The New Democrat government's almost $3 billion BC Builds program will target property owned by governments, communities and non-profits, and provide low-cost financing to fast-track affordable rental developments on underutilized lands across B.C., he said.
Police in British Columbia say an investigation spanning several communities has led to the largest one-time seizure of contraband cigarettes in the province, with a retail value of $11 million, along with guns, ammunition and illegal drugs. A statement from the Combined Special Enforcement Unit says it received information last August prompting the investigation that expanded throughout B.C.'s Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island.
A 44-million-dollar project aims to improve operations at the Burnaby transit centre. A statement from Infrastructure Canada says the joint funding from the federal government and TransLink will support up to 130 additional buses in the fast-growing Metro Vancouver community.
Langley City council is asking the B-C government to invest in expanding schools to address overcrowding as the community grows. A statement from Mayor Nathan Pachal says enrolment has already surpassed capacity, and the expected arrival of the SkyTrain in 2028 along with new provincial housing requirements will bring significantly more students over the next decade.
Police in Surrey say they're investigating two crashes that sent pedestrians to hospital with serious injuries just 90 minutes apart last night. In the first incident, R-C-M-P say a man in his 40s was taken to hospital in critical condition after being hit by a semi-truck whose driver was co-operating with police.
Unhoused people have a fundamental right to live in encampments, and that right is violated when authorities tear them down, Canada's housing advocate says. In a piercing report released Tuesday, Marie-Josée Houle says the expansion of homeless encampments across the country is a national human rights crisis that requires immediate action and co-ordination involving all levels of government.