Canada's environment commissioner says the country is nowhere near to meeting its goal of planting two-billion trees by 2030.
The Liberals first made the massive tree-planting promise during the 2019 federal election campaign and followed through with a 10-year 3.2-billion-dollar budget for it in 2020.
However, an audit of the first two years of planting says it appears the government isn't on track to get even four per cent of the promised trees in the ground by the end of 2030.
Winter storm watches have been issued for parts of Fraser Canyon, Fraser Valley, Nicola region, the Okanagan Valley, Similkameen and South Thompson areas. The weather office says the storm is expected to bring up to 20 centimetres of snow.
The announcement comes after Premier David Eby and Mitzi Dean, minister of children and family development, met with members of the group AutismBC and other stakeholders, including the First Nations Leadership Council and B.C.’s representative for children and youth.
Workers applying for EI will be eligible for the more-generous benefits starting on Dec. 18, with advocates praising the move but urging the government to make good on its promise for a much bigger overhaul of the system. Qualtrough made the announcement while visiting the Canadian Cancer Society's regional care centre in Vancouver.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said that COVID-19, RSV and influenza are continuing to co-circulate at high levels. While RSV activity seems to have levelled off, Tam said she expects it to remain elevated for weeks to come.
Finance Minister Selina Robinson says much of the added surplus comes from higher personal and corporate income taxes, while sales taxes and natural gas royalties were also higher. Robinson says $2 billion of the added revenue has already been earmarked for cost-of-living measures announced since the summer.
Cpl. Alex Berube says in a statement they have learned that the plane was transporting two passengers out of a logging camp back to Port Hardy. Coast guard helicopters and boats were sent to the search area but no survivors have been found.