Canada’s infrastructure minister wrapped up meetings with this provincial and territorial counterparts in Whistler yesterday — saying details should be released this fall about what he described as the next generation of federal infrastructure programs. Dominic LeBlanc says the meetings were a positive step toward ensuring the next round of funding offers predictability and flexibility across the country. That’s after the premiers sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week asking for details on what would replace the 33-billion-dollar Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, which has been fully allocated as of March. A joint statement says the ministers also left Whistler promising future spending focused on climate adaptation and building more homes.
Mounties in Surrey are hoping the public can help identify a suspect who’s accused of defrauding a currency exchange of 237-thousand dollars. The business reported the fraud on March 18th, but police say they haven’t been able to identify the female suspect. RCMP say they now know the woman who cashed two separate bank drafts was using another person’s identity. The woman is described as slim and South Asian, speaking Hindi, Punjabi and English, and standing about five-foot-seven inches tall, with shoulder-length dark hair.
The BC Securities Commission has banned a man convicted of theft from the province’s investment market for the next 20 years. A commission panel has ordered Kelly Boyd Fielder to resign from any position he holds that allows him access to investment markets. Fielder was originally handed an 18-month conditional sentence in 2014 and ordered to pay restitution of more than 144 thousand-dollars, which the commission says he has not paid. The commission adds that Fielder has raised funds from investors since his conviction, suggesting some continuing risk to the public.
Vancouver’s Science World has cancelled promotional activities surrounding its deep-sea exhibition in light of the unfolding tragedy involving a missing submersible in the Atlantic Ocean. A statement from Science World says the “James Cameron – Challenging the Deep” exhibit is to open on-schedule tomorrow and run into next year. It says Science World decided to cancel media events this week “out of respect” for people involved in the submersible disappearance and due to “the sensitivity of the evolving situation.” Five people have been missing for days after the submersible vanished in the North Atlantic while taking passengers down to the wreck of the Titanic.
Correctional Service Canada says an inmate at a BC maximum-security prison was assaulted earlier this month. Officials say the inmate was attacked on June 14 at the Kent Institution and has been taken to an outside hospital for treatment. A statement from the service says the attackers have been identified and “appropriate actions have been taken.” The victim’s condition has not been released, and prison officials say they will review the circumstances surrounding the incident to prevent a reoccurrence.