The BC government says members of the Resident Doctors of B-C and the Health Employers Association have ratified a new labour agreement. The doctor’s group represents more than 14 hundred medical graduates who take part in educational programs that lead to qualification to practice as family doctors or specialists. The three-year deal includes wage increases, added mental health and extended health benefits, and a technology stipend. The wage bumps include an added 25-cents per hour plus 3.24 per cent in Year One, followed by up to 6.75 per cent in Year Two and three per cent in Year Three.
More than 77-thousand-500 people received a flu shot during a week long blitz in a government attempt to save more lives. Six children have died of the flu this season in B-C and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry urged parents to get their children vaccinated before the holiday season. Almost half of those who got their flu shots between December 5th and the 11th were adults up to age 64, while about 24-thousand children and youth age six months to 17 years were vaccinated. About 1.6-million people — or 30 per cent of B-C’s population — have now had their flu shot this season.
Five people who pleaded guilty to criminal contempt after a Coastal GasLink pipeline blockade have been sentenced. The occupation by those who opposed the construction of the natural gas pipeline through Wet’suwet’en traditional territory occurred in 2021 despite a court-ordered injunction. Three people were handed a 500-dollar fine while two others were sentenced to four months probation plus 25 hours of community service at a court hearing in Smithers. The opposition of Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs to the pipeline has attracted supporters and protesters to the territory over several years.
The RCMP says one person has died after a serious crash in Kelowna yesterday. The Mounties say no other cars were involved in the collision. The incident closed parts of Burtch Road and Bernard Avenue. Kelowna Traffic Service and B-C Highway Patrol reconstruction teams are working to figure out the cause of the fatal crash.
The Vancouver police traffic division says it wasn’t alcohol that caused a Sunday morning crash, but a driver trying to tie his shoe. The department released a photo of a red car with its engine wrapped around a light standard and the front hood mangled over the windshield. It says the 19-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle when he tried to adjust his shoe. He has a badly broken leg, while his passenger was uninjured.
Kathleen Remple of Nanaimo has lost count of how many hand-crocheted multi-coloured toques she’s donated to charity over the years, but she figures it’s more than 10-thousand-500. At 89 years old, she remembers how scarce money was during the Depression, and says it feels good to give. Remple says when you grow up in winter cold, you know how meaningful a little warmth can be. While she doesn’t know the exact number of hats she’s donated, she says she makes one toque before breakfast, another before lunch, one before dinner and, if she’s lucky, one before bed.