The quakes that led to a seismic shift in B.C. politics just weeks before the provincial election – BC News

Cindy E. Harnett / Times Colonist – Sep 1, 2024 / 7:00 am | Story: 504320

The Canadian Press – Aug 31, 2024 / 5:06 pm | Story: 504287

Photo: The Canadian Press

B.C.’s Minister of State for Child Care Mitzi Dean speaks during a press conference alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Surrey, B.C. on Thursday, March 28, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

British Columbia’s Minister of State for Child Care Mitzi Dean says she won’t be running in the provincial election in October.

Dean says she’s bowing out of the election to focus on her health and her family.

She says “personal challenges” over the last year have affected her health, and says dropping out of the running was “one of the most difficult decisions” of her life.

Dean says she’s grateful to her fellow caucus members and constituents in her riding on Vancouver Island, now known as Esquimalt-Colwood.

Premier David Eby says he agreed with Dean’s reasons for not running again, and says Dean is on leave from her ministerial role “effective immediately.”

In July, fellow ministers Harry Bains, Bruce Ralston and Rob Fleming also announced they wouldn’t be seeking re-election when British Columbians head to the polls on October 19.

The Canadian Press – Aug 31, 2024 / 3:32 pm | Story: 504274

Photo: The Canadian Press

Police on Vancouver Island say a man reported missing Friday was found dead down a steep embankment in Port Alberni.

Police on Vancouver Island say a man reported missing Friday was found dead down a steep embankment in Port Alberni.

Port Alberni Mounties say an adult male was reported missing Friday after not coming back to his family’s home after going out that night.

They say he was spotted around 1 a.m. on Aug. 30 leaving a friend’s home and found dead that afternoon.

Police say fire and rescue crews went to the embankment and had to use a helicopter to retrieve his body from what they say was a 50-foot rocky embankment.

Port Alberni RCMP say forensic investigators examined the scene and the man’s family has been told of his death.

Mounties say they’re still investigating the fatal incident.

Natasha Bulowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada’s National Observer / Glacier Media – Aug 31, 2024 / 12:30 pm | Story: 504256

Photo: SL_Photography.

Three orcas spotted in Telegraph Cove.

A long-overdue federal strategy to tackle ocean noise is here at last — but some advocates say it falls short of what’s needed to protect species from the ever-increasing shipping traffic in Canadian waters.

Underwater noise from ships and industrial activity interferes with fish, invertebrates and more, but it’s best known for its effect on the ability of marine mammals — such as orcas — to navigate, communicate, socialize, find food and mates and avoid predators. 

With major projects such as the Trans Mountain pipeline looming, the new Liberal government announced it was working on a strategy to deal with the issue in 2016 and promised a strategy and action plan by summer 2021. Three years after that deadline, the draft strategy is out. With each year of delay, shipping traffic continues to increase, particularly in rapidly developing areas like the Arctic. In the intervening years, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been built and begun operating, driving an influx of oil tanker traffic in the Salish Sea.

The plan may have taken eight years, but Dyna Tuytel, staff lawyer with Ecojustice, says it’s still in some ways an exercise in buying more time — nine of the 20 recommendations relate to gathering information, studying, monitoring or collecting and reporting data to better understand the underwater noise problem.

“I’m concerned that they’re … using the ongoing pursuit of perfect information as an excuse not to act,” Tuytel said in an interview with Canada’s National Observer.

The draft strategy was released on Aug. 23. Now, there is a 60-day consultation period for the public, Indigenous Peoples, partners and stakeholders to submit feedback. The next step is a federal action plan — to be published in 2025 — that will track the implementation of the strategy’s 20 recommendations, impose timelines and assign responsibilities to certain government departments and organizations.

“This is disappointing as it essentially means there will be more delays to seeing meaningful action rolled out, especially since the Government of Canada committed to incorporating the action plan with the draft strategy,” explained Kristen Powell, the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) specialist on marine conservation and shipping. 

Tuytel says there are concerning parallels between this strategy and others like it that have failed to deliver.

“The southern resident killer whales have had an action plan since 2017 that sets out timelines and lead agencies for various actions — and the implementation of it seven years later has just been absolutely abysmal because no one is ultimately accountable and the timelines just go by without anything happening,” Tuytel said. “I’m really concerned that this action plan will meet the same fate as the southern resident action plan, of being this neglected document gathering dust.”

With only 74 southern resident orcas left and myriad cumulative noise impacts to other species — both large and small — time is of the essence, according to conservation groups, in lowering the volume underwater.

“Marine life communicates through noise, so this becomes an ongoing challenge when you can’t perceive your surroundings with sound,” said Powell, adding that research shows it impacts fish such as salmon and invertebrates.

“As we understand more in-depth what the long-term consequences of underwater noise pollution are, it is becoming increasingly urgent to implement a strong strategy for mitigating these impacts, because they’re affecting several species at risk.”

Trans Mountain estimates its newly completed pipeline expansion will attract about 37 oil tankers each month. This increased total would represent about 14 per cent of today’s marine traffic in Port of Vancouver, according to the company. (Put differently, it’s a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic, specifically.) The Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project — the expansion of a major shipping container terminal in Delta, B.C. — is another megaproject with implications for underwater noise. 

Shipping is also ramping up along the coast and elsewhere. B.C. is doubling down on the production and export of liquefied natural gas and climate change is opening up new shipping corridors in the Arctic, among other drivers of new traffic.

Despite concerns over implementation and timelines, the environmental groups are giving the government some credit for taking noise seriously. Overall, the draft strategy is “a really important first step forward in tackling the increasing issue of underwater noise,” Powell said. For the last four years, WWF ran a campaign on underwater noise and made submissions to help shape the federal strategy. Some of the language they pushed for is in the strategy.

“It contains several important elements that are required to finalize a strong and actionable strategy,” Powell said. Some of these recommendations include addressing knowledge gaps, promoting innovative technologies to reduce noise, expanding and standardizing data collection and reporting, and ensuring the federal government clearly lays roles and responsibilities. 

“However, it’s not clear how the research and innovation will lead to meaningful and measurable action at this time,” she said.

To Oceans North, a charity that focuses on conservation in the Arctic and Atlantic regions of Canada, the draft strategy is “a good start.” 

“We’re happy to see that the strategy acknowledges the success of the existing programs in the Arctic, where communities have really taken the initiative in the monitoring management of ocean noise,” said Amanda Joynt, senior policy advisor with Oceans North, in an interview.

“What the strategy is really showing is basically that there’s existing tools already for management of underwater noise,” Joynt said. 

“It’s showing us that even without the strategy, communities — especially in the Arctic — have taken the initiative to actually manage ocean noise and shipping traffic on their own, with the tools that are available to them.”

One of the strategy’s three main themes is “science, knowledge gathering and innovation,” and while there are always information gaps to fill, conservation groups don’t want research to come at the expense of meaningful action.

“There’s a lot of really good reports, there’s been a lot of good academic science that’s come out in the last decade on impacts of underwater noise,” Joynt said.

“We’re further ahead than we think we are, and we can move probably faster than we think we can on this issue with the tools that we have.”

A legal analysis by East and West Coast Environmental Law (commissioned by WWF) found Canada could use its existing legal tools to crack down on ocean noise pollution in the near term.

For example, it says the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could develop marine environmental quality standards and requirements for ocean noise under the Oceans Act and apply it nationally with noise limits specific to Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific regions.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is in the process of reviewing the federal government’s ocean noise strategy and will be providing feedback in the coming weeks, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Canada’s National Observer. 

Photo: BCWS

With campfire bans lifted across the province in areas under BC Wildfire Service jurisdiction, the provincial service is reminding locals and visitors of some steps to take to enjoy the backcountry safely.

With cooler and wetter weather across much of the province, campfire bans were lifted by BCWS on Wednesday. Some safety tips for campfires include:

• Keep your campfire to a half-metre by half-metre. Have a shovel and eight litres of water on hand to extinguish the fire.
• Always ensure that a fire is cool to the touch before you leave the campsite for any length of time or go to bed for the night.
• Never leave your campfire unattended.
• Anyone riding an all-terrain vehicle on or within 300 metres of forested land or rangeland must have a spark arrestor installed on the vehicle.
• To help reduce wildfire risks, check the condition of the muffler, regularly clear buildups of grass or other vegetation from hot spots, stay on dirt paths and avoid tall grass and weeds.
• Dispose of smoking materials responsibly, ensuring they are completely extinguished.

BCWS said anyone who leaves a campfire unattended for any length of time can be fined up to $1,150 while anyone whose campfire causes a wildfire may also be subject to a penalty of $100,000 and one year in jail along with any costs associated with fighting the fire and damages.

“There is no excuse for having a non-compliant campfire,” BCWS added. “Use common sense this long weekend while enjoying the outdoors.”

People should check with local governments, First Nations and other authorities to see if any burning restrictions or bylaws are in effect.

Open burning, known as category two and category three fires, are still banned across the province with the exception of the Northwest Fire Centre area.

Any open fire violations can be reported to a conservation officer by calling 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP)

While the cooler weather has helped, wildfire still can occur. Report signs of a wildfire by calling 1-800-663-5555 toll free, *5555 on a cell or through the BC Wildfire public mobile app.

Jeremy Hainsworth / Glacier Media – Aug 31, 2024 / 8:00 am | Story: 504233

Photo: File photo

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has upheld $525 in fines against a woman caught driving and using her cellphone while her child was not wearing a seatbelt.

However, it wasn’t the fines that led Sunyoung Kim to appeal.

What bothered her was ICBC levying four points against her licence as a result of the conviction.

In her newly released July 31 decision, Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick said Kim was issued a ticket on March 12 for the two offences under the provincial Motor Vehicle Act.

The judge said Kim promptly paid both tickets.

“By doing so, Ms. Kim was deemed to have entered a guilty plea, which of course gave rise to the convictions,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick said the notice of appeal indicated an appeal of the sentence.

The judge, however, agreed with the Crown’s characterization of the case as Kim wanting to withdraw the guilty plea.

“Ms. Kim says that she would like the court to remove the points imposed on her and decrease the amount of the fines,” Fitzpatrick wrote.

The ruling noted Kim admitted her errors.

“She admits that she touched her cellphone, which is contrary to the MVA. She also admits that one of her children who was sitting in the back seat was not wearing a seat belt,” the judge said.

“Needless to say, both of those infractions raise serious safety concerns and, for obvious reasons, such behaviours must be discouraged, if not outright banned, by the MVA provisions,” she said.

Fitzpatrick found there was no basis on which Kim’s deemed guilty plea should be set aside.

Graeme Wood / Richmond News – Aug 30, 2024 / 7:30 pm | Story: 504187

Photo: Photo submitted.

Masked protesters showed up at a Richmond concert on Saturday.

A pro-democracy and human rights group is questioning public funding of a community event in Richmond due to the organizer’s “political agenda” on foreign interference on the part of the People’s Republic of China.

The Aug. 24 “Concert in the Park” at Cambie Community Centre was organized by The International Elite Club Association of Canada, a registered non-profit society.

One of the club’s founding directors is Ivan (Ngai) Pak, a former federal candidate for the People’s Party of Canada who is also co-founder of the Stop Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group, the Chinese Canadian Go to Vote Association and Maple Leaf Anti-Racism Association.

Elite Club received $3,580 from the City of Richmond this year via two grant programs and $2,500 from the provincial government’s BC Fairs, Festivals and Events Fund.

Elite Club has a stated mandate “to build a strong and viable social network within the Chinese Canadians community,” adding “our activities and programs cover educational content related to Canadian systems, including but not limited to democracy, governance, elections, political parties, the justice system, the Charters, economics, civil society, human rights and the environment.”

Elite Club told the city it would be hosting a live music concert featuring Asian-Canadian musicians and artists.

But on Aug. 2, Pak and co-founder Ally (Ali) Wang issued a statement via Go To Vote to select media (not Glacier Media) to inform the public the concert also aims to raise awareness of the October provincial election and that major political parties have been invited to set up tents to promote their platforms.

On Aug. 6, the group is understood to have held a press conference “to announce the ‘Concert in the Park, 2024’ event and invite the Honorable Yuen Pau Woo Senator to give a speech on the impact of foreign interference and its relevance to the Chinese community’s participation in the elections.”

In April 2023, Wang spearheaded a petition to the federal government opposing the Foreign Influence Transparency Registry claiming it is a “misleading way to identify sources of foreign influence.”

Last month, Pak and Stop Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group submitted feedback on the initial report from the ongoing foreign interference commission.

Pak and the group conclude that the inquiry has lacked evidence of foreign interference on the part of China while risking discrimination against Chinese-Canadians on the whole.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Canadian Concern Group on the CCP’s Human Rights Violations has labelled the concert a “pro-PRC event” and written a statement of opposition to local politicians and B.C. Premier David Eby.

Pak told Glacier Media in an interview he’s not a “pro-CCP activist.”

“We are Canadians living in Canada,” said Pak, who said his advocacy on anti-racism began amid pandemic-related spike in anti-Asian racism.

Asked to explain his position with the People’s Party (which does not posit racism as a major concern for Canada) turned anti-racism advocacy Pak said “Canada is not a racist country at all; there are bad apples everywhere.”

Pak said he opposes foreign interference from any nation and in his personal experience he has not observed or experienced such actions from Chinese consular officials.

Pak said media reporting must be backed up by facts, otherwise it risks discriminating the Chinese population.

On China, Pak said, “I don’t think China is a threat. …I do hold some concerns about the regime. It would be more proactive to engage with them than to make enemies of them.”

On the event, Pak said he is not bringing politics to the event he describes as non-partisan “civil engagement.”

According to Richmond spokesperson Clay Adams, the funding was granted because Elite Group is not a political organization in and of itself.

Grant rules posted online indicate “political events” are ineligible. Adams was asked if the city stands by the funding; however, he did not answer directly, rather he noted the Elite Group’s registered mandate.

Masked protesters show up at event

The festival on Saturday featured a multicultural singing contest and local bands and several non-profit organizations were invited to set up exhibitions, including the Responsible Drug Learning Association and D.A.R.E. BC Society, which held drug prevention exhibitions.

Pak and Wang released a statement after the event saying “a certain organization released disinformation about the event.”

This, they said, led to a demonstration by masked protesters “threatening the event before it started.”

The statement claimed organizers had to call police to “ensure public safety.”

Jeremy Hainsworth / Squamish Chief – Aug 30, 2024 / 6:30 pm | Story: 504186

Photo: BC provincial court.

Sean Funk was assessed as a “moderate to high risk” for sexual violence in the future.

A man convicted of a string of violent sexual assaults against B.C. women in 2009 appeared in Vancouver Provincial Court Aug. 30 on two charges of allegedly breaching a long-term supervision order.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Barry Davies put Sean Richard Funk, 50, on the order after the man pleaded guilty to six offences, including several violent attacks on women.

In B.C., those included threatening a woman at a tanning salon in North Vancouver, then progressed to violent sexual attacks on strangers in both Squamish and Ladysmith and holding up a gas station on the Island Highway.

An Aug. 15 court document alleged Funk violated the order May 25 when he consumed drugs other than those prescribed to him. It further alleged he violated the order the same day by associating with people involved in substance abuse or criminal activity.

Funk appeared before Judge Jay Solomon on Friday. He has consented to remain in custody until his next appearance on Sept. 13.

Solomon heard that if Funk is to have a bail hearing, it would have to take place in a trial court.

The case is one of a number currently before the courts where offenders have breached such orders designed to re-integrate offenders into the community, where they live in designated places under strict conditions.

A recent high-profile case was that of convicted child sex offender Randall Hopley, who went missing for 10 days from his Vancouver halfway house in  November 2023.

Funk’s background

After he was arrested, Funk also confessed to violent crimes he committed that summer in Manitoba.

Psychological assessments entered in the sentencing hearing painted Funk as a “moderate to high risk” for sexual violence in the future, fuelled by his need for power and control, substance abuse and unresolved issues towards women.

Funk’s violent spree started July 1, 2009 in Winnipeg when he approached a 19-year-old woman working at a gas station with a knife and demanded money. She handed over $200.

Two weeks later, Funk went into a tanning salon in Winnipeg with a knife and demanded cash from the 26-year-old woman who was working there. He then ordered her into the laundry room and sexually assaulted her.

A few weeks later, on Aug. 7, 2009, Funk walked into another tanning salon — this time in North Vancouver — and demanded cash from the lone female employee. He took off.

On Aug. 27, 2009, a woman was sleeping alone in her car in the parking lot of a recreation centre near Squamish, when Funk smashed the car window in, hit her and drove her to a wooded area where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

On Sept. 26, 2009, Funk broke into an unlocked home of a stranger in Ladysmith at 3 a.m. Once in the house, Funk made his way to a woman’s bedroom, choked her and forced her to have sex before she was able to grab her cellphone and scream for her daughter to call 911.

On Oct. 17, 2009, Funk held up the Petro Canada gas station on the Island Highway, demanding money from the 21-year-old woman working there.

Traumatized

Funk’s victims were traumatized by his attacks on them. One woman said “she no longer feels safe in any situation in which she does not have an escape route,” according to court documents, while another said she no longer walks alone after dark.

Funk was eventually caught in November 2009 when a woman in Regina — who had learned through media reports that police were looking for Funk — called police to say he was living with her daughter.

Funk’s troubled childhood included alcoholic parents and a home life characterized by violence, poverty and drug abuse.

After he was arrested in Regina, he told police, “I feel bad. I never wanted to do this stuff. .. none of it was planned.”

Crown counsel Nicole Gregoire asked that Funk be declared a dangerous offender, which would have allowed him to be locked up for an indeterminate length of time.

However, Justice Barry Davies ruled Funk’s sexual violence appears to have been triggered by substance abuse and severe depression. That could likely be treated with “medication and intensive counselling,” he determined.

Davies decided Funk should be declared a long-term offender instead.

With files from Jane Seyd

Ted Clarke / Prince George Citizen – Aug 30, 2024 / 5:23 pm | Story: 504175

Photo: DARRYL DYCK, THE CANADIAN PRESS

BC United Leader Kevin Falcon, left, and B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad speak at Wednesday’s news conference in Vancouver where Falcon announced he’s suspending BC United?s election campaign, encouraging supporters to back the BC Conservative Party.

After one of the most tumultuous weeks in B.C. political history, John Rustad was back on the campaign trail Friday on the road to Kamloops.

Two days after BC United leader Kevin Falcon’s blockbuster announcement that he has suspended his provincial election campaign, urging his party’s candidates to join forces with Rustad’s BC Conservative Party in a combined effort to defeat the NDP government, Rustad says there’s still work to do to sort out of the uncertain political futures of nominees from both parties.

Rustad spoke to all 81 of his Conservative candidates in a conference call Thursday night, but has not yet had that conversation with the 23 MLAs currently serving as BC United members.

“We’re going through this process with BC United and the Conservative Party and we have not concluded that process yet,” said Rustad in an interview with the Citizen Friday morning.

“It’s a commitment I made to Kevin and the United party, so it’s a process we’re going through and I wouldn’t want to jump to any conclusions with regards to the outcomes of that. I’m trying to get this done as quickly as possible so we can create the least amount of disruption for people. I do understand just how difficult it must have been for Kevin and the people supporting the United party, but my hope is that we’re able to bring everybody together.”

Rustad wouldn’t come out a say it, but he was obviously disappointed with Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond’s choice not to hitch up to the Conservative wagon. Her public disclosure Thursday confirmed she won’t be running for her seventh consecutive term in the Oct. 19 election.

“Shirley has served the community well for many years as a school trustee and MLA and I’m very appreciative of the work she did over that time. She served the community, the region and the province well, so I want to thank her for all those years of service and the time I worked with her,” said Rustad, who sat with Bond on the Prince George school board and served with her in government for 12 years. 

Rustad, 61, knows he and the Conservatives are in for a war with the NDP.  A Mainstreet Research poll of 962 adults released Aug. 20 showed the Conservatives (36 per cent) with a three-point lead over the NDP (33 per cent) despite trailing the Lower Mainland poll.

The Nechako Lakes MLA is confident his party has made significant inroads in the population centres of the province in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island and will also get the votes in forestry-dependent communities hard-hit in recent years by mill closures and job losses.

“We are actually connecting very well with the populations down there,” said Rustad. “The latest poll from Mainstreet showed us leading in Vancouver Island. Right now we are leading in seven seats in Surrey and competing in all 10. Right across the board through the Lower Mainland and certainly on the Island we’ve got good support that is building. We’re going to compete for every seat in this province.”

During the campaign, Rustad intends to go after Premier David Eby and what he says is his government’s failure to address the affordability crisis that’s hampering economic growth in the province.

“The challenge this province has is one in three people are thinking about leaving B.C. and the really sad thing is one in two youth are thinking about leaving B.C.,” he said.

“That’s a reflection of David Eby and his disastrous policies. We’ve got a crisis certainly in our resource sector and the affordability of housing and health care and so many other things.

“At the end of the day he’s a hardcore socialist, authoritarian, and I think most people in this province are not interested in that. We just need to make sure we connect with people and give them that common sense choice for change in British Columbia.”

Rustad has already been targeted in the NDP’s campaign advertising.

“The thing that disturbs me most right now is how quickly David Eby has turned to lies and misinformation,” Rustad said. “He’s making a claim that we are cutting healthcare spending, we’ve never said that. In fact, I’ve said we are going to expand healthcare spending.

“He’s making a claim that we will bring bridge tolls back. I’ve never said anything like that. He’s just making it up.”

The BC Conservatives want to make hard drugs illegal again and would end the safer supply harm reduction program the NDP introduced in March 2020, which provides people at high risk of overdose pharmaceutical-grade opioids free of charge as prescribed by a physician or nurse practitioner.

“Safer supply is not safe, it’s dangerous,” said Rustad, “and quite frankly it’s finding its way into our high schools and creating the next generation of addicts. That sort of nonsense has to come to an end, we have to have a very heavy focus on treatment and recovery.

“You’ve got somebody who wants to bring an addiction to an end and wants to go into treatment and the response is, ‘I think we’ll have a bed for you in six months.’ That’s completely unacceptable. This government has failed so badly when it come to that. Experts are telling me that we now have the highest number of addicts per capita anywhere in North America.”

Rustad was born and raised in Prince George and comes from a forestry family. He was involved in the sector for 20 years before he entered provincial politics in 2005.

He said the provincial NDP has created a layer of bureaucracy that delays approval of harvesting permits and that bottleneck is strangling logging companies and driving away investment.

“David Eby has run the forest sector completely into the ground – we used to cut about 75 million cubic metres a year and this year I’ll be surprised if we get over 30 million,” Rustad said. “They’ve driven up the costs and they’ve made the sector uninvestable.

“We will have a very comprehensive forest strategy and I was going to roll that out before now, but obviously with the way things are rolling I haven’t had that opportunity to do that.”

Before Falcon quit the election race, on Tuesday he revealed BC United’s plan to overhaul forestry policy and would relocate the ministry from Victoria to Prince George to give forestry companies easier access to government bureaucrats.

While that struck Rustad as an interesting proposal it’s not something he would do immediately.

“My biggest concern is to the workers, families and communities that have been affected by these devastating policies of David Eby,” he said “I want to find a way to bring some stability and ultimately see this forest sector start to rebound and rebuild.

“The permit process in BC has just ground to a halt. I’ve been told the BC Timber Sales in my area (Nechako Lakes, west of Prince George), which has (an annual allowable) cut of two million cubic metres a year has issued zero permits in three years. That’s six million cubic metres, enough wood to run three sawmills, and that is completely unacceptable. So we’re going to be moving to a single project, single permit process.”

Rustad planned to campaign in the Okanagan on Saturday, then will head to Surrey before he comes back to spend Labour Day with his wife Kim and family at their home at Cluculz Lake. He’ll be crisscrossing the province constantly in the leadup to the election.

A televised leaders’ debate is being planned for Oct. 8.

The Conservatives did not win a single seat in the 2020 election and have not elected an MLA since 1975.

Port Alice native Dan Miller, a former Prince Rupert councillor, took over from Glen Clark as premier and interim NDP leader from August 1999-February 2000, but the province has never elected a premier from the northern half of the province.

Now, with a tight race expected, Rustad has a real chance to be the first.

“It would be one for history books, but I don’t focus on those sort of things,” he said. “There’s so much work that needs to be done to get this province going in the right direction again. This used to be a place where people would come to build a future for themselves, and for their kids and grandkids. That’s lost now. People are talking about leaving this province and that needs to change.

“We’ve got everything we could ever want in this province but we’re just hopelessly managed and that’s the big shift we need, to get back to basics and make sure people are the centre of everything that we do.”

Alanna Kelly / Glacier Media – Aug 30, 2024 / 3:56 pm | Story: 504142

Photo: Surrey RCMP .

Ana Marie Lat Chamdal was sentenced to four years in jail on Aug. 26, 2024.

A woman who stole money from seniors while pretending to be a care aide has been sentenced. 

Ana Chamdal visited care homes and residences of elderly people under the ruse of providing them with health services and support. Police believe she defrauded a total of 20 victims in Surrey, Richmond and White Rock.

On Monday, Chamdal was sentenced to four years in jail, two years’ probation, and ordered to pay restitution of $60,000.

A total of 65 fraud and assault-related charges were approved, including fraud over $5,000, being unlawfully in a dwelling house, assault, theft of credit cards and possession of a forged document. 

Targeted seniors in the Lower Mainland 

Between December 2021 and April 2022, multiple seniors in the Lower Mainland were defrauded of funds and had valuables stolen. 

Police believe Chamdal would gain the trust of seniors to obtain their banking information. She would then withdraw funds from their bank accounts.

She also stole property from them, including cellphones, jewelry, cash and wallets. 

In April 2022, investigators arrested Chamdal and executed a search warrant at her house. Sgt. Tammy Lobb says she was released on conditions pending further investigation. 

A few months later in June, investigators discovered she failed to comply with her release conditions and continued to commit fraud, including a case involving a 96-year-old Richmond senior. Seven charges were approved against Chamdal and a warrant was issued for her arrest. 

Then in July, RCMP identified Chamdal as the suspect in a fraud involving a 95-year-old White Rock senior. 

Chamdal was arrested shortly after this and held for court and released on bail. She was ordered not to engage in any employment that requires her to enter another person’s private residence or in any employment at a care aide facility. 

The total financial loss to the 20 victims is estimated to be in excess of $60,000. 

The Surrey RCMP Economic Crime Unit arrested Chamdal again on Feb. 1 2023 and she was remanded in custody. 

Jeff Bell / Times Colonist – Aug 30, 2024 / 1:16 pm | Story: 504102

Photo: FILE PHOTO

West Shore RCMP were alerted at 6:25 a.m. and were joined by the Metchosin Fire Department and B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics.

Two women were confirmed dead Friday morning after emergency crews responded to a report of a group of people in medical distress in the beach parking area on Taylor Road in Metchosin on Vancouver Island.

Two men who appeared to be suffering from drug overdoses were taken to hospital in critical condition.

West Shore RCMP were alerted at 6:25 a.m. and were joined by the Metchosin Fire Department and B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics.

First responders carried out extensive life-saving efforts, police said, adding that evidence of hard-drug use was found at the scene.

The B.C. Coroners Service has been notified and no foul play is suspected.

“We appreciate the public’s co-operation in staying away from the area while investigators continue their work,” police said in a statement.

“Our condolences go out to the families of these individuals, as well as the witnesses who first came across the incident.”

Alanna Kelly / Glacier Media – Aug 30, 2024 / 12:55 pm | Story: 504095

Photo: Abbotsford Police Department.

Police are working in partnership with ICARS following an early morning crash in Abbotsford Friday.

A driver is dead after an early morning collision in Abbotsford. 

Police officers with the Abbotsford Police Department were called to a collision at Mt. Lehman Road and Marshall Road Extension at 6:53 a.m. on Friday. 

Officers found a pickup truck in the ditch and a man inside the vehicle who sustained life-threatening injuries. 

The man, 42, died despite “immediate efforts by first responders.” 

Police are alerting the public that the area will remain closed as the investigation is underway. 

The Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service (ICARS) has been called out to assist and gather evidence.

ICARS is responsible for the forensic reconstruction of collisions that result in serious injury or death between Pemberton and Boston Bar.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has dash camera footage is asked to contact police at 604-864-5225.