Premier John Horgan says all the premiers want a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before his new government’s throne speech to discuss increases to health care funding. The members of the Council of the Federation held a post-election meeting by phone today to discuss their need for long-term, predictable funding for health care. Horgan is the current chair of the group and says the federal government has diminished its contribution to public health care for too long. He says it needs to increase its share of health costs to 35 per cent through the Canada Health Transfer from the current 22 per cent of funding, based on the size of a population.
Vancouver-based athletic company Lululemon is a winner with Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees. They’ve signed Lululemon as the official outfitter of Team Canada — starting with next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. The contract runs until after the 2028 Summer Games in Los
Angeles. Athletes, coaches and other members of Team Canada will wear Lululemon-designed clothing and accessories for opening and closing ceremonies, medal ceremonies and within the athletes’ village
Two men have been hurt in a targeted, early morning shooting in Surrey. R-C-M-P say the victims, aged 23 and 47, were attacked in a home in the Newton neighbourhood at around 5 a-m. Both men are expected to survive and investigators say one of them was also shot while standing in the driveway of the same home about two months ago. Although police say the attack is targeted, they haven’t said if it might be linked to Metro Vancouver’s ongoing gang conflict.
B.C.’s premier says he’s disappointed with restaurant owners and other businesses who are defying orders to demand proof of vaccination. The head of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA) has estimated 50 to 60 eateries across the province have been refusing to check vaccination status. Premier John Horgan says naming and shaming restaurants isn’t the answer, noting more than 3-million British Columbians have downloaded their vaccine cards. The proof of vaccination program came into effect on Sept. 13 in B.C. The order requires people entering certain non-essential settings to show they have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Public Safety has told NEWS 1130 “compliance and enforcement action” is underway by multiple agencies in communities across the province. Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BCRFA, says while he knows the province has started to quietly make moves on non-compliant businesses, he hasn’t heard of any getting closed as a result.
Three Vancouver police officers have been charged more than four years after a man was seriously hurt during his arrest for riding a bike with no helmet or lights. The B-C Prosecution Service says it has approved a charge of assault causing bodily harm against Constable Brandon Blue and a charge of assault against constables Beau Spencer and Gregory Jackson. It says the complexity of the case and other issues delayed a decision on charges. All three officers are slated to appear in court on October 25th.
BC health officials announced 743 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the province to 182,541. In a written statement, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said that there are 5,979 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Of the active cases, 319 individuals are currently hospitalized and 149 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
New cases and total active cases, broken down by health region, are as follows:
- Fraser Health: 292 new cases, 2,029 total active cases
- Vancouver Coastal Health: 111 new cases, 955 total active cases
- Interior Health: 177 new cases, 1,268 total active cases
- Northern Health: 106 new cases, 1,023 total active cases
- Island Health: 57 new cases, 660 total active cases
- Outside of Canada: No new cases, 44 total active cases
There have been seven new COVID-19-related deaths over the past 24 hours, for a total of 1,922 in BC. That includes four deaths in Fraser Health, one death in Interior Health, one death in Northern Health, and one death in Island Health.
Past week cases (September 16 to 22) – Total 4,543
- Not vaccinated: 3,057 (67.3%)
- Partially vaccinated: 351 (7.7%)
- Fully vaccinated: 1,135 (25%)
Past two weeks cases hospitalized (September 9 to 22) – Total 436
- Not vaccinated: 322 (73.9%)
- Partially vaccinated: 35 (8%)
- Fully vaccinated: 79 (18.1%)
Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (September 16 to 22)
- Not vaccinated: 292.8
- Partially vaccinated: 90.8
- Fully vaccinated: 28.3
After factoring for age, people not vaccinated are 25.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than those fully vaccinated.
To date, 87.5% of all eligible people 12 and over have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine; 80.0% have received their second dose.
174,281 people who tested positive have now recovered.
Vancouver police say two women have been charged with vandalizing an east Vancouver church. A police statement says the two 27-year-olds have each been charged with a single count of mischief. Orange paint was used to deface the doors and walls of St. Jude’s Parish on Canada Day — one of 13 incidents that police say involved vandalism to religious properties in Vancouver between June 2nd and July 20th. Court documents show the two women are scheduled to appear before a judge next Tuesday.
One member of a road construction crew has been killed, and a second person is injured after both were hit by a suspected drunk driver near Nanaimo late last night. R-C-M-P say it happened just before midnight when the driver of a white hatchback sped through a highway construction zone, hitting and killing one of the workers at the scene, while the second victim is being treated for serious injuries. A woman is in custody and police say alcohol and speed are believed to be factors. The highway just south of Nanaimo was closed for several hours overnight but has since reopened.
Elections Canada has completed the counts of all mail-in and special ballots in two of B-C’s four ridings that were too close to call after the polls closed in Monday’s federal election. The tallies confirm the Liberals have taken the Vancouver Granville seat by a scant 436 votes and captured West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country by about 24-hundred votes — edging Conservative candidates in both races. The Elections Canada website shows the mail-in ballot count is 55 per cent complete in the Richmond Centre riding where the Liberals have a slim lead over the Conservative incumbent. None of the special ballots have been counted in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith riding where the N-D-P leads the Tories by about one-thousand votes and both parties are well ahead of Green Party incumbent Paul Manly, who is currently in third spot.