The City of Surrey has not yet clarified whether or not taxpayers will be on the hook for Mayor Doug McCallum’s legal bills. He is facing a charge of public mischief after a confrontation at the South Point Save-On-Foods on Sept. 4. The mayor told media he was “run over by a vehicle” after speaking to a group of residents collecting signatures for the ‘Keep the RCMP in Surrey’ campaign. The city has yet to respond to questions about how bylaw is being interpreted and who will pay for McCallum’s legal bills. He is to make his first court appearance in Surrey Provincial Court on Jan. 25.
A spike in COVID-19 infections has led a number of Canadian post-secondary schools to cancel in-person exams for the end of term, including the University of Victoria. It comes after at least 30 students at the University of Victoria tested positive for the virus following two off-campus parties. The post-secondary institution told students on Friday that despite the cluster of cases, the exam schedule would remain as it was. But Sunday, with only a day’s notice, UVic changed course and announced all in-person exams would be held online instead.
A bus company is returning to two trips a day starting Wednesday to connect Kamloops and Kelowna to the Lower Mainland via Princeton as non-essential travel restrictions remain in place on Highways 3 and 99. Ebus says just the morning service was relaunched on November 20th following washouts and that detours will add extra time to trips. They say more people are travelling this week and into early January for the holiday season so anyone looking to take the bus should book their tickets soon. The company says all tickets are refundable for now and travel dates will be flexible.
It’s one thing to know someone who hasn’t had their COVID-19 vaccine shots, but apparently something else to get into a disagreement over it. A new poll suggests 40 per cent of Canadians know someone who is not vaccinated, and 70 per cent of them don’t raise the issue and Ten per cent of respondents had unfriended someone who refuses to get vaccinated.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association forged ahead and announced its Golden Globe nominees for film and television awards this morning, despite widespread criticism that caused N-B-C to quit televising the awards show. That was the result of a Los Angeles Times’ expose detailing unethical behaviour and revelations that the association’s 87 voting members didn’t include one Black journalist. The nominees for best picture, drama, went to “The Power of the Dog,” “Dune,” “CODA,” “King Richard” and “Belfast.”
Just seven days after taking over behind the bench, Bruce Boudreau and the Canucks earned their fourth straight victory, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1 last night. Boudreau is the first Canucks coach to start the job with 4 straight wins. The Canucks will continue their homestand Tuesday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have repeated as CFL champions, defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 33 – 25 in overtime at the 108th Grey Cup.
B.C. recorded 1,129 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days, according to updated information on the BC CDC dashboard . There are now 2,949 active cases in the province. There were also five deaths reported, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 2,386. The number of people in hospital dropped to 185, though the number in ICU remained the same at 72.
The provincial state of emergency imposed after torrential rain caused severe flooding and mudslides last month has been extended for another two weeks. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the extension is needed because there’s still a lot of work to do to reopen highways and get people back into their homes. The order restricting non-essential travel on Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton and on Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet remains in place to maintain a steady flow of goods across the province. But Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says the Coquihalla Highway may reopen even sooner than the early January date announced late last week because repair crews have “defied the odds” in their progress.
Two major B-C universities say they will not be joining other schools including the University of Victoria that are cancelling in-person exams this month due to COVID-19. A spokesman for the University of British Columbia says the issues faced by other schools are unique to them and not being seen on its campuses. Simon Fraser University also has no plans to shift in-person exams to an alternate format _ saying it has implemented layers of protection against the novel coronavirus. UVic says it decided to ask teachers to move exams online or use another format for assessments starting today after consulting with Island Health.
Snowfall warnings and special weather statements are up for several areas of southern B-C. Environment Canada says The Fraser Canyon along Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton via the Allison Pass could get up to 10 centimetres of snow by tonight. The highways is the only provincial access route into the Interior and remains open to essential traffic only. The storm warnings cover from Metro Vancouver to the Arrow Lakes region and from boundary to North Thompson and predict snow of anywhere from two to 10 centimetres.
The B-C government is lifting a restriction on gasoline for the general public that was put in place after flooding and landslides cut off supplies. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the 30-litre limit per visit to the pumps will lift tomorrow. Gas rationing was put in place November 19th for drivers in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and other southern B-C locations in order to ensure enough supply for essential traffic, such asemergency vehicles and supply chain transport. The minister has also announced a two-week extension to the provincial state of emergency as crews continue work to re-open highways and while traffic on some major routes is limited to essential services.
Snoop Dogg read out the nominations today for the 79th Golden Globes. Months of widespread criticism over a lack of diversity forced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to reform. The group spread its nominations around to the likes of Will Smith, Kristen Stewart, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington and Lady Gaga. Critics have said it’s too soon for the H-F-P-A to return to business as usual.