Police on Vancouver Island say they have arrested a suspect after a suspicious fire at a home in Sidney.
R-C-M-P say officers responded just before 2 p-m yesterday. They say the blaze required a response from the North Saanich, Sidney and Central Saanich Fire Departments.
One suspect was arrested at the scene along Lochside Drive and the Mounties are asking anyone with information to contact them.
Statistics Canada said that cocaine use is continuing to show signs of increase in the country based on new data of wastewater monitoring. In most Canadian municipalities, cocaine levels increased from January to May 2022 compared with the same period in 2020, the national statistical institute said.
A state of local emergency has been declared in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, east of Vancouver, as two of three pumps at the community's water treatment plant have failed. A statement from Mayor Ed Wood says the availability of water for drinking and firefighting could be at risk.
To combat rising antisemitism, both British Columbia and Ontario announced this week that they would introduce mandatory Holocaust education for high school students, teaching them of the murder of six million Jews and others during the Second World War by Nazi Germany. Holocaust educators are applauding the move.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he plans to recalibrate the number of people who come to Canada temporarily to make sure the program is sustainable, but details about what measures the government is considering remain unclear. Miller announced his intentions after he tabled the immigration targets for permanent residents Wednesday afternoon.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says the region continues to see an increase in newly listed properties, but sales still lag behind long-term trends. The board says October home sales totalled 1,996, a 3.7 per cent increase from the 1,924 sales recorded the same month last year. But the total was 29.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,832 for October.
The British Columbia government is warning drivers about a storm bringing snow and possibly freezing rain as it bears down on the province's southern Interior. A statement from the Ministry of Transportation says wintry conditions are expected to last until Thursday afternoon, when a transition to rain is forecast.