B.C. to end state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Sep, 2023 05:12 PM
The British Columbia government says it is ending the state of emergency imposed last month when thousands of residents were chased out of their homes by wildfires.
The government says in a statement the wildfire risk is diminishing in much of the province as temperatures cool, allowing most residents to return home.
The National Police Federation, which represents front-line RCMP officers, said Thursday it was reviewing details of the new federal policy and would soon issue a statement to members.
Parent groups and the BC Teachers' Federation have called for all school districts to introduce a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the absence of a provincewide order, while the New Westminster board of education has asked for a legal opinion on making the shots mandatory.
There are 5,929 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 183,406 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 373 individuals are in hospital and 132 are in intensive care.
A statement on Thursday from the First Nation in Kamloops, B.C., said the lack of a response to two letters was "an added insult," but it looks forward to welcoming Trudeau in the community later this month.
The report by 12 epidemiologists, mathematicians and data analysts, from the universities of Victoria and British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the private sector, covers the period up to Oct. 4.
Fraser Nicola Liberal Jackie Tegart says Premier John Horgan's pledge to rebuild the community of Lytton following last June's wildfire that destroyed the community has failed to materialize.