A man who spent much of his childhood at a B-C residential school where the remains of over 200 children were found says the tragedy is triggering memories of the abuse he suffered. Clayton Peters says he was 10 when he and his three brothers were taken to the Kamloops Residential School, but he didn’t see one of them for five years because siblings were kept on different floors. Now he thinks some of the children he imagined had escaped may be among those buried on the grounds of the school. The school was operated by the Roman Catholic Church between 1890
and 1969 before the government took it over and ran it as a day school until 1978. Many have been asking for a call of action to continue to
The family of a 48-year-old homicide victim has posted a 50-thousand dollar reward for information that could lead to charges in the case. Relatives of Port Moody resident Trina Hunt announced the reward at a news conference today arranged by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. Hunt was last seen in January at her suburban Vancouver home and her body was found March 29th near Hope, although the identity of the remains was not confirmed for several days. The family is optimistic that the reward will produce new information that will help investigators
B-C health officials say roughly 70 per cent of eligible adults in the province have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Doctor
Bonnie Henry say the province will be following the National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s guidelines on mixing and matching vaccines. They say those who got a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can now receive either the same one, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second shot. The province reported 184 cases of COVID-19 yesterday, the lowest case count since october. and no new deaths
Surrey RCMP is asking for the public’s help to find a missing teenager, last seen on May 29. Honey Larochelle, 17, was last seen around 9 a.m. at her home in the 6400-block of 121st Street, according to a release from Surrey RCMP Constable Sarbjit Sangha on Tuesday (June 1). Sangha said Honey hasn’t been seen or heard from since, “despite police and families attempts to locate her.” Police describe Honey as Indigenous, five-foot-seven, about 130 lbs, with light-brown shoulder-length hair. She has a small piercing below her lower lip. Honey, according to police, was last seen wearing a black sweater, jeans and black/white shoes. Sangha added police are also urging Honey to call her family or police “to confirm her wellbeing.” Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP
There’s been another report of aggressive, threatening behaviour pushing a family out of a campsite in the eastern Fraser Valley, this time at Chehalis Lake north of Harrison Mills. Agassiz RCMP are hoping someone can help identify two men accused of forcing a family out of the site by shooting a pellet gun in their direction, before pulling a machete, assaulting a woman, and then demanding the family leave the area. According to Mounties, it happened at a remote forest recreation site just before midnight on Sunday May 23. The family is said to have packed up and “fled in fear,” reporting the incident to police This happened the same weekend a similar incident took place at a campsite near West Harrison Lake. In that instance, a woman said in a social media post that a group of men threatened her and her friends. Police confirm the May 23 incident is the second case “in which violence and threats have been reported in area campsites.”Anyone who may have seen what happened or who has any information is asked to contact the RCMP at
Vancouver’s final proposal for drug decriminalization is now in the hands of Health Canada — making Vancouver the first city in Canada to officially launch the idea. A statement from the city says the plan — which seeks decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of 15 currently illegal drugs — is based on science and research. The so-called Vancouver Model is supported by the Vancouver Police Department and the city’s medical health officer. Critics — including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users — argue proposed thresholds for legal possession are too low and could force users into even more contact with drug sellers or police.
White Rock council has recommitted to its plan to temporarily close one lane of Marine Drive, turning it into a one-way, as a measure to help provide more space for restaurants during COVID-19 indoor seating restrictions. The plan is to be implemented by Monday, June 7. Council added a new-proviso to the one-way, however – endorsing a motion from Manning that the lane be re-opened as soon as provincial health authorities allow full-capacity indoor dining again, which may happen as soon as July, dependent on COVID figures.
Members of B-C’s nightclub industry say they’re cautiously optimistic about the province’s reopening plan. Madeleine Clerides with Numbers Cabaret, Vancouver’s oldest gay bar, says it’s been a struggle to lay off staff and deal with expenses such as rent. Blake McRitchie with the Red Rood says his club has lost a lot of money after being forced to close for nine months. Both Clerides and McRitchie say the reopening plan is a great start and are hopeful further capacity restrictions don’t prove too harmful.
WorkSafeBC is making changes to headgear safety rules to ensure workplaces are more inclusive for people who wear religious head coverings. The Sikh community has been raising concerns for years about some employers’ blanket approach to hard hat regulations — requiring all workers to wear one on the job even in areas where there is a low or non-existent risk. Under the changes taking effect in September, employers will conduct a risk assessment to determine whether safety headgear such as a hard hat is necessary in each area of a work site. The legal counsel of the World Sikh Organization of Canada says the change makes B-C a leader in the accommodation of the turban in the workplace.
British Columbia health officials announced 194 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 144,667. In a joint written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that broken down by health region, this equates to 33 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 122 in the Fraser Health region, two in the Island Health region, 33 in the Interior Health region, and four in the Northern Health region. There are 2,662 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and of the active cases, 246 individuals are currently hospitalized, 70 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. There have been four new COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 1,707 deaths in British Columbia. To date, 3,365,286 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in BC, 208,145 of which are second doses.
The B-C government says it has funded nearly 26-thousand new licensed child care spaces over the past three years — exceeding the initial target in its 10-year child care plan by 18 per cent. It describes that as the fastest creation of child care spaces in provincial history. Nearly 70 per cent of the spaces are expected to be open for families within the next year. The province says it’s also making new investments to provide 10-dollar-a-day child care for twice as many families and to double the wage enhancement to four-dollars an hour for early childhood educators.
The RCMP say an oil spill in Surrey today contributed to two collisions just after noon. Police say the spill occurred on the southbound lanes of 152nd Street between Fraser Highway and 88th Avenue. They say the occupants of the vehicles suffered minor injuries. City work crews have spent a lot of time on the scene to clean up the oil.