• UPDATE: Prosecution, defence spar over sentencing for B.C. polygamist leader

    UPDATE: Prosecution, defence spar over sentencing for B.C. polygamist leader
    Peter Wilson recommends up to six months for Blackmore and up to 90 days for OlerThe post UPDATE: Prosecution, defence spar over sentencing for B.C. polygamist leader appeared first on Abbotsford News.
  • Man dies following targeted Lower Mainland shooting

    Man dies following targeted Lower Mainland shooting
    The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) has taken over the investigation of a shooting in Maple Ridge after the victim died from his injuries.Just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, Maple Ridge RCMP were called to the 11400 block of 236 Street, where they found a 56-year-old man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound inside a vehicle.The man was transported to hospital in critical condition, but died from his injuries on Monday, Aug. 31.IHIT is now working in close partnership with t
  • Abbotsford charities use $138,000 in grants to support the aging and ailing

    Abbotsford charities use $138,000 in grants to support the aging and ailing
    Tru Charitable Foundation’s total annual contributions to Abbotsford charities have now reached $138,000 with the latest round of grants.
    Dozens of B.C. organizations receive money through the foundation’s Envision Financial Community Endowment program each year, said Tru Charitable Foundation executive director Tracy Fortino.
    “Strong communities are built by organizations that understand local needs and are deeply connected to the people they serve,” said Fortino.
    &ldquo
  • Interior Health defends downtown safe consumption site amid Kelowna’s shutdown request

    Interior Health defends downtown safe consumption site amid Kelowna’s shutdown request
    While recognizing Kelowna City Council’s concerns with the Outreach Urban Health Centre safe consumption site, Interior Health’s (IH) chief medical health officer Dr. Sue Pollock said the site is ultimately saving lives.
    On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Kelowna mayor Tom Dyas shared a letter to social media, calling for the supervised consumption site located at 1649 Pandosy Street to be denied renewal by the Federal Ministry of Health.
    The purpose of the site is to provide safe monitoring and m
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  • New Abbotsford Police video addresses extortion-related crime

    New Abbotsford Police video addresses extortion-related crime
    The Abbotsford Police Department has released a new video as part of its Project Disengage campaign that addresses extortion-related violence.
    An Abbotsford Police press release states that the video, launched on Wednesday (Sept. 2), “delivers an important message: make the right choice before it is too late.”
    “Set in a residential neighbourhood, it is intended to reach individuals who may be involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, extortion-related violence,” th
  • Police dog Basko begins training in Nanaimo

    Police dog Basko begins training in Nanaimo
    A young German shepherd with a promising future as a police dog has begun its training in Nanaimo.
    Basko was born almost four months ago at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alberta, and his handlers have recognized that he has a lot of potential.
    It shouldn’t come as a surprise as Basko comes from an impressive police-dog lineage.
    His father, Neon, is currently serving alongside his handler, RCMP Const. Jordan Braid, in Nanaimo, and his grandfather, Jago, is rememb
  • CFL suspends current BC Lion, former Okanagan Sun football player 2 games

    CFL suspends current BC Lion, former Okanagan Sun football player 2 games
    Former Okanagan Sun and current BC Lions football player Jacob Bond has been suspended by the CFL after being found in violation of the league’s drug policy.
    ​A positive drug test for D-amfetamine, which is classified as a non-specific stimulant on the policy’s Prohibited List, has resulted in the 23-year-old fullback being suspended for two games. Also known as dextroamphetamine, the stimulant is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
    ​“Play
  • United Way BC celebrates Okanagan wildfire volunteers

    United Way BC celebrates Okanagan wildfire volunteers
    Over 100 people volunteered with United Way BC to help evacuees from this year’s wildfires in the Okanagan.
    Many of the volunteers signed up within a day of United Way posting volunteer opportunities on its iVolunteer website.
    “It was so heartwarming to see the response,” said Magda Kapp, specialist, emergency response and partnerships at United Way BC. “People were saying, ‘I have a truck,’ or ‘I have first aid,’ or ‘I have this particular s
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  • Bookings nearly sold out for drivers bound for Vancouver Island aboard BC Ferries Friday

    Bookings nearly sold out for drivers bound for Vancouver Island aboard BC Ferries Friday
    The last long weekend of summer traditionally starts early aboard BC Ferries, proven by the near-sellout of Friday (Sept. 4) and return Monday reservations.
    Island residents can expect an influx of visitors with the Friday ferries from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay nearly sold out, with only the first sailing of the day with space for those taking a vehicle. The final Friday voyage is the only boat left with vehicle space from Tsawwassen to Duke Point.
    BC Ferries is aware of the impact an extra day c
  • ‘Racing for change’: Greenwood motard club makes motorsports accessible

    ‘Racing for change’: Greenwood motard club makes motorsports accessible
    For many, a sport like motorcycle racing may seem out of reach due to the costs. A motard club from Greenwood is changing that.
    The Route 3 Racing Club, a non-profit founded by directors Angus McNeil and Dale Robins, is a unique motorsport club that offers free motard racing opportunities to anyone interested.
    “Motorsports are very expensive and not every child, or not even every adult, has the opportunity to do this. So we bring the opportunity to everyone, no matter their financial statu
  • Chilliwack RCMP share e-scooter safety video following rise in violations

    Chilliwack RCMP share e-scooter safety video following rise in violations
    With the recent increase in e-scooter collisions and violations, and the start of a new school year, Chilliwack RCMP are reminding parents and kids about the rules around e-scooters.
    Cpl. Carmen Kiener and Staff Sgt. Grant Floris with the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment were the faces in a video shared by RCMP on social media on Sept. 2.
    “We’re seeing a lot more youth riding scooters dangerously, not following the rules of the road, and exceeding the speed limit which puts th
  • WHL to stream games free on YouTube for start of 2026-27 season

    WHL to stream games free on YouTube for start of 2026-27 season
    The Western Hockey League (WHL) will be temporarily available to be streamed for free on YouTube following “uncertainty” with the league’s now former media partner, Victory+.
    In an announcement on Wednesday, Sept. 2, the league said its games will broadcasted to YouTube on an “interim basis.”
    “The WHL’s audience is growing rapidly. We continue to believe that providing easy access to games is of critical value and importance as we look to expand our reac
  • Warning signs: How to tell if kids are gang-involved as school year starts

    Warning signs: How to tell if kids are gang-involved as school year starts
    As B.C. kids head back to class, Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers warns families that criminals look for ways to lure students into illegal activities with false promises of fast cash, status and protection.
    The new school year brings heightened risk of youth exploitation and gang lures, according to Karen Reid Sidhu, new executive director of the crime-fighting organization.
    She offers gang-involvement warning signs to families and educators including sudden behavioral shifts (secrecy, social wit
  • B.C. experiencing growing pet overpopulation crisis: Okanagan Human Society

    B.C. experiencing growing pet overpopulation crisis: Okanagan Human Society
    The Okanagan Humane Society (OHS) and other humane societies across B.C. are sounding the alarm about what they are calling a rapidly escalating pet overpopulation crisis.
    ​According to OHS, thousands of animals are at risk across the province, which has been fuelled by backyard breeding, unplanned litters, and growing populations of dogs and cats.
    ​“Over the past few years, we’ve lost momentum as humane societies have been swamped and overcome with massive numbers of ani
  • Defections continue as Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA McInnis quits B.C. Conservatives

    Defections continue as Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA McInnis quits B.C. Conservatives
    Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Scott McInnis is quitting the B.C. Conservative caucus, becoming the second MLA to leave on Wednesday, and the ninth in less than a month.
    “The party has increasingly become an exclusive private club more concerned with ideological bona fides than building the broad coalition required to serve British Columbians and form government,” McInnis said in a written statement.
    McInnis says he will sit as an Independent. Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson r
  • B.C. Conservative leader names former Abbotsford-Mission MLA as chief of staff

    B.C. Conservative leader names former Abbotsford-Mission MLA as chief of staff
    B.C. Conservatives Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay has a new chief of staff after Chris Delaney resigned from the role.Findlay announced Thursday (Sept. 2) that Delaney had offered his resignation and she has accepted.Reann Gasper, former Abbotsford-Mission MLA, is now Findlay’s chief of staff.
    Gasper had been deputy chief of staff since resigning from her seat as MLA to allow Findlay to run in the riding.Black Press Media has reached out to Delaney.
    More to come.
  • Surrey mosque vandalized: Community leaders demand action against Islamophobia

    Surrey mosque vandalized: Community leaders demand action against Islamophobia
    A mosque in Surrey, B.C. was vandalized over the weekend with someone writing “hateful and threatening” words on the building and leaving pieces of raw bacon.The RCMP Surrey Provincial Operations Support Unit (SPOSU) is investigating the incident as a hate crime, which occurred sometime between 11 p.m. Friday (Aug. 28) and 5 a.m. Saturday (Aug. 28).
    In a post to Facebook, the Fleetwood Islamic Academy Society general secretary, Haji, Asif Ali, stated that the threats, “get out
  • Fighting words: Vernon MP pans U.S. war secretary over ‘cheap shot’ at B.C. cadets

    Fighting words: Vernon MP pans U.S. war secretary over ‘cheap shot’ at B.C. cadets
    A day after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared a post mocking Vernon cadets on social media, Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee MP Scott Anderson censured the senior U.S. official in a social media post of his own.Hegseth posted on X (formerly Twitter) Monday, Aug. 31, sharing a picture that Vernon Cadets had posted on Facebook Aug. 24, accompanied with a Canadian flag and the comment “this is real.”(this is real) pic.twitter.com/Ucx2FNdi1q
    — Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) September 1
  • Man with ‘rifle’ on roof prompts calls to police in Abbotsford

    Man with ‘rifle’ on roof prompts calls to police in Abbotsford
    A man on a roof in Abbotsford who appeared to be carrying a rifle resulted in several concerned calls to 911 on Tuesday night (Sept. 1).
    A social media post from the Abbotsford Police Department said the calls came in at 5:48 p.m. about a man with a gun on the roof of an apartment building in the 2300 block of Whatcom Road.“Given the nature of the call, more than 16 officers from across the city responded immediately to ensure public safety,” the post stated.
    Officers quickly contain
  • Man stabbed along Highway 101 near Lund

    Man stabbed along Highway 101 near Lund
    Powell River RCMP are investigating a stabbing incident along Highway 101, near Lund.The victim, a 45-year-old man, is expected to survive despite suffering multiple stab wounds, police said in a news release Tuesday (Sept. 1).
    The RCMP said they were contacted on Aug. 30 after the man was admitted to the hospital.
    “Initial evidence gathered suggested the victim was walking along Highway 101 at around 4 a.m. when he was allegedly attacked by a group of unknown suspects.”
    Police are a
  • Social media post of driver parked on sidewalk gains traction

    Social media post of driver parked on sidewalk gains traction
    Parking on a Burnaby sidewalk to pick up a Starbucks order was grounds for a Langley driver receiving a $190 fine recently.
    A Burnaby RCMP corporal had just started his shift when blocks from the detachment, he found an empty Telsa parked on the sidewalk near Holden Station at about 6:45 a.m on Aug. 17.
    “Our corporal he walks up and he sees this Tesla,” said Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Mike Kalanj, the media spokesperson. “There’s no one in it at the time, but it’s parked on
  • Renovation of Abbotsford Police headquarters now complete

    Renovation of Abbotsford Police headquarters now complete
    The second phase of the expansion and renovation of the Abbotsford Police Department headquarters is now complete.
    An official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the updated building – located on Justice Way – took place Tuesday (Sept. 2). The event was attended by numerous local, provincial and federal politicians as well as many of the department’s officers and staff.
    Police Chief Colin Watson said completing the expansion has been a priority for the department.
    The form
  • B.C. Tesla driver ticketed for allegedly sleeping behind the wheel on Highway 1

    B.C. Tesla driver ticketed for allegedly sleeping behind the wheel on Highway 1
    A 45-year-old driver from Maple Ridge is facing a $368 ticket for allegedly sleeping behind the wheel while driving on Highway 1.
    Two witnesses called into police about a driver who appeared to be asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla on Highway 1 near Mountain Highway in North Vancouver on Aug. 11, just before 3:30 p.m., according to a news release from B.C. Highway Patrol Wednesday (Sept. 2).
    Police say both witnesses were in the same vehicle and the passenger recorded video from the passenger se
  • Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson latest to quit B.C. Conservative Party

    Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson latest to quit B.C. Conservative Party
    Boundary-Similkameen MLA Donegal Wilson is leaving the B.C. Conservative Party, saying she has lost confidence in Kerry-Lynne Findlay as party leader.
    “When Ms. Findlay became Leader, I promised myself I would keep an open mind and give her three
    months to show us how she intended to lead,” Wilson said in a written statement. “Three months later, I have my answer. I never imagined things could go this wrong, this quickly.”
    Wilson is the eighth MLA to leave the Conservativ
  • Shuswap RCMP respond to ‘chaotic scene’ on Highway 1 after semi hits truck and camper trailer

    Shuswap RCMP respond to ‘chaotic scene’ on Highway 1 after semi hits truck and camper trailer
    Responding to a vehicle collision east of town, the Sicamous RCMP found a “chaotic scene” upon arrival.
    On Tuesday, Sept. 1, officers responded a “major collision” at the west end of the four-lane section of Highway 1 in Malakwa just after 4 p.m.“The officers arrived to a chaotic scene with a large fifth wheel trailer completely destroyed and torn open lengthwise on the shoulder of the highway, with the heavy duty pickup towing the trailer also heavily damaged,&rdq
  • Campfire ban to be lifted across Vancouver Island and South Coast

    Campfire ban to be lifted across Vancouver Island and South Coast
    Campfire prohibitions will be lifted across the Coastal Fire Centre starting Thursday (Sept. 3), as wildfire danger continues to decline following recent rainfall and cooler temperatures.
    Effective at noon, Category 1 open-fire prohibitions, which include campfires, will be rescinded throughout the Coastal Fire Centre – which encompasses the Island and B.C.’s South Coast. Fire no larger than 0.5 metres high by 0.5 metres wide, used for recreational or ceremonial purposes, will be all
  • Uber drivers across B.C. Interior unionize, including Okanagan, Cariboo and Kootenay regions

    Uber drivers across B.C. Interior unionize, including Okanagan, Cariboo and Kootenay regions
    Uber drivers across the B.C. Interior have joined UFCW 1518, a private union that serves over 28,000 workers across the province, including the Okanagan, Cariboo and Kootenay regions.
    ​According to UFCW Canada, drivers in these regions will now be covered by the landmark agreement first negotiated by Uber drivers in Victoria, which expands its protections and benefits to hundreds of drivers in B.C.
    ​“The agreement reached by Uber drivers in Victoria made history. Now we’r
  • Man arrested for arson in suspicious grass fires near Vernon

    Man arrested for arson in suspicious grass fires near Vernon
    An arrest has been made following two suspicious grass fires started in the Swan Lake Nature Reserve, which grew to wildfire status but were quickly brought under control Tuesday, Sept. 1.
    RCMP say a witness in the area and noticed smoke from the fires, and using binoculars, they observed a suspicious man running from the scene and quickly called police providing a description of the suspect.The witness continued to watch the suspect as he attempted to flee the scene toward Old Kamloops Road.&ld
  • Fluffle of baby bunnies rescued from euthanasia on Vancouver Island

    Fluffle of baby bunnies rescued from euthanasia on Vancouver Island
    What started as Rabbitats Rescue Society taking in one rabbit, turned into an entire fluffle of baby bunnies being given an airlift to the Lower Mainland and rescued from euthanasia.
    Six baby bunnies are nestled safely in Surrey, being bottle fed by a seasoned volunteer, alongside six other rabbits following a multi-organizational rescue that involved a veterinary service, volunteers and a sea plane.On July 15, Rabbitats, a volunteer-run charity that works to safely house unwanted, abandoned and
  • Helicopter rescue off Vancouver Island a great example of ‘coordinated response and teamwork’

    Helicopter rescue off Vancouver Island a great example of ‘coordinated response and teamwork’
    Local search and rescue teams are hailing coordination as a key to successful aid with the latest rescue off Chin Beach on the Juan de Fuca Trail.Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue was called out Monday (Sept. 1) to help an 18-year-old hiker who had sustained a head injury.With support from Shirley Fire, North Shore Rescue, Talon Helicopters, and BC Emergency Health Services, the team safely extricated the injured hiker.“Juan de Fuca SAR responded alongside local fire rescue resources and a fl

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