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.
British Columbia's wildfire service says long weekend weather conditions caused "very aggressive fire activity" on several active blazes in the province's central fire zone. The service says the area covering the Vanderhoof and Fort St. James fire zone saw less humidity than expected, coupled with hot temperatures and strong winds over the long weekend.
Two premiers have sent letters to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem urging the central bank to halt rate hikes ahead of its next rate decision tomorrow. Ontario Premier Doug Ford sent a letter on Sunday saying families and businesses cannot afford the "crushing impact of further rate hikes," echoing a letter British Columbia Premier David Eby sent on Thursday.
A man is in hospital and police are looking for a suspect vehicle after a shooting in Port Alberni. The R-C-M-P say it happened earlier today in a city back alley, leaving the victim with non-life-threatening injuries.
Prison officials in British Columbia say they've seized a large stash of contraband, including steroids and cellphones, smuggled into a maximum security institution outside Vancouver last week. Kim MacPherson, an assistant warden at Kent Institution, says the seizure was made on Aug. 24 thanks to staff vigilance.
Canada's first known case of the Omicron variant BA.2.86 was detected this week in British Columbia as the country became the seventh in the world to report its presence. Health Canada is currently reviewing applications for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech's new mRNA vaccines, developed against the dominant XBB.1.5 variant ahead of a vaccination campaign set for the fall.
Vancouver's park board is urging Stanley Park visitors to avoid driving to Stanley Park in September to alleviate heavy traffic linked to large-scale events. The board says visitors should consider using alternative transportation methods or park elsewhere in the city.