Feds provide funds for gender based violence in BC
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 May, 2023 12:12 PM
The B-C government says new federal funding will improve critical services for survivors of gender-based violence in the province.
The Ministry of Public Safety says Ottawa's funding will enhance 24-hour crisis hotlines run by the Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre and the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
It says the province-wide crisis lines provide risk-assessment and safety planning services to those experiencing gender-based violence.
The organizations are set to receive 2 point 7-5 million dollars over four years to expand their services, with the ministry noting that groups operating crisis lines in B-C reported a large uptick in calls during the pandemic.
A statement posted to social media by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says the family of four turned and ran when the bear charged them Monday evening. The service says the bear chased them and attacked one woman, while another woman and a teenage boy were injured trying to help her.
The homicide team says in a statement that Kia Ebrahimian pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday. Police were called to a Langley house fire on June 13, 2020, and found the bodies of the man's mother Tatiana Bazyar, his brother Befrin Ebrahimian and Francesco Zangrilli.
The federal government plans to send cheques of up to $650 to qualifying low- and medium-income households to help pay for children's dental needs through the same platform used for Canada Child Benefit payments. That is run through the Canada Revenue Agency, which the experts suggest could be a problem because many low-income families are less likely to file tax returns.
Murray Rankin says fighting crime by arresting more people is "futile," and the government is instead considering a range of options to keep people safe. Opposition Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon told the legislature that the government has continued a "catch-and-release" policy where repeat offenders are quickly freed from custody despite being accused of violent crimes.
A Twitter account for the district's emergency services division had posted on Saturday afternoon saying the fire was "under control and not spreading," but on Sunday the BC Wildfire Service's website lists the blaze as out-of-control. Videos posted online by the district show a helicopter dumping water on the fire.
Finance Minister Selina Robinson introduced the bill in the legislature on Tuesday, saying B.C. residents deserve better consumer protection and more transparency in the mortgage broking industry. One pending change is increasing fines to a maximum of $500,000 for those caught breaking the rules, while those with more than one conviction could face fines of up to $2.5 million.
