Concerns about a young orca calf stuck in a lagoon near the village of Zeballos for almost two weeks may soon be over. Fisheries Department and First Nations officials say plans are underway to place the killer whale in a sling, lift it out of the lagoon by helicopter, and put it in a holding net pen in the ocean while they wait for its family pod to be near before it is released into the open water. Paul Cottrell, a marine mammal co-ordinator with the Fisheries Department, says the rescue could occur within days, but it is more likely to occur within the next two weeks. Rescuers have been unable to coax the two-year-old orca out of the lagoon, where it has been alone since March 23rd after its pregnant mother became trapped by the low tide and died on the rocky beach.
A Surrey man has been sentenced to a conditional 18-month term to be served in the community after he was convicted of child exploitation. BC Mounties say 34-year-old Joel Andy Daigle was identified by US police as a member of an international online group linked to trafficking pornography. They say a US detective posed as a 14 year old girl to infiltrate the group, leading to the arrest of 23 people across the globe, including Daigle. The RCMP say he has also been placed under an order governing his access to children under 16.
BC’s government has tabled the legislation required to implement a flipping tax on speculators trying to make money in the province’s hot real estate market. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says the tax rate is 20 per cent of income earned from a property sold within 365 days, decreasing to zero over the second year. The province estimates the tax will bring in 43 million dollars in its first full fiscal year and has promised the money raised will go toward housing. The legislation provides exemptions for events including separation, divorce or death.
An overdose prevention site in downtown Vancouver has reopened after being relocated. Vancouver Coastal Health says in a news release that the Thomus Donaghy OPS initially opened in March 2021 but the lease on its Seymour Street location expired last month. It says the new site officially opened yesterday, and can be accessed from Howe Street though it does not have street frontage. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim issued a separate statement saying the city was not consulted and that it is disappointed the new site is not located at St. Paul’s Hospital, which it believed was the appropriate site.
The BC Wildfire Service says it is responding to a small blaze about 16 kilometres west of Merritt. It says 16 personnel were on scene as of yesterday afternoon. The service says the blaze is about 3.3 hectares, or 0.033 square kilometres, in size and is classified as out of control. It says crews that remain on site will monitor the area to determine whether direct suppression tactics are safe.
Mounties in North Vancouver are looking for the owner of a dog who bit a running man last week. They say the incident happened just before 7 a-m on March 27th, when the man was jogging down Copping Street. Police say a dog being walked on-leash by a woman in a purple puffy jacket, lunged and bit the man, seriously injuring him. They say officers are now looking for the woman, who was walking two Australian shepherd dogs at the time, but refused to provide her contact details. Police are also asking anyone with information to come forward.