The annual pace of housing starts in July fell 10 per cent from June when they posted their strongest showing of the year.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports the annual pace of urban starts was down 11 per cent, the rate of multi-unit urban starts fell 12 per cent and the pace of single-detached urban starts dropped four per cent.
C-M-H-C says housing starts fell 23 per cent in Vancouver but rose 33 per cent in Calgary.
Nelson saw the temperature hit 38.2 Celsius yesterday, breaking a record set back in 1938. Elsewhere, temperature records were set in McKenzie, Nakusp, Richmond and Smithers. Heat warnings are in place for the Okanagan, Thompson and Boundary regions.
Police in Nanaimo say a 24-year-old man has died of his injuries after a crash with a suspected impaired driver. Nanaimo R-C-M-P say the crash happened around 10 p-m on Wednesday, and the other driver remains in hospital.
The regional government says reservoir levels remain normal for the season, but water consumption is trending higher than the same time last year. It says water consumption peaked on July 5th with 1.56 billion litres used, even though it wasn't a day designated for watering lawns.
BC Wildfire Service spokesman Cliff Chapman says about 500 international firefighters are already in B.C., boosting the ranks of the more than 2,000 provincial wildfire service personnel on the front lines battling hundreds of blazes.
A statement on the website of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada Local 502 says that a tentative agreement has been reached with the BC Maritime Employers Association, and the ILWU will hold an "emergency contract caucus" today to decide if the deal will be sent to the full union membership for ratification.
The Liberals promised during their 2021 election campaign to table a Safe Long-Term Care Act, after widespread COVID-19 outbreaks drew attention to the struggle many homes faced to provide basic care to residents.