B-C officials have unveiled plans to combat COVID-19 this fall with a newly approved booster vaccine that targets the Omicron variant of the virus. Residents should start receiving invitations to book their shot this month, before an expected increase in COVID-19 and flu cases as people spend more time indoors. The Health Ministry says the invitations will be based on risk and age, with priority groups including people over the age of 60, Indigenous Peoples, people who are clinically extremely vulnerable, and those who work in high-risk settings. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says vaccines have helped change the nature of the disease for most people in B-C, and a return to mandatory masks or lockdown measures isn’t likely unless a strong new variant emerges.
The Bank of Canada has raised its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point to 3.25 per cent. The central bank says global inflation remains high, meaning rates will need to rise further still. Canada’s year-over-year inflation rate was 7.6 per cent in July, well above the bank’s two-per-cent target. Today’s rate hike announcement matches up with what many economists were expecting.
R-C-M-P have released the names and photos of the 10 people killed in a stabbing rampage in Saskatchewan over the weekend. The dead include nine people from the James Smith Cree Nation northeast of Saskatoon, and one man from the nearby village of Weldon. They range in age from 23 to 78. The hunt for 32-year-old suspect Myles Sanderson has entered its fourth day. His brother Damien Sanderson was found dead on Monday.
White Rock Coun. Erika Johanson has announced she will be running for mayor in White Rock’s civic election. Johanson, who was first elected in 2018 as part of the now-defunct Democracy Direct slate, posted the news on her website yesterday. So far she is the only candidate registered to challenge incumbent Mayor Darryl Walker.
Coquitlam RCMP are asking for any witnesses to come forward after a single-vehicle crash killed a 75-year-old female passenger. It happened around 6:30 yesterday morning along North Road, near the Burnaby-Coquitlam boundary. Officers found a black Honda Civic had veered off the road and flipped, killing the woman, while the 36-year-old male driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries. Police say it does not appear any other vehicles were involved, and police are looking for witnesses and dash-camera footage from the time of the crash.
An annual report looking at the harms facing Canadian children finds that unintentional injuries pose the biggest risk, followed by poor mental health and systemic discrimination. The study from the charity organization Children First Canada says preventable and accidental injuries are the leading cause of death among those 14 and under. Indigenous kids are 12 times more likely to be taken from their homes and placed in foster care. It also finds that transgender teens are seven times more likely to have tried to end their own lives