Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the violence in Israel over the weekend was an act of terrorism and should not to be celebrated. In a statement Monday, Sim says the anti-Israel rallies in Canadian cities including Vancouver are disturbing and that Hamas should be denounced and condemned for carrying out its surprise attack on Saturday. Sim says he spoke with the V-P-D about the rallies, and says he hopes people will put hatred aside to condemn what he calls “acts of evil.'” Hundreds of supporters of Palestine rallied in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery Monday before the large crowd marched down Georgia Street, waving flags and chanting loudly as police vehicles slowly followed and traffic briefly backed up.
Police in North Vancouver say they were called to the set of a film shoot over the weekend after receiving a report of a group of men in body armour carrying rifles. North Vancouver RCMP say they were called to an underground parking lot on Marine Drive Saturday evening, and found out it was an action film being shot without permits. Police say the film crew were given a warning and educated about city protocols around filming in public spaces. Const. Mansoor Sahak says no one was injured, but added that police take reports involving firearms “very seriously.”
The BC Wildfire Service says it’s dealing with a newly sparked blaze southeast of Chetwynd. The service says the season is easing up due to lower temperatures and precipitation, but the new fire was discovered on Sunday in Lone Prairie, west of Dawson Creek. The wildfire service says firefighters are dealing with the blaze, aided by two helicopters. It says winds may whip up the fire’s activity and it’s grown to more than five square kilometres, though it’s still about six kilometres away from the District of Chetwynd.
Interior Health says the emergency department of South Okanagan General Hospital will be closed today from 8 in the morning until one in the afternoon. The health authority says the emergency department’s hours are being temporarily changed because of a shortage of doctor availability. The announcement came as part of a series of long-weekend closures of hospital units in the interior, but other services are still available. The health authority says residents of Oliver that need emergency care in that time can go to Penticton Regional Hospital, urging people with life-threatening emergencies such as chest pains, breathing difficulties, or severe bleeding to call 911 to be taken to the nearest available health facility.
A Vancouver Island woman took the crown for BC’s heaviest pumpkin this holiday weekend. Kerri Perras says she named the pumpkin Walter and hauled it to Langley from her home in Campbell River. Perras said the gourd won her congratulations from workers on the ferry as she left the boat, celebrating not only the win but also a personal best. Perras’ pumpkin weighed one thousand-152 pounds, beating out the next heaviest by nearly 130 pounds, and she says the soil and the pumpkin’s genetics likely put Walter over the top to tip the scales.