Mounties in Surrey say a 52-year-old man has been charged with arson.
They say two fires occurred in the northwest part of the city on May 28th, less than 12 hours apart.
The R-C-M-P say firefighters and officers received reports of a man allegedly setting fire to bushes, and police later found and arrested the suspect, who was hiding in the area.
They say the man has been charged with two counts of arson and remains in custody until his next court appearance on June 13th.
A statement from the department says, for the first time, it is enacting a clause in its contract with its police union that allows for the potential assignment of all officers to front-line duties.
In addition to the health-care sector, police forces in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg are facing similar staffing problems, as is Winnipeg Transit and the fire department in Prince Rupert in northwestern British Columbia.
Tam says the average daily case count rose 65 per cent from last week, with an average of close to 42,000 cases being reported daily over the past seven days up to Wednesday.
The Canadian economy added 55,000 jobs in December before COVID-19 cases began spiking at the end of the month, prompting public health restrictions that forced many businesses to close or curtail operations.
A pediatrician who has researched COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among parents in Canada, the United States and Israel is urging people concerned about getting their children vaccinated to talk to a health-care provider as the Omicron variant pushes cases to all-time highs.
British Columbia's seniors advocate is asking the province to designate one person as an essential visitor for every long-term care resident as the facilities move to stem the spread of COVID-19. Isobel Mackenzie says in a news release that the need to limit visitors has left a majority of long-term care residents without visits from loved ones.