VANCOUVER - Francis Silva watches the blood flow through astraw-like tube in his left arm to a dialysis machine where it's cleaned of toxins and returned to his body through a second tube. The 60-year-old chef endures the four-hour process every Tuesday, Thursday and Sundayat St. Paul's Hospital where a 42-bed unit is ...

VANCOUVER - The president of the University of British Columbia has told pro-Palestinian protesters that the school must remain neutral on the Gaza conflict. Benoit-Antoine Bacon says in response to demands by the organizers of a protest encampment on the Vancouver campus that professors and students hold a broad range...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - A rainy Thursday in and around Fort Nelson was exactly what fire crews were looking for. In a video released late Thursday night by the B.C. Wildfire Service, fire behaviour specialist for the Parker Lake and Patry Creek blazes Evan Peck said recent rain was much needed and made for excellent condit...

PORT ALBERNI, B.C. - The mother and stepfather of six-year-old Dontay Lucas have been sentenced to 15 years each in prison by a B.C. Supreme Court judge. Mitchell Frank and Rykel Frank stood in shackles in a court in Port Alberni as they were sentenced for the death of the boy who was found in medical distress inside ...

VICTORIA - British Columbia's chief veterinarian has issued an order making it illegal to transport boats or other watercraft without removing the drain plug to prevent the spread of whirling disease. The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship says the order takes effect on Friday and is also intended to keep...

VICTORIA - Premier David Eby delivered an election-style speech to his New Democrat caucus, warning of the potential merger between the opposition BC United and B.C. Conservative parties, saying the fall election is shaping up to be the "starkest choice in a generation." Eby says BC United Leader Kevin Falcon...

OTTAWA - A study by Canada's national housing agency says housing starts aren't keeping pace with residential construction resources available due to restrictive regulations and a "highly fragmented" industry. CMHC senior vice-president of housing economics and insights Mathieu Laberge says Canada has the pot...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - British Columbia's wildfire service says the blaze threatening the northern community of Fort Nelson now spans nearly 130 square kilometres, but it had spread away from the town along its southern flank. The service says the Parker Lake fire has been mapped at 127 square kilometres in size, up from ...

VICTORIA - The president of the University of Victoria says a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on its campus is drawing an increasing number of complaints about harassment and intimidation, but also illegal and "dangerous" activities. Kevin Hall outlined the university's concerns in a statement on Wednesday...

Going back to school can be a great way to accelerate your career, whether it's getting a master's degree or taking a certificate program to add more skills to your repertoire. But it's also a major financial decision, as school isn't cheap - especially when it could pull you away from your job. That's why some choos...

SURREY, B.C. - A fourth man accused in the murder of British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar will next appear at provincial court on May 21, the same day the other three accused are scheduled for a hearing. The BC Prosecution Service says 22-year-old Amandeep Singh appeared via video link for his first appe...

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia. Michell is the chief of Stellat'en First Nation some 160 kilometres west of Prince George, B....

VICTORIA - A British Columbia First Nation says it is reluctantly preparing to take legal action to challenge Fisheries Department salmon farm policy as it loses faith in federal plans to remove the open net-pen fish farms by next year. Namgis First Nation Chief Victor Isaac says going to court is a last resort, but th...

VICTORIA - The British Columbia government and social media giants have made what they call a "historic collaboration" for youth safety online. A joint statement from Premier David Eby and representatives of Meta, Google, TikTok, X and Snap Inc., the parent of Snapchat, says they met to help young people sta...

Toronto Hydro says power has been restored after a large outage caused by a squirrel impacted thousands of people in the downtown area. The company's outage map showed the disruption started at 10:23 a.m. when the animal came into contact with power equipment. Toronto Hydro says power was fully restored at about 1:30 ...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - British Columbia's wildfire service says gusty winds could fan "aggressive fire behaviour" in the north, where out-of-control blazes have forced several thousand people to flee their homes. An update from the BC Wildfire Service says winds could pick up this afternoon in the Fort Nelson ar...

VICTORIA - Justina Elias says she didn't know about the connection legendary Canadian writer Alice Munro had to the Victoria, B.C., bookstore that bears her name, but she quickly found out. Elias, who runs the fiction section at Munro's Books, said the "serendipity" of ending up working at a book store founde...

A former British Columbia forests minister says the province is on the right track as it responds to worsening wildfires, but the scale of the challenge is so great, it's falling behind and needs to prioritize a "whole-of-society" approach. Doug Donaldson says the place to start should be a dedicated provinci...

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. - A First Nations community in B.C.'s northern Interior that is hosting a gathering of Indigenous groups involved in the search for unmarked graves says it's conducting a geophysical survey for such sites on the grounds of a former residential school. The Nadleh Whut'en Indian Band, whose territory ...

VICTORIA - Three school districts in British Columbia will start one-stop child-care programs at local elementary schools this fall. Premier David Eby says offering parents before-and-after-school child care at the same location will save families time and money, create less stress for parents and is an efficient use o...

VANCOUVER - Federal Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre says the Conservatives will put forward legislation that would forbid Ottawa from "ever" granting provinces exemptions to allow illicit drug use in hospitals. Poilievre made the announcement in Vancouver on Tuesday, saying the Conservatives will introduce...

CHILLIWACK - Chilliwack pianist Madison Brecht is one of over a dozen of Canada's most talented pianists slated to perform in the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra's Piano Extravaganza later this week at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre. According to musician and Chilliwack resident Paula DeWit, who will be directing the per...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - A wildfire just outside the community of Fort Nelson has grown as residents in British Columbia's northeast receive more evacuation orders. An updated estimate from the BC Wildfire Service says the blaze spans 84 square kilometres, a significant increase since Monday, when it was mapped at about 53 ...

NEW YORK (AP) - At first glance, Jed Rosenzweig's new venture would seem like a fool's errand: launching a digital news site during brutal economic times for the media to cover an industry that, by traditional measures, is waning in influence. That didn't dissuade him. LateNighter, a website and newsletter that follows...

TORONTO - When Wilfred Buck looks up at the sky, he sees Indigenous history and even his own story reflected back at him, as though it were all written in the stars. Buck, the eponymous Cree elder at the centre of Lisa Jackson's new documentary, is known as "the star guy." He's an astronomy expert and educato...

FORT NELSON, B.C. - The wildfire burning near Fort Nelson continues to grow rapidly. As of Tuesday morning, the B.C. Wildfire Service reported the fire had grown to over 84 square kilometres. That marks a significant expansion of the fire, which as of Monday morning, was just under 53 square kilometres in size. This co...

VANCOUVER - The B.C. government has introduced legislation that would allow the City of Vancouver to limit rent increases for new tenants in its poorest neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside. The rent cap is for those living in single-room occupancy buildings where the government says rents have increased from $800 a m...

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...