A Canadian man may be facing homicide charges in Mexico in the death of 23 year old Kiara Agnew of Dawson Creek, BC. Her family says on a GoFundMe page that she went on a vacation to Mexico with her boyfriend to celebrate her birthday, but that it “turned into a nightmare” when they were notified of her death on Friday. Mexican authorities say in a statement that they took a man into custody after Agnew was found dead and charges are being considered. Agnew’s mother, Michele Levesque, later posted to Facebook that her daughter’s body will be returned to BC.
At least two more avalanches came down in the Pemberton area this weekend, sending two people to hospital with serious injuries. Pemberton Search and Rescue says the slides were triggered in the Duffy Lake region of Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet around 2 PM on Saturday. SAR Manager Martin Buchheim says two separate groups were caught in separate avalanches, each with one member getting fully buried. He says each person was dug out by their respective ski partners, but both suffered multiple severe injuries requiring extraction by helicopter and transport to hospital.
A public meeting is being held today to discuss Surrey’s budget and the potential 17.5 per cent property tax hike for 2023. The city says the proposed tax hike is a culmination of a few factors, most notably the possible halt of the city’s police force transition, as well as global inflation, and other civic services. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said last week that he fully expects a decision on the policing question in Surrey will be made before property tax notices are issued in late May or early June. The reversal must be approved by the province and Farnworth says he wants the issue resolved as quickly as possible.
BC is expected to introduce new legislation covering exploitative non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Attorney General Niki Sharma alongside Carol Todd, founding of the Amanda Todd Legacy Society, are scheduled to make the announcement on protections against the sharing of intimate images without permission this afternoon. This comes as authorities across Canada continue to warn about the rise in online sextortion of children and youth. Sextortion refers to money-motivated extortion targeting children and youth using sexual images.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has revoked five primary control zones for the highly contagious avian flu. It says this happens when post-outbreak surveillance is completed and no further cases of avian influenza are detected. The agency’s website showed the number of birds that have been impacted in the province as of Wednesday was 3-million-657-thousand. It says that while the virus affects birds, there is no evidence it can be passed to humans who consume poultry products.