Premiers from across Western Canada and the North ended their annual meeting with a call for the federal government to prioritize a bail reform bill targeting repeat offenders. Host Premier David Eby says the group is “extremely disappointed” the federal government did not pass the bill before Parliament rose for the summer last week. Leaders from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories attended the conference in Whistler. Eby also says BC has not received its fair share of federal funding, and he called for more per-capita federal support in critical areas including housing, transportation and trade.
The BC government has given Canada’s border agency three more months to move immigration detainees out of the province’s correctional centres. BC decided to end the practice almost a year ago citing concerns over human rights, justice and equity. The Canada Border Services Agency was originally given 12 months’ notice to find an alternative. Now, BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has approved a three-month extension until the end of October, on the condition that no new detainees will be accepted after July 31st.
Families can now enroll their children in Whitehorse’s first new school in more than 20 years. The elementary school in the Whistle Bend neighbourhood opens this August and families living nearby can now let officials know if their children will be coming. The new school will offer kindergarten to Grade 7 and is designed for up to 425 students. Its official name has not been determined and will be picked by families, students and staff once it is open.
The federal government is giving the City of Port Coquitlam 750-thousand-dollars to upgrade its Veterans Park. Changes coming include a new plaza, pedestrian pathways and relocating the cenotaph as well as lighting upgrades. Mayor Brad West says the new space will be inviting and is a precursor to what the city is working to achieve throughout its iconic downtown. He says the pathways are becoming more accessible and the cenotaph is being moved to a more central location.
The leader of the BC Greens says while she’s happy the government is spending money to give out free air conditioners, the promise falls short of what’s truly needed. Sonia Furstenau says hundreds of thousands of British Columbians live in poverty and all need cooling units and air filtration. She says the eight-thousand free air conditioners promised by the government over three years will not be enough. The province is spending 10-million-dollars on the air conditioners, which BC Hydro will install in the homes of people who have low incomes and are medically vulnerable to heat.
A third person has died after a car crash Sunday morning in South Surrey. Police say a Volkswagen Golf with a single occupant collided with a Hyundai sedan with a driver and three passengers. Two passengers in the Hyundai died the day of the crash and police now say the third passenger, who had been in critical condition, has also died. Investigators say the driver of the Volkswagen was detained for an impaired driving investigation, and is now prohibited from driving, but was released pending further investigation.