The B-C Real Estate Association says the province's housing market is staying relatively calm this spring,
The association says sales were up more than 15 per cent last month compared to February 2023.
B-C-R-E-A Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson says activity is picking up, but home sales are still below normal and prices have been essentially flat since last summer.
Active listings are up more than 20 per cent over last year's levels as a result of slower sales.
The group that represents residential builders in Canada wants Ottawa to offer a 30-year amortization period for insured mortgages on new homes. The Canadian Home Builders' Association says extending the period an additional five years would help with affordability and spur more construction.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking MPs to support more funding for Global Affairs Canada, despite the Liberals undertaking cutbacks across the government. Joly says that the United States, France and rapidly developing countries are staffing up to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world.
Ottawa says it is aware of reports that another Canadian citizen has gone missing in the Gaza Strip. Global Affairs Canada says it is providing consular assistance to the family but can't share more because of privacy considerations.
A major Canadian tobacco company says it is "extremely disappointed" by British Columbia's decision to move the sale of flavoured nicotine pouches behind pharmacy counters. Premier David Eby announced the restriction on Wednesday, saying the province issued the order to prevent children coming into contact with a "hazardous" and "addictive" product while Health Canada looks into the regulation of sales.
A Bell executive is linking the major cuts parent company B-C-E announced this morning to federal government policies. Robert Malcolmson says the company needs immediate relief, which could come from a fund it has proposed that would see streamers subsidize local or national news.
When the sun goes down, the rats of Vancouver's Burrard Skytrain Station emerge, in a scurrying blur of fur and whipping tails. Dozens of them, large and small, scamper around a park in front of the downtown station, running up and down the stairs among the legs of commuters and a wary reporter. Some appear to be feasting on birdseed scattered on the ground.