Chilliwack news

• B.C. health authority warns of possible privacy breach after police recover documents

  07-03-2024 23:46 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  VERNON, B.C. — An RCMP investigation has revealed a possible privacy breach for thousands of employees who worked or work at a health authority in British Columbia’s Interior. 
  Interior Health says police contacted them in January about finding a document during its investigation that contained everything from social insurance numbers to home addresses for about 20,000 people.
  The information covered people who worked at Interior Health from 2003 to 2009, although the authority
  
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• Gunmen abduct 287 students in the latest school attack in Nigeria’s northwest, headteacher says

  07-03-2024 23:39 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen attacked a school in Nigeria’s northwest region Thursday and abducted at least 287 students, the headteacher told authorities, marking the second mass abduction in the West African nation in less than a week.
  Abductions of students from schools in northern Nigeria are common and have become a source of concern since 2014 when Islamic extremists kidnapped over 200 schoolgirls in Borno state’s Chibok village. In recent years, the abductions have been
  
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• Simona Halep will return to action at the Miami Open after appealing her doping suspension

  07-03-2024 22:53 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Simona Halep will return to tennis at the Miami Open this month after winning her appeal of a doping suspension and having the penalty reduced from four years to nine months.
  “Thank you to the tournament for giving me this opportunity and I cannot wait to be back on court and competing,” the two-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 player posted Thursday on social media. “See you all soon!”
  She was given a wild-card invitation for the
  
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• Poulin leads veteran Canadian squad at 2024 women’s world hockey championships

  07-03-2024 22:53 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  CALGARY — Star captain Marie-Philip Poulin will lead a veteran Canadian team at the 2024 women’s world hockey championship.
  Poulin was one of 23 players named to Canada’s roster Thursday by Hockey Canada for the tournament April 3-14 in Utica, N.Y.
  Canada’s team includes 20 players who were on the squad that lost 6-3 to the United States in the final of the 2023 championship in Brampton, Ont. The loss ended a run of two straight gold medals for the Canadians.
  Poulin also
  
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• NHL players talk about the trade experience ahead of Friday’s deadline: ‘A whirlwind’

  07-03-2024 22:37 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Kevin Shattenkirk knew a deal was coming.
  Unable to come to terms with the St. Louis Blues on a new contract as the 2017 NHL trade deadline approached, the defenceman did his best to block out the noise as the clock ticked closer to the annual cutoff.
  Shattenkirk was simply waiting for his phone to ring. The rest would take care of itself.
  “Knew that it was going to happen,” he said. “We had already gone through the process of trying to make something work. Just a matter of whe
  
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• Make RCMP police of jurisdiction for Parliament Hill, union urges

  07-03-2024 22:23 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  OTTAWA — The union that represents front-line Mounties is urging the federal government to make the RCMP the police force of jurisdiction for Parliament Hill to bolster security.
  National Police Federation president Brian Sauvé says the federal response this week to a commission of inquiry does nothing to further an important conversation about security on the Hill.
  The Public Order Emergency Commission made dozens of recommendations following the government’s use of the Emerg
  
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• Yukon’s 2024 budget promises money for housing, international health-care workers

  07-03-2024 22:16 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  WHITEHORSE — Yukon is predicting a surplus of $119 million in its budget with money for housing, green infrastructure and a new program to integrate internationally educated health-care workers.
  Finance Minister Sandy Silver says the $2.08-billion budget aims to tackle the rising cost of living, while investing in health care, education and infrastructure. 
  The government is promising $27.3 million to build affordable housing and $8.3 million to develop more rental homes.
  In his budge
  
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• Quebec judge won’t exempt church-supported palliative care home from MAID law

  07-03-2024 22:13 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  MONTREAL — A Superior Court judge has denied a request from Montreal’s Roman Catholic archdiocese for an exemption to a Quebec law requiring all palliative care centres in the province to provide medical assistance in dying.
  Justice Catherine Piché found that Quebecers’ right to choose what medical care they want to receive — including doctor-assisted death — outweighs any infringement of religious freedom.
  The archbishop’s office filed the court challe
  
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• Cornerback Marchant opting for low-key approach to CFL invitational combine

  07-03-2024 22:06 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  When Dawson Marchant steps onto the turf at the University of Waterloo on Friday, it’ll be just another workout.
  The Northwestern Oklahoma State University cornerback will join 75 other players at the CFL’s invitational combine, performing before league coaches and GMs. Only the top performers will advance to the league’s national combine March 19-24 in Winnipeg.
  “There’s no pressure, really, it’s just doing what I do,” Marchant said Thursday. “Jus
  
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• Funding committed for long-term care project in Chilliwack, but province has yet to approve it

  07-03-2024 22:02 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  CHILLIWACK — While there might be land committed for the eventual construction of a long-term care project in Chilliwack, the project still needs approval from the provincial government.
  According to a staff report dated February 29, 2024 that was brought forward to last week’s meeting of the Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District Board, FVRD Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Kinneman included a comment in the staff report that says funding has been committed to a future Chilli
  
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• Funding committed for long-term care facility in Chilliwack, but province has yet to approve it

  07-03-2024 22:02 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  CHILLIWACK — While there might be land committed for the eventual construction of a long-term care facility in Chilliwack near Chilliwack General Hospital, the project still needs approval from the provincial government.According to a staff report dated February 29, 2024 that was brought forward to last week’s meeting of the Fraser Valley Regional Hospital District Board, FVRD Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer Kinneman included a comment in the staff report that says funding has
  
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• Response to Uvalde elementary school shooting beset by ‘many failures,’ investigator says

  07-03-2024 21:33 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Uvalde police made “many failures” when responding to a gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school in 2022, the investigator who led the city’s probe of its local officers said Thursday.The report for the Uvalde City Council on Thursday is just one of several probes into the massacre and was conducted by Jesse Prado, an Austin-based investigator and former police detective. Texas lawmakers found in 2022 that n
  
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• Alta Jean Knelsen - Obituary - - Chilliwack Progress

  07-03-2024 21:24 via news.google.com
  
  Alta Jean Knelsen - Obituary -  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Additions of Henrique, Carrick, Stecher help Oilers keep pace in Pacific arms race

  07-03-2024 20:49 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  EDMONTON — With their Pacific Division rivals beefing up before the playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers did their best to keep pace.
  Despite being tight to the salary cap, Oilers general manager Ken Holland was able to add forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick and veteran defenceman Troy Stecher ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
  The Oilers are in “Cup or bust” mode. That’s been the team mantra from the start of the year.But the defending champion Vegas Golden Knights are
  
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• WNBA to hold pre-season game between Sparks and Storm in Edmonton on May 5

  07-03-2024 20:34 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  The WNBA is coming back to Canada for a pre-season game in Edmonton.
  The Los Angeles Sparks will face the Seattle Storm on May 5 at Rogers Place.
  It’s the second year in a row a Canadian city has hosted a WNBA pre-season game after Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena held one in 2023.
  The game in Edmonton will be the fourth WNBA pre-season held outside the United States with Manchester, England (2011) and Monterrey, Mexico (2004) previously hosting.
  The Chicago Sky beat the Minnesota Lynx 82-
  
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• Oilers acquire defenceman Stecher from Coyotes ahead of trade deadline

  07-03-2024 20:34 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers have acquired defenceman Troy Stecher from the Arizona Coyotes, the NHL club announced Thursday.
  The Oilers also get a seventh-round pick at this year’s draft in the deal, while the Coyotes receive Edmonton’s fourth-round pick in 2027.
  No salary was retained by Arizona in the deal, which comes a day before the NHL’s trade deadline. Stecher, a pending unrestricted free agent, has a salary of US$1.1 million this season.
  Stecher has a goal and
  
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• Canada coach Bev Priestman takes positives from soggy CONCACAF W Gold Cup exit

  07-03-2024 20:34 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Jessie Fleming did everything but score from the penalty spot in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup semifinal.
  Sadly the 25-year-old from London, Ont., was not the only one. American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher stole the show in Wednesday’s penalty shootout on a waterlogged pitch at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium, stopping spot kicks by Fleming, Adriana Leon and Jordyn Huitema while converting a penalty of her own.
  The second-ranked Americans won the shootout 3-1 after 10th-ranked Canada rallied t
  
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• Government closes bottom-contact fishing near rare B.C. coral reef

  07-03-2024 20:21 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  VANCOUVER — Federal authorities have closed Canada’s only known live coral reef in the Pacific Ocean to all commercial and recreational bottom-contact fishing.
  Fisheries and Oceans Canada says the indefinite closure came into effect on Feb. 14 for the Lophelia Reef, located in the Finlayson Channel of the British Columbia coast about 500 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
  The department says the reef was first discovered in 2021 and is the most northern known coral reef in the Pacifi
  
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• Canada ‘will be there’ to help two Michaels after their detention in China: Trudeau

  07-03-2024 20:18 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing back on the notion that Canada’s willingness to help two citizens who were detained in China is an acknowledgement they engaged in espionage on Ottawa’s behalf.
  Trudeau says the federal government will be there to help Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor rebuild their lives after they were arbitrarily imprisoned in China for three years.
  At a press conference today, Trudeau said Canada has supported Kovrig and Spavor from the begi
  
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• Alberta coal mine moves ahead without permits federal officials say are needed

  07-03-2024 20:16 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Environmental groups are asking Ottawa to enforce its rules on an Alberta coal site that has started building an underground test mine without fisheries permits that officials have said are required. 
  “They can’t just sit back and wait for habitat destruction to occur,” said Ecojustice lawyer Dan Cheater. “We’d like to see them take action.”
  Coalspur Mines is planning a large expansion of its Vista thermal coal mine near Hinton, Alta., which would make it
  
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• As Ottawa reels over multiple homicide, a look at recent mass killings across Canada

  07-03-2024 20:03 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Ottawa is reeling after police said six people, including four children, were found dead Wednesday evening in a townhouse in the south-end Barrhaven suburb. 
  Here’s a look at recent examples of mass killings in Canada:
  March 6, 2024: Six people were killed at an Ottawa townhouse, including Darshani Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, 35; her four children Inuka, seven, Ashwini, four, Rinyana, two, and Kelly, two months; and a 40-year-old man, Amarakoonmubiayansela
  
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• B.C. researcher says liver oil, meat trade threaten deepwater shark populations

  07-03-2024 20:01 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Prof. Nick Dulvy recalls when the northern cod fishery collapsed back in 1992. 
  “That was nothing short of a social and economic disaster for Canada,” Dulvy said, who’s a biology professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.
  For Dulvy, who’s the Canada Research Chair in marine biodiversity and conservation at SFU, and other researchers, the “notorious” events of that year offer historical lessons about unsustainable fishing practices that resonate
  
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• Trudeau says some Pro-Palestinian protests cross line into hate, harassment

  07-03-2024 19:53 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says pro-Palestinian protests that include hatred or harassing behavior cross a line.
  Trudeau says he’s heard from too many members of Canada’s Jewish community who have seen protests at synagogues and community centres and who now feel unsafe.
  He says nobody can be indifferent to the suffering in the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas war, and Canadians have a right to protest and make their anger heard.
  But Trudeau says he expects Canadian
  
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• FVRD board refers proposed RV campground north of Hope back to staff

  07-03-2024 19:42 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  CHILLIWACK — Instead of giving second and third reading to a proposed RV campground north of Hope, the Fraser Valley Regional District board voted last Thursday (Feb. 29) to defer the development application back to staff.The applicant associated with the project, Nav Sidhu, has been looking to develop a 9.3-hectare (23 acres) parcel of land at 26793 Dogwood Valley Lane, north of Hope, for the purpose of building 47 RV sites just off Highway 1 in the Fraser Canyon.
  Sidhu had previously cit
  
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• Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers joins Saskatchewan’s Mike McEwen in Brier playoffs

  07-03-2024 19:32 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  REGINA — Manitoba’s Reid Carruthers has clinched a playoff spot at the Canadian men’s curling championship.
  Carruthers, whose team is skipped by Brad Jacobs, scored five points in the second end against Yukon’s Thomas Scoffin en route to a 6-4 win in the morning draw.
  Carruthers, Alberta’s Brendan Bottcher and Manitoba’s Matt Dunstone were all 6-1 atop Pool B, with Carruthers and Bottcher squaring off in the evening draw.
  Dunstone beat Northern Ontario’s
  
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• Chamber of Commerce's announce creation of Fraser Valley Business Coalition - Chilliwack Progress

  07-03-2024 19:32 via news.google.com
  
  Chamber of Commerce's announce creation of Fraser Valley Business Coalition  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Montreal public health reports two new measles cases, bringing Quebec total to 12

  07-03-2024 19:29 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  MONTREAL — Quebec health officials are reporting two more measles cases, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the province to 12.
  The new cases are both in Montreal, adding to the seven that were previously reported in the public health jurisdiction that encompasses the city and its on-island suburbs.
  Quebec’s Health Department says two cases have been reported in Laval, Que., located north of Montreal, and one case is in the central Mauricie region.
  Montreal’s
  
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• Trudeau won’t say if Canada will restore funding to UN relief agency in Gaza Strip

  07-03-2024 19:09 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t say whether Canada intends to restore funding to a UN relief agency operating in the Gaza Strip.
  In response to reporters’ questions at a news conference today, Trudeau says he has no announcement to make and Canada will move forward thoughtfully.
  He says ministers are in the Middle East right now working with partners in the region and discussing how Canada can help.
  Sixteen countries paused payments to the United Nations Relief and
  
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• Canadiens acquire winger Perreault from Ducks in exchange for centre Mysak

  07-03-2024 19:01 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens have acquired forward Jacob Perreault from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for centre Jan Mysak, the NHL club announced Thursday.
  Perreault, a Montreal, native, has seven goals and 11 assists, in 31 games with the American Hockey League’s San Diego Gulls this season.
  He has registered 91 points (32 goals, 59 assists) in 161 AHL appearances.
  The 21-year-old right-winger made one NHL appearance with Ducks on Jan. 8, 2022, against the New York Rangers.&nb
  
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• Rangers rookie Matt Rempe throwing fists and enjoying ride: ‘Can’t script that’

  07-03-2024 18:30 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Matt Rempe was walking down the street in New York last week. 
  A car pulled up alongside the hulking Rangers rookie. Down rolled the windows. 
  “What’s going on?” he thought to himself. Then the chanting started. 
  “They’re like, ‘Rempe! Rempe!'” he added with a grin. “I’m like, ‘Hey!’
  “Pretty cool.” 
  A six-foot-seven forward turning heads across hockey, Rempe has experienced plenty of similar moments
  
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• Panthers sign Forsling to 8-year extension, Gadjovich to a 2-year extension

  07-03-2024 18:30 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Gustav Forsling came to the Florida Panthers four years ago simply looking for a chance.
  He earned a whole lot more.
  Forsling — the NHL’s leader in plus-minus this season by a wide margin — and the Panthers have agreed to an eight-year extension, the team announced Thursday. He was slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, with this season the last he had on a three-year, $8 million deal.
  “It sends a message that guys want to
  
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• Ben Simmons will miss the rest of the Brooklyn Nets’ season because of his back problems

  07-03-2024 18:30 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Simmons will miss the remainder of the season, the third straight year the former All-Star’s season has ended early because of back problems.
  The Brooklyn Nets said Thursday that Simmons will use the rest of this season to consult with specialists and seek treatment options for the pinched nerve in his lower back that has sidelined him twice this season.
  Simmons has been limited to 15 games this season. He missed 38 straight at one point and has sat out the last f
  
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• Haiti extends a state of emergency and nighttime curfew to try and curb violent gang attacks

  07-03-2024 18:27 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s government said Thursday that it was extending a state of emergency and nighttime curfew to try and curb violent gang attacks that have paralyzed the capital of Port-au-Prince amid a fierce political battle for power.
  An initial three-day curfew was announced over the weekend, but gangs have continued to attack police stations and other state institutions at night as Haiti’s National Police struggles to contain the violence with limited staf
  
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• Jewish groups tell Eby to address antisemitism in B.C. NDP caucus

  07-03-2024 18:19 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  VANCOUVER — Three groups representing B.C’s Jewish community say Premier David Eby needs to address antisemitism in the ruling NDP caucus and beyond after former cabinet minister’s Selina Robinson’s decision to quit the party.
  Robinson announced Wednesday she had left the party and would sit as an independent, citing antisemitism in the caucus and indifference to the problem.
  The open letter by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, the Rabbinical Association of Vanc
  
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• Biden will announce a plan for a temporary port on Gaza’s coast to increase flow of humanitarian aid

  07-03-2024 18:19 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will announce a plan in his State of the Union address Thursday for the U.S. military to help establish a temporary port on the Gaza coast, increasing the flow of humanitarian aid for the beleaguered territory during the Israel-Hamas war, according to administration officials.
  The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement, said the operation will not require that American troops be on the ground to build the pier th
  
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• 'Outstanding' work: 2 Chilliwack women nominated for YWCA awards - Chilliwack Progress

  07-03-2024 18:00 via news.google.com
  
  'Outstanding' work: 2 Chilliwack women nominated for YWCA awards  Chilliwack Progress
  
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• Maple Leafs acquire defenceman Joel Edmundson from Capitals for two draft picks

  07-03-2024 17:44 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired defenceman Joel Edmundson from the Washington Capitals for a pair of draft picks Thursday.
  The deal announced just over 24 hours before the NHL trade deadline adds size and experience to a blue-line that was also bolstered by the reacquisition of Ilya Lyubushkin last week.
  Toronto sent a third-round pick in June along with a fifth-round selection in 2025 to the Capitals, who will retain 50 per cent of Edmundson’s remaining salary.
  The 30-yea
  
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• BMO Field playing surface looking good ahead of Toronto FC’s home opener

  07-03-2024 17:44 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  TORONTO — A new era dawns Saturday at Toronto FC’s home opener. With Michael Bradley retired, there will be no pre-match pitch inspection by the TFC captain — unless new skipper Jonathan Osorio continues the tradition.
  It’s a pity because Bradley, who used to check the playing surface like clockwork, probably would have liked what he saw.
  “He was very particular,” Robert Heggie, director of grounds at MLSE, said with a belly laugh. “That was his job. He
  
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• Sweden officially joins NATO after completing its accession process, ending decades of neutrality

  07-03-2024 17:36 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
  Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a ceremony in which Sweden’s “instrument of accession” to the alliance was officially deposited at the State Depa
  
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• Maffia, Vikes ready to take next step at U Sports men’s basketball Final 8

  07-03-2024 17:29 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  The time has arrived for Diego Maffia and the Victoria Vikes.
  Victoria enters the U Sports men’s basketball Final 8 as the top seed for the second year in a row and is coming off its third consecutive Canada West title. The Vikes finished sixth at the national tournament in 2022 and fourth last season, losing to Ottawa in the bronze-medal game.
  “We’re ready to go all the way this year,” Maffia said. “I think being there the last couple of years and not getting it do
  
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• The latest on Ottawa homicide: six dead, including four kids, in Barrhaven townhome

  07-03-2024 17:14 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  OTTAWA — 10:49 a.m.
  The Ontario legislature held a moment of silence for victims of the multiple homicide. 
  Premier Doug Ford said earlier this morning on social media that the news is heartbreaking.
  He says his thoughts are with the family and friends of the six victims and the entire Ottawa community that is reeling from the tragedy. 
  ———
  10:29 a.m.
  Two Ottawa police officers are going door-to-door in the neighbourhood looking to speak with neighbours about th
  
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• Canadian men to face the sixth-ranked Dutch in June soccer friendly in Rotterdam

  07-03-2024 17:13 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  Canada will play the sixth-ranked Netherlands in a men’s soccer friendly in June in Rotterdam.
  The 50th-ranked Canadians will face the Dutch on June 6 at Stadion Feijenoord.
  The teams have met just once before, with the Netherlands winning 3-0 at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium in June 1994 in the run-up to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the U.S. 
  Frank Rijkaard, Marc Overmars and Dennis Bergman scored that day.
  The Dutch went on to make the ’94 World Cup quarterfinals, losing to ev
  
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• YOUR PERSPECTIVE: Taking action to ease everyday costs

  07-03-2024 17:00 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  A few weeks ago, our government announced Budget 2024, outlining actions we’re taking to address the cost of living for British Columbians. Despite rising global inflation, we are committed to supporting people here in B.C. by putting more money back into their pockets through new and expanded programs that help address the cost of living.We know that global inflation and high interest rates have driven up the cost of housing. That’s why our government is taking action to ease everyd
  
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• Veteran CFL linebacker Larry Dean retires to join Roughriders’ front office

  07-03-2024 16:42 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  REGINA — Larry Dean is transitioning from the football field to the front office.The veteran linebacker retired Thursday after seven CFL seasons. But Dean will be remaining with the Saskatchewan Roughriders as the club’s player-personnel co-ordinator.
  Dean, 35, is currently participating in the CFL mentorship program. The joint venture between the league and CFL Players’ Association is in its third season and provides education about pro football off the field.
  The six-foot, 22
  
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• ‘It’s so sad’: B.C. gardeners grieve as they take stock of cold snap’s toll

  07-03-2024 16:39 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  RICHMOND — If you ask the “King of Succulents” Johnny Tai how his plants are doing, do it gently.
  The 80-year-old Richmond, B.C., gardener hasn’t recovered yet from what he calls the “crime scene” he found in two greenhouses one morning in mid-January — thousands of dead and dying plants, thanks to a sudden cold snap and snowfall.
  “I don’t even want to talk about it. It’s so sad,” said Tai, whose backyard collection of 10,000 succ
  
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• Utility provider Xcel Energy says its facilities appeared to have role in igniting Texas wildfire

  07-03-2024 16:20 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  CANADIAN, Texas (AP) — The utility provider Xcel Energy said Thursday that its facilities appeared have played a role in igniting a massive wildfire in the Texas Panhandle that grew to the largest blaze in state history.
  Texas officials have said they are is still investigating the cause of the fire that has burned nearly 1,700 square miles and destroyed hundreds of structures. The Minnesota-based company said in a statement that it disputes claims that “it acted negligently” i
  
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• City of Mission records record profit from its municipal forest timber sales, uses those funds for capital projects

  07-03-2024 16:15 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  MISSION — The City of Mission says it recorded a record-breaking $7.5 million in net profit from timber sales in the strong utility pole market.In an update provided to council from the city’s director of forestry, Chris Gruenwald, the city says net profits will be transferred to the Forest Legacy Reserve, which can be utilized by council to invest in future capital projects for the community.“2023 was a strong year for our department, despite falling timber markets over the ye
  
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• Staff in Canada’s women’s shelters are facing a burnout crisis, new report finds

  07-03-2024 16:10 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A new report says staff at women’s shelters and transition homes across the country are feeling burned out, underpaid and overburdened with administrative work.
  The review from national non-profit Women’s Shelters Canada surveys more than 300 shelter and transition house employees across Canada and finds about 30 per cent of respondents felt overwhelmed by their workload and were thinking about leaving their jobs.
  The report says 66 per cent of responde
  
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• Judge will hear conspiracy argument in trial of Freedom Convoy organizers

  07-03-2024 16:10 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  OTTAWA — An Ontario court judge says she will entertain arguments that Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber acted as co-conspirators as part of their criminal trial.
  The Crown intends to prove the two conspired together in lockstep to organize an illegal protest, and that evidence against one of them should apply to both.
  Lich and Barber’s lawyers asked Justice Heather Perkins-McVey to dismiss the idea out of hand, arguing there was no evidence the two conspired tog
  
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• First-ever Harrison Tulip Festival set to bloom this spring in Agassiz

  07-03-2024 16:05 via fraservalleytoday.ca
  
  AGASSIZ — The panoramic beauty of innumerable tulips resplendent in a sea of dazzling colours will soon beckon visitors at the inaugural Harrison Tulip Festival in Agassiz this spring.The B.C. farming family that pioneered the province’s most beloved flower festivals says it will launch the new Harrison Tulip Festival just as soon as Mother Nature and the spring weather cycle permit, contingent upon the bloom cycle.Organizers say the festival will run for approximately four weeks, cr
  
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