Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is visiting Maple Ridge this afternoon. The prime minister and BC Premier David Eby are scheduled to make an announcement at a clean-energy plant. They’ll be joined by Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and BC Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey. Later in the day, Trudeau’s itinerary shows he will visit a local business and grocery store in Greater Vancouver.
Mounties on Vancouver Island say they have recovered the body of a drowning victim in Sproat Lake 13 kilometres northwest of Port Alberni. The update comes two days after RCMP were called to the lake for reports of a missing 17 year-old after a canoe he and two others were on capsized and sank. Two of the boat’s occupants both 16 years old were forced to tread water for an hour before being rescued. Police say the victim has been identified by his family and no further information will be released.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Canada needs to fix fundamental issues with its inflation and rising cost of living in order to address labour strife across the country. Poilievre appeared in Vancouver yesterday pushing new legislation on carbon-pricing relief for Canadian farmers and agricultural producers, and he says his party is on the side of both unionized and non-unionized workers as people struggle to pay the bills. The Tory leader says he blames Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and its spending for the rising costs, although he says he is still undecided on whether or not to support proposed Liberal legislation that would ban replacement workers during strikes and lockouts for certain sectors. Some labour leaders have expressed skepticism on Poilievre’s position, with Unifor president Lana Payne saying the Conservative leader should not hesitate to support the Liberal legislation if he “truly supports the rights of working people.”
The Anglican Church has pitched a plan to build as many as 500 units of housing on the city block owned by the Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria. The plan would involve leasing or selling the air space above the ground to developers to build between six and eight buildings ranging in height from six to 18 storeys. The Anglican Diocese of British Columbia says some of the proceeds would go toward seismic upgrades for the cathedral, which is in need of at least 30-million dollars of work. Rezoning applications are expected to be made to the City of Victoria in January and, if approved, the 15-year project wouldn’t begin for several years.
Rescuers on Vancouver Island have named a wolf-dog mix-breed that they’ve been trying to catch for almost two months W-D-40 because of how “slippery” the animal has been. The dog is believed to be at least partially domesticated and possibly abandoned by its owner near Coombs, BC, when it became too difficult to manage. Gary Shade, co-founder of Find Lost and Escaped Dogs, says the animal has repeatedly approached the trap they’ve set up, but has so far avoided being caught. For now he’s asking residents to keep their pets on a leash and call in any sightings of the wolf-dog.
Heavy snow is expected in the Whitehorse area, with up to 15 centimetres predicted to accumulate by this morning. Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning, saying a low-pressure system moving along the St. Elias mountain range will bring snow to the southwestern region of the Yukon. Ten centimetres of snow is forecast for Whitehorse by this morning, with potentially up to 15 centimetres in the Ibex Valley west of the city. The weather agency warns drivers to be prepared to adjust to changing road conditions.