Starting at 7 a.m. today, British Columbians can book campsites operated by B-C Parks up to four months in advance of the 2023 season. The booking window for the season has been doubled from the previous year’s two-month window, a change announced in November. B-C Environment Minister George Heyman said the government heard public feedback that the majority of campers prefer a four-month rolling window, allowing people to book a site well in advance of their visit. More than 317-thousand reservations were made on the B-C Parks reservation service for the 2022 season.
Edmonton police say a man wanted on Canada-wide warrants in connection with a human trafficking and intimate partner violence investigation has been arrested in Burnaby, B-C. The Edmonton man has been charged with human trafficking, forcible confinement, aggravated assault, uttering threats and assault with a weapon based on events police say occurred in 2021. A news release issued Sunday says Burnaby R-C-M-P took the man into custody last week after receiving information that he was living there. They say he has since been transferred to Edmonton.
A Monday morning fire on the exterior of the band building at Wellington Secondary School in Nanaimo is being considered suspicious. Assistant Chief David Dales says firefighters were able to put out the small fire quickly after being called to the school just after 6:30 a.m. Dales says the majority of the damage was on the outside of the building with some minor water damage inside. The school district says band program is being moved into the school’s multipurpose room.
Canada’s first permanent cap on fees charged to restaurants by food-delivery companies is now in effect across British Columbia. Legislation passed in November means that as of January 1st delivery companies can’t charge restaurants more than 20 per cent of the dollar value of an order. During the pandemic, a temporary cap was put in place in December 2020, and extended in September and December of 2021. The act also prohibits delivery companies from downloading costs onto drivers.
A video of what appears to be a giant Pacific octopus in the waters of British Columbia has been seen millions of times on social media. Brooke Sattar of Port Alberni, B-C says the octopus was found clinging to the side of one of her family’s prawn traps in late December. Satter says the more than two-metre-long animal stayed on the trap for two to three minutes before swimming away. Her video had more than 41 million views on Tiktok as of Monday afternoon.