B-C provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry is scheduled to provide an update this afternoon on the province's respiratory illness season.
It's Henry's first update of 2024 and she'll be joined by Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The most recent information from the province's centre for disease control says that in late December Influenza A and R-S-V cases were on the rise.
The centre said at the time that COVID-19 numbers were remaining stable or decreasing since early November.
Tensions connected to the war between Israel and Hamas have prompted a British Columbia theatre company to cancel the scheduled run of a play set in the region. Victoria's Belfry Theatre says in a statement the timing isn't right to stage The Runner by Canadian writer and actor Christopher Morris and it could "further tensions" in the community.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said his country should "encourage migration" of Palestinians from Gaza and re-establish Israeli settlements there, echoing similar comments from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller condemnedremarks from both politicians as "inflammatory and irresponsible."
Surrey R-C-M-P say there's been a propane leak at a gas station. The station's surrounding area in the Port Kells neighbourhood has been evacuated. Mounties say roads have also been shut down.
The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Wednesday that the federal ethics commissioner was consulted "on these details prior to the travel to ensure that the rules were followed." The office offered the clarification the day before Trudeau's holiday on the Caribbean island is set to conclude. He is there with Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and their three children.
Canada and some of its allies are warning the Houthis that they will bear responsibility for the consequences of their continued attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed rebel group has been firing long-range missiles at Israel from Yemen and attacking civilian cargo ships, and the statement said the group has been significantly escalating its efforts in the past week.
An unnamed school district in British Columbia has been ordered by the province's human rights tribunal to pay $5,000 to a student for failing to accommodate her anxiety disorder. Tribunal vice-chair Devyn Cousineau says in a decision released last month that the school district "failed to take reasonable steps to investigate and address the female student's anxiety over her transition from elementary school to high school.