Teenagers target people's faces by 'soft air guns' on Vancouver Island
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 May, 2024 07:14 PM
Police on Vancouver Island have issued a warning after responding to a series of reports about people being struck in the face and neck by teenagers shooting what police describe as "water gel blasters" or soft air guns.
The statement from Campbell River R-C-M-P says the teens are driving by and shooting at pedestrians.
The Mounties are warning the youth that it may seem like a harmless prank, but it's a criminal offence and they could be seen as committing assault with a weapon.
Health Minister Mark Holland says "concerns and fears" dentists are expressing about a national dental-care plan are similar to those doctors had when Canada launched medicare in the 1960s. He is defending his government's back-and-forth negotiations with dentists after dental associations said some of their members are hesitant to participate.
The former minister of democratic institutions says she was told after the October 2019 federal election that Canada's spy agency had seen low-level foreign interference activities by China. Karina Gould, who held the portfolio from early 2017 to November 2019, said in a classified interview last month that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service indicated the activities were similar to what had been seen in the past.
Governor Tiff Macklem says economic data since January has improved the central bank’s confidence that inflation will continue to slow, even as economic growth picks up. The governor says while the Bank of Canada is seeing the evidence it needs to begin lowering interest rates, it needs to see price pressures ease for longer to make sure the decline in inflation is sustained.
The British Columbia government is granting a one-time $430 benefit to the roughly 20,000 seniors in its support program for elderly low-income renters. B.C. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says eligible seniors don't need to apply for the payment, which will be sent out this month.
British Columbia's credit status took a double blow on Tuesday, with S&P downgrading the province due to the risk of "outsize" deficits, and Moody's turning its outlook negative. S&P Global Ratings blamed big government spending as it dropped its credit rating for the province and BC Hydro's provincially guaranteed unsecured debt from AA status to AA-minus.
The B.C. government says it's making it easier for forestry companies to salvage timber damaged by wildfires. Sustainable Forestry Innovation Minister Andrew Mercier says in a statement that changes to the price of fees for harvesting timber on Crown land make salvage "more economic," and will speed up forest regeneration.