B-C's minimum hourly wage is increasing to 17 dollars and 40 cents, up from 16.75.
The Labour Ministry says the 3.9 per cent increase kicks in on Saturday.
It says in a statement that the increase will help about 240-thousand workers in the province who currently earn less than 17.40 an hour.
The B-C government amended the Employment Standards Act in February so future increases to minimum wages happen automatically, based on the previous year's average inflation rate for the province.
All public schools in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have been closed today, as heavy snow falls across a wide swath of southern British Columbia. Some universities and colleges in the Lower Mainland have also cancelled in-person classes, including the University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and the B.C. Institute of Technology.
The provincial government is providing 675-thousand-dollars toward a proposed centre in northern B-C that would provide mental-health and addictions services for children for children and youth. Premier David Eby says on a visit to Prince George that young people in northern B-C, especially Indigenous youth, should be able to get the care they need close to home.
Police say they are investigating after a woman was found dead in front of a Calgary elementary school this morning. Officers were called to the school in the southwestern community of Strathcona around 7:40 a.m.
Mounties say a 34-year-old man has been found guilty of four charges after a hit-and-run crash that injured two police dog service officers in 2019. Police say Jason Kirupakaran was convicted of two counts each of criminal negligence causing bodily harm and failing to stop after an accident causing bodily harm.
Police say four people are dead and one person is in hospital after a head-on crash on Highway 97 southeast of Kamloops, B.C., on Tuesday. Vernon North Okanagan RCMP spokesman Chris Terleski says the collision occurred near the Monte Lake RV park around 9 a.m. Police say the drivers of the vehicles were found dead at the scene along with two others, and one person was airlifted to hospital.
Vancouver Police say the Israel-Hamas war has fuelled hate crimes in the city and sparked far more protests than usual, with policing for the events costing millions. Police say they investigated 265 reports of hate crimes in 2023, a 31-per-cent jump from the previous year, including those related to South Asian, LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities.