Police in Abbotsford are warning the public of a rise in the so-called "grandparents scam."
Authorities say fraudsters posing as lawyers are calling seniors, suggesting a family member is either in jail and needs bail money, or has been in an accident and needs to pay for damages.
Abbotsford police say between February and November of this year, they have received nine grandparents scam reports.
Five of these cases resulted in total losses of more than 24-thousand-dollars.
New targets tabled in Parliament show the government plans to level out the number of new permanent residents to Canada in 2026, forecasting an end to record-breaking year-over-year immigration. Immigration Minister Marc Miller submitted new targets for the next three years, which call for the number of new permanent residents to hold steady at 500,000 in 2026.
A death review panel from the British Columbia Coroners Service is recommending community groups be allowed to hand out drugs without a prescription in an attempt to stop the relentless overdose death toll. The panel's report coincided with the monthly overdose death toll of 175 people in September, which the coroners service says is a 10 per cent drop from the same month a year ago, but still equal to 5.8 deaths a day across B.C.
A woman accused of stealing nearly two dozen vehicles -- many of them work vans loaded with expensive tools -- has been arrested in Abbotsford. Police in that Fraser Valley city say charges against Charlene Williams are linked to thefts stretching back to January.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that former British Columbia premier John Horgan has been appointed as Canada's next ambassador to Germany. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office says Horgan has a proven track record of dedicated public service and will provide strategic advice to Trudeau in his new role.
A British Columbia man accused of a triple stabbing in Vancouver's Chinatown in September has lost his bid to seal a document that identified him as a "significant threat" before he was released from a forensic psychiatric hospital. A B.C. Review Board panel said the presumption of the board's open process overrides Blair Donnelly's concerns that releasing the documents would invade his personal privacy or prejudice an upcoming trial.
Vancouver-based Helijet International has placed what it says is Canada's first order for an electric vertical-takeoff aircraft to add to its current fleet of passenger and cargo helicopters. Helijet president Danny Sitnam said Tuesday that the ALIA aircraft built by Vermont-based BETA Technologies would allow quicker, quieter and more efficient landings and takeoffs from hospitals and other emergency zones.