We are learning more about the tragic accident that killed a 14 year old girl in Burnaby last week. RCMP are addressing claims that a dog played a role in a dump truck colliding and killing the girl. Last week, the 14-year-old was struck and killed by a dump truck while she was walking near her school on 16 Street and 11 Avenue, shortly after class ended for the day. The company that owns the dump truck says, “the tragedy may have involved a dog who ran out of a yard and startled the victim.” However, RCMP say they do not believe the dog played a role in the tragedy.
The Abbotsford police and IHIT are investigating two deaths at the same house which they say are suspicious. The bodies were discovered at a home near Arcadian Way in Abbotsford. Police are asking anyone with information about this incident, dashcam footage or CCTV from the area within the previous 24 hours to contact them.
Now you can have your say on the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain expansion public engagement began yesterday and runs until June 9th. Open houses are set for May 25 in Surrey and May 31 in Langley for the public to weigh in. The 16-kilometre Expo Line expansion from King George to 203rd Street in Langley will run on an elevated guideway mostly along Fraser Highway, featuring eight stations and three bus exchanges. Expected to be completed by late 2028, it will cut travel time between King George Station and Langley City Centre by about 22 minutes and place Langley City Centre just over an hour from Waterfront Station in Vancouver.
Defence lawyers are suggesting a young woman made up rape allegations about Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard because she was embarrassed to have fallen in love with a rock star who used her for sex. During cross-examination at Hoggard’s sexual-assault trial in Toronto, his lawyer suggested Hoggard and the woman, who was 16 at the time, had consensual sex in the Hedley frontman’s Toronto-area hotel room in September of 2016. The woman alleges the singer repeatedly raped and assaulted her…Hoggard’s second accuser is expected to take the stand today.
Surrey city Coun. Brenda Locke presented a notice of motion last night challenging Mayor Doug McCallum’s legitimacy to continue his mayoral duties in light of a provincial bill that will require politicians who are charged with a criminal offence to take a leave of absence from the date of being charged with a crime until related legal proceedings are concluded. It will be debated and voted on at council’s next meeting on May 30. So far, Locke is McCallum’ sole declared rival for the mayor’s seat heading toward the Oct. 15 civic election. McCallum is charged with one count of public mischief contrary, stemming from an encounter last September…His trial is set to begin on Oct. 31, two weeks after the election.
Surrey RCMP have arrested a man accused of assaulting a woman in a Whalley parking lot last week. According to Mounties, a woman was assaulted in a parking lot stairway near King George and Old Yale Road at around 2:30 a.m. on May 5. Police say they identified and arrested 26-year-old Raymond Kellet on Saturday. He is charged with Aggravated Assault and Uttering Threats.
If you own your own home, or have been trying to get into the market, you’ve obviously been aware of how prices have shot up significantly during the pandemic. Now, new research indicates we could see a significant decline in Canadian home prices over the next year. The expectation is for home prices to drop 10 per cent over the next 12 months. However if this price decline becomes reality, experts believe the will be felt more in outlying areas than in urban centres.
An online fundraiser for the family of a 14-year-old girl who was killed in a collision with a dump truck in Burnaby says she had recently arrived from Afghanistan and had five siblings. A message posted on GoFundMe says the girl was the eldest among her siblings and describes her as generous, kind and loving. The R-C-M-P says other teens tried to save the girl when she was hit by the dump truck near Byrne Creek Community School at about 3:30 p-m last Thursday but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The online campaign was just short of its goal this afternoon today of raising 30-thousand dollars to help her family pay for her funeral.
New data from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry shows 98 per cent of practising physicians and surgeons have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or are medically exempt. The province says it requested the vaccination status of health professionals for each of B-C’s 18 regulatory colleges in early March to help the public make informed decisions about whether they want to receive in-person services. The data shows that as of April 25th, vaccination rates were highest for physicians and surgeons and also for dietitians at 98 per cent, with pharmacists also near the top at 96.7 per cent. Naturopaths had the lowest vaccination rate at 69.2 per cent followed by chiropractors at 78.1 per cent.
The ups and downs of pandemic waves continue to affect wait times for elective surgeries in Canada. New data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows that’s adding to concerns about mounting backlogs as provinces ease restrictions. The new report shows hospitals and health systems have improved at weathering spikes of COVID-19 infection since the virus first struck the country in early 2020. But the number of surgeries performed still fluctuates with each pandemic wave, worsening backlogs every time. The institute says about 600-thousand fewer surgeries were performed across Canada since the beginning of the pandemic.
Vancouver police say a second suspect has been charged in a fatal assault in Crab Park last weekend. Police say 45-year-old Andrew Wadden suffered fatal injuries when he was assaulted by two men in the park Saturday morning. They say 18-year-old David Bentil was charged yesterday with second-degree murder. Another suspect — 26-year-old Eric Kim — was charged with the same offence on Sunday.
The Surrey Board of Trade wants TransLink to consider safety measures to protect women using public transit. In a letter to TransLink C-E-O Kevin Quinn, the board says in order to ensure women remain part of the workforce, their transit needs must be addressed. It is calling on TransLink to conduct a women’s safety audit, ease financial burdens on women by doubling the validity time for a single fare to three hours, install better lighting at stops and aboard transit and create “family only” sections on buses and SkyTrains. The board says it has heard first-hand incidents of harassment and fear from its members who use transit and it says improving safety will not only make riders feel at ease it will boost their willingness to use transit.