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Trudeau promises economic and fiscal ‘snapshot’ July 8

PM previously called potential update ‘an exercise in invention and imagination’

While COVID-19 has left the Canadian economy in a state of uncertainty, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promising an economic and fiscal update of sorts is coming next month. The Liberal minority government has been under increasing pressure to offer Canadians more information on the state of the country’s finances during the pandemic.…

Many arrests as Vancouver police enforce injunction against homeless camp

VANCOUVER — Police have made dozens of arrests after they say 46 people refused to obey a court injunction and leave a tent encampment on Vancouver’s waterfront. An email from police says the arrests happened late Tuesday afternoon as demonstrators sat on the ground and refused to leave the site near CRAB Park on federal land operated by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.…

Pemberton traffic stop uncovers drugs, cash and loaded machine gun, police say

Police Briefs: Vehicle reported stolen; Elderly man arrested over alleged assault

A routine traffic stop led Pemberton police this week to a trove of suspected drugs, cash and weapons—including a fully loaded machine gun, according to a release. At approximately 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 13, Mounties observed a driver go through a red light at the corner of Portage Road and Highway 99.…

B.C. confirms 11 new cases of COVID-19, for total of 2,756

There are now 2,756 cases of COVID-19 in B.C. after health officials announced 11 new cases Tuesday. There were 10 new cases and one new epidemiologically linked case.…

UVic report on consumer trust shows Vancouver’s MEC top Canadian brand

A new B.C. report shows Vancouver-based Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) as Canada’s most trusted branch, the only company based in the province to land in the top 10. According to the Brand Trust Index published by University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business, MEC is one of two B.C.-based brands to finish atop of their respective industry/sector categories.…

We are all just people

LETTER: For the week of June 11

I was one of the four students who organized the Black Lives Matter (BLM) awareness march in Whistler last week. After reading comments posted on social media in response to this event, I was disappointed by some of the cynical and inaccurate viewpoints and I wanted to address them.…

No COVID-19 cases associated with B.C. schools reopening

Partial school reopening shows how schools can be safe, says Henry

B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday that two weeks into the partial reopening of schools in the province, things are going well. “I’ve been very pleased with the reports I’ve heard,” she said.…

B.C. teacher designs platform to help find a campsite

In response to the recent surge of reservations on the BC Parks Discover Camping website, a Burnaby instructor has created a platform to help you find availability. BCIT mechanical engineering assistant instructor Adam Marciniak developed Camp Alert as a free and easy-to-use platform to provide campers with information about their favourite campsite availability in B.C. and Alberta.…

CERB payments extended for eight more weeks, Trudeau says

CERB previously set to end first week of July

Workers left out of a job due to the pandemic will be getting a few more weeks of relief. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday (June 16) the federal government is extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) eight weeks.…

Canada, U.S. confirm plan to extend border restrictions by another 30 days

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada and the United States will continue to limit non-essential travel between the two countries until at least July 21. Despite mounting pressure from business interests and border communities, however, Trudeau is offering no clues about how the border restrictions will be eased when the time finally comes.…

B.C. strata insurance market ‘unhealthy:’ study

Rates up 40% on average, more than doubling in 6% of buildings

Strata corporation insurance rates have jumped about 40% across B.C. since last year, with deductibles sometimes leaping to triple-digit increases, the B.C. Financial Services Authority said June 16. “The current state of the strata insurance market is unhealthy,” said authority vice-president and deputy superintendent for regulation Frank Chong.…

Black MPs, senators call for government action against systemic racism

OTTAWA – A group of Black parliamentarians and their allies are calling on all levels of government to take action to reduce systemic racism in Canada. The request is in a statement from the Parliamentary Black Caucus, which was created in 2015 and includes members of Parliament and senators from various political parties.…

BC Greens’ leadership campaign resumes

Leadership vote will be held Sept. 5 to 13.

The B.C. Green Party is resuming its leadership campaign after suspending it March 27 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sat Harwood, chair of the provincial council, announced June 15 that, “registered candidates may resume campaigning immediately.”…

Concerns raised as people crowd rare white grizzly in Banff and Yoho parks

Parks Canada warns people not to stop on highways to view wildlife

A wildlife photographer said he is worried about a rare white grizzly living in mountain parks in Alberta and British Columbia after watching people get too close to it and seeing it run across a highway. The bear, which has been nicknamed Nakoda by locals, was first revealed publicly after it was spotted in Banff National Park in Alberta two months ago.…

Mountie talks about growing up with racism in B.C.

Sgt. Veronica Fox has revealed how she was the victim of racist abuse throughout most of her childhood in the Lower Mainland

An RCMP officerAn RCMP officer is speaking out about how she grew up in the Lower Mainland surrounded and cornered by racism on a daily basis. Sgt. Veronica Fox, who is now based at the B.C. RCMP headquarters in Surrey, said growing up as a “Black kid” in this province “was not easy.” She was born into a mixed-race family in the ’80s in the Lower Mainland.…