Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Feb, 2024 10:47 AM
B-C politicians are back in Victoria this week for the spring legislative session.
Today's speech from the throne will set out the political agenda for the coming weeks ahead of this fall’s provincial election campaign.
N-D-P house leader Ravi Kahlon says he expects the looming election will contribute to a somewhat tense atmosphere at the legislature as the parties prepare to hit the campaign trail in the months ahead.
Kahlon says the government will continue focusing on the housing crisis, health care and cost of living
BC Hydro says the extreme cold temperatures saw the province experience a record-high power demand. The public utility says in a statement it reached record demand highs on Friday night of eleven thousand three hundred megawatts.
Canadians living in provinces where the federal carbon price is collected are expected to receive their first Climate Action Incentive rebate of the year today. The federal government says people living in provinces including Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan will receive the rebate through direct bank deposit or by cheque if they have filed their income tax and benefit returns.
Environment Canada says the forecast calls for snowflurries in the Metro Vancouver area by Tuesday, followed by rain later this week. Temperatures are still forecast to remain well below zero Celsius in the province's northeast and Kootenay regions.
In British Columbia, rescue crews say two skiers are lucky to be alive after they became lost in the Fitzsimmons Creek area near Whistler late Thursday as wind chill dipped around -50 C. North Shore Rescue says on social media that a helicopter was used to hoist out the pair who were hypothermic with frozen feet, and it's "unlikely the skiers would have survived the night."
Mounties in Coquitlam are reminding the public that its emergency and non-emergency lines are not meant for complaints about things like a cold fast-food burger. Police say that was one of many calls they had to 9-1-1 that take away staff time from helping someone with a life-threatening situation.
An abrupt snowfall in Metro Vancouver resulted in snarled traffic and set off numerous crashes on major routes. Environment Canada says the area received about 3 centimetres of snow Thursday, which combined with freezing temperatures to create icy roads throughout the region.
