Vancouver Rundown

Breaking news…one person is clinging to life after being shot in Langley’s Brookswood neighbourhood. It happened at around 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, near 196 Street and 28 Avenue. The victim was airlifted to hospital - no other details have been released.

A massive wildfire has prompted an evacuation alert for an area in the North Cariboo. The Swede Creek Wildfire was close to 1,300 hectares and growing Tuesday afternoon. Aircraft and heavy machinery are being used as more than 70 firefighters try to contain the blaze. There are at least 18 wildfires burning in B.C. right now.

Surrey Police Chief Norm Lipinski has been fired. The Vancouver Sun reports Lipinski had been given until 4:00 p.m. Thursday to quit or be terminated without cause. He was placed on leave Monday morning. The Surrey Police Board has not made any initial comments to the public. Lipinski was the first chief of the transitioned Surrey Police Service.

“Faith. Family. Freedom. That’s what it’s all about.” Those are the words of newly chosen BC Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. The former federal Conservative MP says her first priority is to unite the party. Close to 25,000 Conservatives voted in the leadership race - most signed party memberships during the campaign. Findlay, who needs a seat in the Legislature, is married to BC Conservat...

The B.C. government believes a Supreme Court of Canada decision to dismiss an appeal of a New Brunswick case could impact the Cowichan and its title rights. The high court’s refusal leaves private property rights in land-claims cases unresolved for now. It also runs contrary to the controversial BC Supreme Court ruling which acknowledged Cowichan title over some private land in Richmond. B.C. Atto...

Outrage has killed plans for a new overdose prevention site in downtown Vancouver. Health Minister Josie Osborne says the decision follows concern from the community and businesses near the location at 900 Helmcken Street. Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC majority on council had directed city staff to use all available tools to stop Vancouver Coast Health from opening the site at that location.

“Awkward!” That’s how both B.C. Premier David Eby and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith describe their relationship as the western premier’s meeting wraps up. Eby has again voiced his opposition to Smith’s hope for a new northern oil pipeline between Alberta and the West Coast. He’s also slammed Smith’s upcoming non-binding referendum on separation, calling it a huge mistake. Smith says she hopes the...

The City of Vancouver will not kick the homeless out of parks at night during the FIFA World Cup. That’s just one of the promises coming out of an Action Plan ahead of the event which starts on June 13. The City has listed 14 priorities as part of a framework demanded by FIFA organizers. Vancouver says it will have a zero-tolerance policy for any acts of discrimination at public events. Community...

Monday’s showers may provide some relief as crews battle a new but growing wildfire near Squamish. The fire was first reported Sunday afternoon in an area near Midnight Way and Paradise Valley Road. Crews are warning people to stay out of the area and not stop to watch or take photos. There’s no early word on the size or cause.

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear B.C.’s appeal of a lower court ruling that could end DRIPA - the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Premier David Eby is seeking the high court ruling after the BC Court of Appeal ruled the Mineral Tenure Act is ‘inconsistent’ with DRIPA. The Act is intended to align provincial laws with the UN’s Indigenous declaration. A date for th...

The Surrey home of Cricket Canada’s president has been hit by gunfire. CBC’s fifth estate reports Arvinder Khosa has confirmed his house in Newton was hit early Wednesday morning. It’s the second time the same home has been fired at. No one was hurt - the Surrey Police Service has linked the shooting to the ongoing extortion crisis. Fifth estate has previously reported on unproven allegations Cric...

The B.C. government is trying to downplay a slide in hotel bookings for June over the same time last year, erasing any confidence in a bump due to the FIFA World Cup. Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon says he knows people will come and skeptics have been wrong in the past. Destination Vancouver says there’s been a 20 per cent drop in bookings over the first few weeks of the event. Some experts...

A man’s been attacked by a black bear in Mission. Gordon Gwyn says the bear bit his arm after he went outside his home at around 3:30 a.m. Monday. Gwyn says he was backed into a corner while trying to open his screen door. The BC Conservation Officer Service tells CTV the bear was gone when they arrived but traps have been set up.

Mayor Ken Sim misused the power of his office and harassed a political rival - that’s the finding of an independent investigator. The Vancouver mayor says he respectfully disagrees with the report’s findings. Vancouver’s Office of the Integrity Commissioner agrees with Sean Orr. The councillor claims Sim harassed him in April of last year and continued that harassment again last October. The inves...

A Spanish multinational company has reached a settlement in competing lawsuits over Metro Vancouver’s wastewater treatment plant. Acciona has agreed to pay $235M over the cancellation of the North Shore plant. Metro Vancouver says those funds will go back into project planning as part of next year’s budget process. The cost of the plant ballooned from $700M to close to $4B. A review of what went w...

Members of the BC Nurses Union have voted overwhelmingly in favour of job action. The BCNU says 98.2 per cent of votes cast backed labour action, although there are no immediate plans for a strike. Union negotiators have been trying to reach a deal since October. B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne has already pointed out the government has reached deals with other health care unions. The nurses ha...

Mayor Brenda Locke says she’s outraged by the recent shootings in Surrey and is demanding a review of cuts to the local gang squad. The comments come after two teens - one 16 and the other 18 - were shot dead in the parkade of a Newton townhouse complex late Sunday evening. That shooting comes after two men were critically wounded by gunfire at a gas station on 152 Street over the weekend. Locke s...

B.C. has arranged a quarantine for four Canadians from the hantavirus infected cruise ship. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says they’ll be monitored for 21 days while in isolation. None of the Canadians has symptoms - they’ve been picked up by a plane chartered by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Three people have died, four others are ill from hantavirus which was spread by a passe...

The personal information of millions of students, including those at UBC and SFU, is being held ransom by online hackers. The universities are among the schools that have had private information stolen from the online learning platform Canvas. Canvas estimates its platform is used by 275 million people worldwide including those in post-secondary schools, K-12 schools and other institutions. UBC is...

Two people have been arrested after a deadly stabbing on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Wednesday morning. James Andrew Slater, 49, died in hospital after being stabbed near East Hastings and Columbia Streets at around 2:30 a.m. Charges are pending against a man and woman as investigators try to figure out why it happened.

Many people are expressing outrage after a grey whale was hit by a jet ski off Siwash Rock, on the west side of Stanley Park. Video of the incident has been shared on social media - the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Vancouver Police are investigating. Regulations require watercraft to stay at least 100 metres from whales. In this case, there’s no word yet on the extent of injuries to the...

No arrests have been made and Surrey Police are saying very little about a Monday afternoon shooting at a business in the Newton neighbourhood. Police do say a man was found with gunshot wounds when officers arrived at a building on 76 Avenue. First responders provided medical help but the victim died at the scene. The shooting happened on the second floor of the same building that’s home to Radio...

It’s the downside of the current warm, dry weather - at least ten new wildfires are burning in B.C. One of those is a small but growing fire discovered between Stave Lake and Chehalis, north east of Mission. It started Sunday morning and is believed to be human caused. Two other fires are growing on Vancouver Island - one near Ladysmith and the other not far from Parksville. Meanwhile, a wildfire...

Talks have broken off and B.C. nurses are a step closer to strike action. The BC Nurses Union continues to push for wages higher than the three per cent for each of four years, currently being offered. The union is preparing to hold a strike vote. Right now, B.C. has the highest paid nurses in the country.

Seven families of victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting are suing ChatGPT parent company OpenAI. The action filed in a San Francisco court claims the company and founder Sam Altman failed to take the actions that would have prevented the deaths and injuries in the northern B.C. community. They’re suing for negligence and liability saying the shooting by the 18-year-old was an entirely foresee...