined to be "not recent." It says...

VANCOUVER - The executive director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users says Health Canada's decision to allow British Columbia to again prohibit the use of illicit drugs in most public spaces will cause more deaths, calling it "prohibition 2.0." Brittany Graham says the initial decriminalization exemp...

RICHMOND, B.C. - An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board has concluded that a small float plane coming in near Tofino, B.C., either hit a boat wake or an object before slamming into trees on a second landing attempt, killing two people aboard. The report says the pilot and a passenger were killed, while ano...

RICHMOND, B.C. - The president of London Drugs has issued a letter apologizing for a cybersecurity incident that forced the company to close stores for more than a week, but he says there's no evidence customer databases were compromised. The letter from Clint Mahlman says the Richmond, B.C.-based company is still inve...

VICTORIA - Most drivers in British Columbia will receive a $110 vehicle insurance rebate this year. The Insurance Corporation of B.C. says strong investment and financial returns and the 2021 shift to the "enhanced care" model for providing health coverage for people involved in crashes has put the Crown corp...