268 arrested and over 100K in stolen merchandise recovered in shoplifting crackdown
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Dec, 2023 10:45 AM
Vancouver police say 268 people were arrested and over 100-thousand dollars in stolen merchandise was recovered in a recent shoplifting crackdown dubbed “Project Barcode.”
Police say officers also seized 31 weapons at about 30 retailers between November 30th and December 15th.
Constable Tania Visintin says shoplifting incidents have not only made businesses suffer financial loss but also left staff members afraid of aggressive shoplifting incidents.
Visintin says Project Barcode’s results are “significant,” and they will continue to work with the Retail Council of Canada to help businesses.
The B-C Real Estate Association says "the anchor that is (Canada's) monetary policy" will continue to weigh down home sales in this province over the next year. The association has released its fourth-quarter housing forecast showing residential sales are expected to dip nearly five per cent to just under 77-thousand units this year.
A 44-year-old Vancouver man has pleaded guilty to two separate, unprovoked stabbings that happened in -- or near -- the city's Chinatown neighbourhood in September of last year. In one stabbing, a cyclist working as a food delivery driver had his throat slashed but survived, while police say the other victim suffered "life-altering" injuries.
Avian flu has been detected in birds at a second commercial poultry operation in Chilliwack. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the infection was confirmed yesterday -- four days after another farm was quarantined and its flock was ordered destroyed to halt the spread of the highly infectious illness.
Air Canada says its staff followed procedure when it delayed a British MP for extra questions in what has been described as an Islamophobic incident during a recent diplomatic trip to Canada. Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning at London’s Heathrow Airport while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through, and was stopped again at airports in Montreal and Toronto.
There are many heartbreaking tales behind the record number of Canadians using food banks as they struggle with high inflation and mounting housing costs, says a Vancouver food bank executive. More and more people are accessing its services each year, and with greater frequency than in the past, Boulter said, as low wages and high rents squeeze people between inflation and other rising costs.
The British Columbia government is taking steps to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles to meet its 100-per-cent sales target five years sooner than initially planned. If passed, the legislation to amend the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act would increase access and choice for electric vehicle buyers, as new provincial funding expands the charging network, a statement from the Energy Ministry said.
