B-C's minimum hourly wage is increasing to 17 dollars and 40 cents, up from 16.75.
The Labour Ministry says the 3.9 per cent increase kicks in on Saturday.
It says in a statement that the increase will help about 240-thousand workers in the province who currently earn less than 17.40 an hour.
The B-C government amended the Employment Standards Act in February so future increases to minimum wages happen automatically, based on the previous year's average inflation rate for the province.
A man is in hospital and police are looking for a suspect vehicle after a shooting in Port Alberni. The R-C-M-P say it happened earlier today in a city back alley, leaving the victim with non-life-threatening injuries.
Prison officials in British Columbia say they've seized a large stash of contraband, including steroids and cellphones, smuggled into a maximum security institution outside Vancouver last week. Kim MacPherson, an assistant warden at Kent Institution, says the seizure was made on Aug. 24 thanks to staff vigilance.
Canada's first known case of the Omicron variant BA.2.86 was detected this week in British Columbia as the country became the seventh in the world to report its presence. Health Canada is currently reviewing applications for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's new mRNA vaccines, developed against the dominant XBB.1.5 variant ahead of a vaccination campaign set for the fall.
Vancouver's park board is urging Stanley Park visitors to avoid driving to Stanley Park in September to alleviate heavy traffic linked to large-scale events. The board says visitors should consider using alternative transportation methods or park elsewhere in the city.
The City of Vancouver is cautioning people to stop consuming alcohol on beaches starting next week as a three-month pilot program comes to an end. The city's park board says alcohol consumption on Vancouver beaches will no longer be legal as of this coming Tuesday.
The latest G-D-P report showing the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 0.2 per cent in the second quarter may signal an end to the Bank of Canada's rate hiking campaign.