Blog

Schools struggle with phone bans: ‘These devices continue to cause major problems’

On Friday, March 29, St. Francis School in Harbour Grace, N.L., announced a ban on cellphones and other personal electronics for its students, who range from kindergarten through Grade 8. “These devices continue to cause major attention and behavioural problems for our students and they are interfering with student learning,” the school reportedly said on its Facebook page in a now-deleted post.…

Strong fields to throw down at WSSF

Big air events honouring First Nations

Though the World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF) takes up fewer days on the calendar than in years past, there are still some exciting athletic events filling the schedule. Leading the way is a refresh of the big air events, which have been renamed as the Halaw Snowboard Invitational and the Sp’akwus Ski Invitational and will run on April 12 and 13, respectively.…

Do revamped criminal driving laws go too far?

LETTER: For the week of April 11

In this week’s edition of the Pique is a story about the significant increase in impaired driving incidents. Staff Sgt. Paul Hayes is quoted as saying this is likely due to increased enforcement efforts, as opposed to an actual increase in people committing this offence.…

Two injured after vehicle tumbles down embankment, bursts into flames near D’Arcy

Police Briefs: Two local men arrested on drug charges in separate incidents

Two men were injured this week after their vehicle fell down an embankment near D’Arcy and then burst into flames, police said. At about 5:20 p.m. on Monday, April 8, Pemberton RCMP received a report that the vehicle had gone off the roadway in the 2600 block of Highline Road, tumbling roughly 60 feet (18 metres) before coming to a stop.…

OCP heads to public hearing

One last chance for residents to weigh in April 16

Whistlerites have one last chance to weigh in on the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s Official Community Plan (OCP) at a public hearing on April 16. The public hearing will kick off at 6 p.m. at the Maury Young Arts Centre.…

More than half of Canadians would wait a year to buy a home: poll

As buyers continue to sit on the sidelines, poll uncovers reasons for waiting, plus other homebuyer trends

With home sales in major cities such as Metro Vancouver way down, a new poll has asked Canadians whether they are waiting to buy a home – and why. More than half (56 per cent) of respondents polled by Ipsos for the annual RBC Home Ownership Poll said they thought it would be better to wait a year or more before buying a home.…

B.C. fights ticket scalpers with consumer protection law, eliminates bots

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s government has introduced legislation that seeks to offer more protections for people who buy live-event tickets online or at the box office. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth says the Ticket Sales Act will prevent mass-buying software that is able to purchase large amounts of tickets for live events, then resell them at inflated prices.…

Wilson-Raybould urges restraint after supportive graffiti at constituency office

Slogans were sprayed in huge red or white letters on the windows of Wilson-Raybould’s constituency office

Vancouver police have arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly using several cans of spray paint to express support for former federal attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould. Officers responded early Monday after slogans such as “let Jody speak,” “Trudeau for treason,” and “make B.C. the best coast again,” were sprayed in huge red or white letters on the windows of Wilson-Raybould’s constituency office.…

Soaring gas prices set all-time record in Vancouver

Prices expected to climb into summer

Metro Vancouver gas prices have broken the all-time record high with a number of stations showing 164.9 cents per litre on Monday morning, April 8. Dan McTeague, a Senior Petroleum Analyst with GasBuddy.com, tweeted about the rising prices on Sunday, noting that many stations would hit the record today.…

From Russia with Love

Cycling the Baltic States Part 2

As a teenager, I read dozens of books on the Second World War, and out of them I’ve drawn a lesson from one of Hitler’s biggest mistakes. The Fuhrer’s panzers audaciously crossed the Russian border without first procuring the necessary documents.…

No federally funded police officers dedicated to money laundering investigations: report

When it comes to federal action against money launderers in B.C., “what is happening is nothing,” says Attorney General David Eby

The federal government has no dedicated police officers actively investigating money laundering in B.C., according to a new report from special investigator Peter German. “The absence of dedicated federal resources undertaking criminal money laundering and proceeds of crime cases is of great concern,” noted German, a former senior RCMP officer, in a news release…

Why is it taking so long for Vancouver to ban plastic bags?

OPINION: City lags behind worldwide efforts banning plastics

If you’ve visited a Vancouver beach this spring, you’ll know what I’m talking about: Our otherwise beautiful beaches are littered with plastics, Styrofoam and cigarette butts. It’s a depressing site.…

Blaze erupts in downtown Squamish Monday morning

Squamish Fire Rescue is on scene at a large structure fire at Third Avenue and Vancouver Street in downtown Squamish. RCMP Cpl. Sascha Banks, media relations officer, told The Chief one person is in hospital with smoke inhalation.…

Winter came to Squamish: local artist commissioned by Game of Thrones

Sarah Symes was one of 18 artists chosen to repurpose props

The large black box arrived on her doorstep like a mysterious invitation. Inside was Jon Snow’s characteristic cloak from the Game of Thrones set, and Squamish-based artist Sarah Symes had four weeks to transform the costume into a new work of art.…

WSSF: ‘The Outsider’s’ greatest hits

With a new spring comes a new rendition of the storied World Ski and Snowboard Festival (WSSF). Now slimmed down to just five-and-a-half days, the organizers have had to pack in the as much mountain sports, arts and music as they can into a limited window.…