British Columbia's child welfare system is either in a state of crisis or close to it with understaffing and unmanageable workloads, the province's representative for children said. A report released by Jennifer Charlesworth Tuesday said the environment for social workers at the Ministry of Children and Family Development is unhealthy for staff, characterized by undue stress, burnout and fear, and there's no time for the government to wait to address the "critical circumstances."
Federal immigration officials warned the government it risked undermining the temporary immigration system with the design of the emergency visa program for war-displaced Ukrainians, newly released court documents show. Immigration Department staff raised the concern in a memo to Sean Fraser, immigration minister at the time, shortly after the program was announced.
An Edmonton man has been convicted in the United Kingdom of being a member of a proscribed terrorist group. RCMP said Khaled Hussein, a Canadian citizen, was convicted Tuesday of being involved in al-Muhajiroun, an organization linked to killings and attacks in London.
A team has been selected to design a new eight-lane tunnel to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel under the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver, with British Columbia's transportation minister calling it a "huge step" for the project. Rob Fleming says the selection of the preferred proponent for the tunnel project, Cross Fraser Partnership, means design plans can now be finalized.
Vancouver police say two women have been found dead in English Bay since Sunday, and they're wondering if the pair are somehow linked. The V-P-D says one woman's body washed up on shore near the Kitsilano Yacht Club on Monday, but it's not known how she died or whether or not it was a crime.
British Columbia's wildfire service says a significant change in the weather could cause another burst of wildfire activity, with extensive thunderstorms expected in the north and parts of the south following weeks of hot and dry weather. A bulletin from the service says B.C. saw thousands of lightning strikes over the weekend, mostly in the north, with more in the forecast.