In-Depth: Sprawling clearcuts among reasons for B.C.’s monster spring floods
Wildfire, drought and a pine beetle epidemic are piling on top of a long history of logging, pushing the province’s forests to a dangerous tipping point that experts say will make bad flooding worse By Ben Parfitt for The Narwhal Every spring and typically in May the Kettle River hits peak flow. A gauge placed in the ...
Report: Baby boomers are bigger energy hogs than millennials, despite what they think
A new report by BC Hydro finds baby boomers think of themselves as the more energy-conscious generation, despite using more than double the electricity of millennials and annual costs being about $500 more. The report titled ‘Generation gap: Why baby boomers are not as ‘power smart’ as they may think’ found baby boomers have...
Senior care: Key recommendations still not implemented seven years after Ombudsperson’s investigation
Seven years after conducting a wide ranging investigation examining seniors care and services in the province, the Ombudsperson finds a number of key recommendations are still outstanding, including legislative changes that would make significant improvements to service quality and the protection of seniors’ rights. The Best...
$25.9-mill winning Lotto Max ticket sold in B.C.
Someone who purchased a Lotto Max ticket in the Fraser-Nicola region for last night’s draw has millions of reasons to celebrate this weekend. The single winning ticket matched all seven numbers from across Canada to win the $25.9 million jackpot on the Feb. 22 Lotto Max Draw. All lottery winners have 52 weeks from the draw ...
Zapped: Unravelling the NDP’s new spin around power prices and the Site C dam
B.C.'s NDP is now doing precisely what it criticizes the Liberals for doing — manufacturing a need for power while pushing forward with a project that produces energy that can’t be sold for even close to the price it will cost to produce it. By Sarah Cox, for The Narwhal Of all the years of political spin to...
Up to $2,000 reward for help finding BC armed robbery suspect
A two-month long search for an alleged armed robbery suspect who is wanted on outstanding warrants has led RCMP to seek the public’s assistance in locating him. Investigators from the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, along with the Salmon Arm and Sicamous RCMP are requesting the public’s assistance in locating 29-year-old Michael...
Op/Ed: How B.C. quietly found a way to permit natural gas plants without environmental reviews
Internal documents released via Freedom of Information laws show that, while the B.C. government was publicly apologizing to the Fort Nelson First Nation for exempting natural gas plants from environmental assessments without consultation, the province quietly used a loophole to allow the exemptions to continue — a...
Search Suspended for Missing Merritt Rancher
After seven days, Merritt RCMP and Search and Rescue have suspended the search for missing rancher Ben Tyner. The search is suspended at this time due to extensive coverage in the area where the horse was found on Jan. 28, as well as extreme cold and poor weather conditions. The large scale search included more than 19 teams...
BC Hydro in court to keep Site C expenditure details from public
By Sarah Cox for The Narwhal BC Hydro has gone to court to avoid revealing the names of public employees who decide which companies are awarded lucrative Site C project contracts during construction of the $10.7 billion hydro dam. B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) ordered BC Hydro to release the...
IIO to investigate officer-involved shooting in Kelowna
RCMP have notified the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (IIO BC) of an incident which resulted in one man being taken to hospital earlier today in Kelowna. Just after 3 p.m. Jan. 23, plain clothes Kelowna RCMP officers and officers from the Southeast District Emergency Response Team attempted to conduct...