The B-C Liberal party says it will be going forward with a process to potentially change the party name ahead of the scheduled fall 2024 provincial election. Kevin Falcon won the leadership race earlier this year and promised to renew and rebuild the party in consultation with members. The B-C Liberals are not affiliated with the federal Liberal party and have described themselves as “a made-in-B-C free enterprise coalition.”
A new online fire-risk dashboard will be introduced to the City of Surrey in July for a pilot project that aims to reduce fire-related deaths. The Community Fire Risk Reduction Dashboard, created in collaboration with Statistics Canada and B.C.’s Fire Commission, will allow governments and fire departments to find the areas where fire is striking right away in order to best use resources to mitigate fire-risk. It will be launched first in Surrey, Coquitlam and Port Alberni in July. An annual report released by the Office of the Fire Commissioner on Wednesday (June 8) states that most fires the province sees are home fires. Ensuring that homes have functioning smoke alarms should be everyone’s number one priority to guarantee best fire safety practices, Cairney said.
Police in Surrey are looking for two suspects after a man was stabbed Thursday night (June 9) just north of Tynehead Regional Park. Surrey RCMP say they were called at 8:58 p.m. about a stabbing in the 10200-block 168 Street. Police say they found a 22-year-old man with “non-life threatening injuries” who was taken to hospital, treated and later released. RCMP say initial indications point to the stabbing as being “targeted.” They say two suspects took off in a silver, four-door Mercedes. The first is described as a South Asian male with a thin build, wearing a grey hoodie with black writing, black pants, black runners and a blue medical face mask. The second suspect is described as a South Asian male with a medium build, wearing a black hoodie with white stripes on the upper sleeves, black pants and white runners. Police are looking for anyone with information, dash cam footage or CCTV footage to contact Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502.
A spokesman for Canadian Blood Services says lives will depend on new donors coming forward. Rick Prinzen says the organization is struggling to replenish a critically low supply because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He says the number of people who donate regularly has dropped by 31-thousand since the pandemic began — putting a strain on the existing donor community. This is National Blood Donor Week and the aim is to attract 100-thousand new donors this year — but summer is a slow time for donations as people cancel appointments or go on vacation.
Environment Canada is warning that increased rain today and tomorrow may cause flooding in parts of British Columbia. The biggest area of concern remains the Liard River in northeastern B-C. The East Kootenay region has been upgraded to a flood watch for rivers in the Upper Columbia regions and their tributaries. The U-S National Weather Service says heavy rain and a melting snowpack have also pushed the Columbia River to near flood stage from Vancouver to Longview, Washington.