British Columbia

A map from BC Wildfire Service shows some of the 92 fires actively burning throughout the province as of Feb, 25. 2024, including an out-of-control one near Chetwynd, marked by a red dot. (BC Wildfire Service)

Small out-of-control wildfire burning near Chetwynd, B.C.

Fire sparked Friday, believed to be human-caused

A map from BC Wildfire Service shows some of the 92 fires actively burning throughout the province as of Feb, 25. 2024, including an out-of-control one near Chetwynd, marked by a red dot. (BC Wildfire Service)
FILE—B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma pauses while responding to questions outside B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Monday November 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. Prosecution Service introduces ‘hate propaganda’ into crime definitions

Other definitions updated to include things related to conversion therapy, anti-Semitism

FILE—B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma pauses while responding to questions outside B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Monday November 27, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A report from the Office of the Seniors Advocate released on Feb. 15, 2024 highlights the disproportionate challenges seniors living in rural B.C. face and calls for provincial action. (Pixabay)

Seniors in rural B.C. have worse access to health care and housing: report

Seniors advocate calling on province to address inequity

A report from the Office of the Seniors Advocate released on Feb. 15, 2024 highlights the disproportionate challenges seniors living in rural B.C. face and calls for provincial action. (Pixabay)
A 2014 file photo shows a copy of B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPAA). THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Wait for FOI requests in B.C. the worst its been in 13 years: commissioner

Province only meeting 30-day benchmark in about 50% of access to information requests, report finds

A 2014 file photo shows a copy of B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPAA). THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A record-breaking 563 people received organ transplants in 2023 in B.C., according to the Provincial Health Services Authority. (Pixabay photo)

Record-breaking number of organs donated in B.C. in 2023

563 people received a new organ last year, but another 514 patients remain on waitlist

A record-breaking 563 people received organ transplants in 2023 in B.C., according to the Provincial Health Services Authority. (Pixabay photo)
A file photo of the Hasler Flat area in northeastern B.C., where one snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche on Saturday, January 27, 2023. (Avalanche Canada/X)

Avalanche kills snowmobiler in northeastern B.C.

Death is province’s first avalanche fatality of the winter season, according to Avalanche Canada

A file photo of the Hasler Flat area in northeastern B.C., where one snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche on Saturday, January 27, 2023. (Avalanche Canada/X)
B.C. Premier David Eby has apologized after he says a member of his staff posted an incorrect message in social media posts linking to his statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday. Eby is seen during a press conference at the provincial legislature in Victoria, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C. premier apologizes for social media mistake on Holocaust Remembrance Day

Post paired text about standing with the Muslim community with a link to the Eby’s Holocaust message

B.C. Premier David Eby has apologized after he says a member of his staff posted an incorrect message in social media posts linking to his statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday. Eby is seen during a press conference at the provincial legislature in Victoria, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Fresh white snow contrasts against the bright pink of Campbell River’s Tidemark Theatre on Jan. 17, 2024. (Alistair Taylor/Campbell River Mirror)

PHOTOS: B.C. communities dig out from first major snowstorm of the year

Local Black Press Media reporters captured the early morning aftermath of an overnight snow dump

Fresh white snow contrasts against the bright pink of Campbell River’s Tidemark Theatre on Jan. 17, 2024. (Alistair Taylor/Campbell River Mirror)
FILE – A hummingbird sits on a tree branch near Oliver, B.C., on Monday June 14, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. group offers advice on keeping hummingbirds fed during cold snap

Four cups of water, one cup of white sugar perfect feed solution, says Langley environmental society

FILE – A hummingbird sits on a tree branch near Oliver, B.C., on Monday June 14, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People watch as a car tries to drive down an icy hill in Vancouver on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. Weather warnings for cold temperatures have been advised in B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Cold snap causes record-breaking hourly electricity demand, says BC Hydro

British Columbians consumed 11,300 megawatts in one hour Friday night

People watch as a car tries to drive down an icy hill in Vancouver on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. Weather warnings for cold temperatures have been advised in B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Views from Sombrio Beach on Vancouver Island, B.C. (left) versus the scenery from Wasootch Ridge in Kananaskis, Alberta (right).

Residents fleeing B.C. for Alberta as housing crisis deepens

British Columbians left for Alberta in 2023, according to StatsCan report

Views from Sombrio Beach on Vancouver Island, B.C. (left) versus the scenery from Wasootch Ridge in Kananaskis, Alberta (right).
Snow levels are below normal in British Columbia, according to the province’s Jan. 1 statistics. (River Forecast Centre map)

Snow levels significantly below normal across B.C.

Jan. 1 measurements showed 56% of normal levels province-wide

Snow levels are below normal in British Columbia, according to the province’s Jan. 1 statistics. (River Forecast Centre map)
A recreational boat travels on the harbour as Canada Place and the downtown Vancouver skyline are seen from North Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, March 12, 2022. Statistics Canada released its latest data Dec. 19, 2023 on Canada’s population estimates for the third quarter of 2023, and B.C. is continuing to lose more residents to interprovincial migration than it’s gaining. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. losing more residents to interprovincial migration

Statistic Canada data shows out-migration is outpacing in-migration for more than a year

A recreational boat travels on the harbour as Canada Place and the downtown Vancouver skyline are seen from North Vancouver, B.C., Saturday, March 12, 2022. Statistics Canada released its latest data Dec. 19, 2023 on Canada’s population estimates for the third quarter of 2023, and B.C. is continuing to lose more residents to interprovincial migration than it’s gaining. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Renderings of the proposed Summit Ice Centre in Lockport, Illinois, featuring what would be the largest hockey stick in the world. (Photo- City of Lockport/Instagram)

Who’s going to claim the Penticton-made, world’s largest hockey stick?

The 205-foot structure has been on Vancouver Island for 35 years but is now up for sale

Renderings of the proposed Summit Ice Centre in Lockport, Illinois, featuring what would be the largest hockey stick in the world. (Photo- City of Lockport/Instagram)
A new study from the Centre for Family Equity suggests very few low-income, single mothers in B.C. are accessing the province’s $10-a-day child care spaces. In this file photo, children play at a daycare in Coquitlam, B.C., on March 28, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C.’s $10-a-day child care may not be reaching those most in need, study finds

Centre for Family Equity says system should be prioritized for low-income, single mother families

A new study from the Centre for Family Equity suggests very few low-income, single mothers in B.C. are accessing the province’s $10-a-day child care spaces. In this file photo, children play at a daycare in Coquitlam, B.C., on March 28, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Thursday, November 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Threats to Ibrahim Ali’s lawyers spur court safety concerns in B.C.

Lawyer associations say it’s important not to equate a defence lawyer with the client they represent

The Law Courts building, which is home to B.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, is seen in Vancouver, on Thursday, November 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
In this April 21, 2020 file photo, a nurse puts on her personal protective equipment prior to entering a patient’s room in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver. B.C. health officials provided a respiratory illness update on Dec. 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

COVID-19 cases remain low, but flu and RSV creeping up: B.C. health officer

Dr. Bonnie Henry urging people to get vaccines ahead of holiday season

In this April 21, 2020 file photo, a nurse puts on her personal protective equipment prior to entering a patient’s room in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver. B.C. health officials provided a respiratory illness update on Dec. 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
In this May 13, 2022 file photo, MLA Kelli Paddon speaks during the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Primary Care Centre in Chilliwack. On Dec. 10, 2023, the Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity presented B.C.’s action plan on gender-based violence. (Jenna Hauck/ Black Press Media)

B.C. releases action plan on gender-based violence, backed by $62M from feds

3-year plan promises to reduce waitlists on existing services, invest more in Indigenous-led solutions

In this May 13, 2022 file photo, MLA Kelli Paddon speaks during the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Primary Care Centre in Chilliwack. On Dec. 10, 2023, the Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity presented B.C.’s action plan on gender-based violence. (Jenna Hauck/ Black Press Media)
Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad at a town hall on Dec. 5, 2023. (John Rustad/X)

Kelowna MLA condemns ‘third world crime’ comment by B.C. Conservative leader

Renee Merrifield calls John Rustad’s comment ‘despicable’

Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad at a town hall on Dec. 5, 2023. (John Rustad/X)
The ‘Light Up the Province’ initiative put on by BC Highway Patrol took 222 impaired drivers off the streets on Saturday, Dec. 2. (Jordy Cunningham/Capital News)

222 impaired drivers taken off B.C. streets in 1 night

‘Light Up The Province’ initiative stopped 55,000 vehicles on Dec. 2

The ‘Light Up the Province’ initiative put on by BC Highway Patrol took 222 impaired drivers off the streets on Saturday, Dec. 2. (Jordy Cunningham/Capital News)