The Canadian Press – Jun 19, 2023 / 5:31 pm | Story: 432721
Photo: The Canadian Press
Jen Easterly, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, speaks on Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the agency was targeted by hackers who accessed almost 200 of its files, as part of a global wave of attacks that U.S. officials have blamed on a Russian cyber-extortion gang. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Patrick Semansky
Metro Vancouver Transit Police say the agency was targeted by hackers who accessed almost 200 of its files as part of a global wave of attacks that U.S. officials have blamed on a Russian cyber-extortion gang.
The police service says in a news release that a thorough review is underway to determine what information was contained in the 186 files that were accessed in the attack on a third-party file transfer system called MOVEit.
It says the hackers did not gain access to the Transit Police network, and the software vulnerability has been patched and repaired.
The agency says it’s not expected the incident will have any impact on investigations or prosecutions.
It says an investigation is being conducted by the RCMP’s cybercrime investigative teams in Montreal and Vancouver.
MOVEit, which is widely used by businesses and government agencies to share files, was hit recently by an extortion syndicate that last week gave its victims a deadline to negotiate a ransom or risk having sensitive data dumped online.
The Cl0p gang, among the world’s most prolific cybercrime syndicates, also claimed it would delete any data stolen from governments, cities and police departments.
Other known victims include the Nova Scotia provincial government, Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles, Oregon’s Department of Transportation, British Airways, the British Broadcasting Company and the British drugstore chain Boots.
The parent company of MOVIEit’s U.S. maker, Progress Software, alerted customers to the breach on May 31 and issued a patch. But cybersecurity researchers say scores if not hundreds of companies could by then have had sensitive data quietly taken.
Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters last week that the Cl0p campaign was short, relatively superficial and caught quickly.
A senior official in the security agency said the U.S. has “no evidence to suggest co-ordination between Cl0p and the Russian government.”
— With files from The Associated Press.
Photo: goldennemisis141/TikTok
A TikTok video shows what appears to be booms in place to contain a 25,000 litre diesel spill at a CPKC rail yard near Golden.
Both Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway and the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy have confirmed a large diesel spill in the rail yards just west of Golden.
A locomotive hit a tanker truck hauling fuel that was operated by a third party company within the rail yard. The spill came to light after someone posted a TikTok video last week questioning why there had not been a statement from the railway or government officials.
@goldennemesis141 Nearly 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled in Golden, BC on June 15th when a Trimac fuel truck was clipped by a CP Rail train. Please Share! #wetlands #ecologytiktok #disaster #news #goldenbc #VikingRise #scilenced #help #columbiariver #britishcolumbia #canada #cprailaccident #nonews ? original sound – J
A photo posted in response to the TikTok video appears to show the tanker truck with a large hole near the back of the holding tank.
“Environmental crews responded Thursday morning immediately following the incident and have remained on-site working on the clean-up of the diesel spilled in the yard from the fuel truck, including the removal of impacted soils,” said a statement from CPKC.
Environment and Climate Change Strategy says an estimated 25,000 litres of fuel spilled within the rail yard.
The video, which was also shared on reddit, show what looks like booms and other devices in place to try to contain the diesel. However, the woman who posted it zoomed in to highlight just how close the spill was to the Columbia River.
The ministry said that there were no reports of any of the diesel impacting nearby waterways. Local environmental emergency response officers will be monitoring the site to keep tabs on the cleanup.
The Canadian Press – Jun 19, 2023 / 3:55 pm | Story: 432710
Photo: The Canadian Press
British Columbia’s provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Ont., on Friday, July 3, 2020.
The union representing housekeepers at a pipeline camp who were involved in a bus crash near Prince George, B.C., on Friday says they’re awaiting a grievance decision over complaints about the long ride to get to the work site.
Unite Here Local 40 spokesperson Michelle Travis says Horizon North, which runs the lodge as part of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project, decided in March to move the housekeepers from on-site to Prince George to make room for pipeline workers.
That meant a four-hour round-trip ride to and from work each day, which the union argues goes against their current collective agreement.
Thirty people were on board the bus that ran off a forestry service road and flipped on Friday, and Travis says the 18 people hurt are recovering from injuries, including concussions and broken bones.
The union is calling on the company to go back to providing accommodations for its workers on-site
Horizon North did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but said in a statement last week that it was “conducting a full investigation to determine the cause of the incident.”
Arthur Williams / Prince George Citizen – Jun 19, 2023 / 3:48 pm | Story: 432704
Photo: PG Tickled Pig Rescue handout photo.
This female Julianna-cross mini-pig was found abandoned at a rest stop north of Hixon on Saturday.
PG Tickled Pig Rescue is looking for the owners of a pet pig, which was found abandoned at a rest stop north of Hixon, south of Prince George, on Saturday.
The female Julianna-cross mini-pig was found at the Woodpecker rest stop area, about 55 km south of Prince George on Highway 97, Kerri Hegel of PG Tickled Pig Rescue said.
“There were some construction workers who had been at that rest stop quit a bit,” Hegel said.
The workers noticed her there off and on for some time, mooching food from people at the rest stop, she said.
“We’d hoped she’d wandered away from a farm,” Hegel said. “She’s used to being with people.”
But Hegel and other volunteers drove around the area, and there were no homes where she could have wandered from. The mini-pig was definitely bred to be a pet, not a farm animal, she added.
The pigs hooves are quite overgrown, which causes pain and, if untreated, could cause permanent damage to her legs. She is scheduled to go under anesthesia to have them trimmed by Green Mobile Veterinary Service on Thursday. Hegel is taking donations to help cover the cost, and had received $560 in donations as of Monday.
Donations can be made by e-transfer to [email protected] or by contacting Green Mobile Veterinary Service.
Anyone with information about who the pig’s owners are can contact PG Tickled Pig Rescue at 250-960-8048 or [email protected].
Connie Jordison / Coast Reporter – Jun 19, 2023 / 1:28 pm | Story: 432674
Photo: Squamish RCMP.
Two 11-year-olds and a 12-year-old accused of firing a pellet rifle at vehicles travelling on Highway 101 near Ruby Lake have been referred to the Coast’s restorative justice program.
In a news release dated June 19, Sunshine Coast RCMP detachment media relations officer Karen Whitby detailed that three vehicles had driver’s side windows shattered in an incident that was reported to the RCMP as having occurred at about 9:15 p.m. on May 27.
“Fortunately the drivers were able to stop safely and not drive off the highway,” the statement noted.
The release said that while there were no physical injuries to vehicle occupants. “Understandably they have all suffered emotional distress due to the incident.”
According to Whitby, the police were on scene quickly and located the three suspects. Officers subsequently spoke with Crown counsel and the families of the youths and that the file will be processed through the restorative justice program due to the ages of those involved. The families are cooperating with the police investigation.
The Canadian Press – Jun 19, 2023 / 12:25 pm | Story: 432655
Photo: The Canadian Press
A used naloxone kit is seen on the sidewalk as paramedics from B.C. Ambulance respond to a drug overdose in downtown Vancouver.
UPDATE 12:25 p.m.
The rate of toxic illicit drugs deaths appears to be on the decline in the Interior Health region.
May numbers from the BC Coroners Service show a rate of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 population in Interior Health, down from 4.2 in April. Across the region, 31 people lost their lives to toxic drugs last month.
Year-to-date, the death toll in Interior Health climbed to 155 by the end of May. That includes 38 people in Kamloops, 36 in Kelowna, 15 in Vernon and eight in Penticton.
ORIGINAL 11:47 a.m.
The death toll for illicit drug overdoses in British Columbia has surpassed 1,000 people just five months into the year.
A statement from the BC Coroners Service says the 176 deaths in May pushed the toll to 1,018 people who have overdosed due to unregulated drugs.
The service says illicit drug toxicity is now the leading cause of death in B.C. for people between the ages of 10 to 59, surpassing homicides, suicides, accidents and natural diseases combined.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says expedited testing shows the powerful opioid fentanyl was present in almost nine of 10 results, nearly double the rate of methamphetamine and cocaine.
Lapointe says that as long as people rely on the profit-driven unregulated market to access their drugs, their lives will be at risk.
A public health emergency was declared in April 2016 and since then, the service says at least 12,264 B.C. residents have died from overdoses.
Arthur Williams / Prince George Citizen – Jun 19, 2023 / 11:55 am | Story: 432661
Photo: Northern Health handout image.
Northern Health is warning B.C. residents to stay away from areas of Jack of Clubs Lake, in the District of Wells, due to contamination from old mine tailings.
Northern Health is warning residents to stay away from beaches on Jack of Clubs Lake, near Wells, B.C., because they have been contaminated with tailings from a historic mine.
People should avoid contact with the sandy areas and sediments in wading areas along the shoreline at Jack of Clubs Tailings Beach and the Visitor Centre Beach in the District of Wells, a statement issued by Northern Health on Monday said. Jack of Clubs Lake and Wells are located roughly 76 kilometres east of Quesnel, near Barkerville Historic Town and Park.
“Mine tailings can contain arsenic, lead and other metals which can be harmful to health, through contact, ingestion, or if disturbed,” the Northern Health statement says. “The public is advised to not play or recreate on, or disturb the ground or sediment, and to not swim in, or have contact with, the lake located within the advisory areas. Until further notice, use lake access points outside the advisory area.”
The advisory will remain in effect until a detailed assessment and site investigation, hazard control and clean up has been conducted to Northern Health’s satisfaction.
This story will be updated when more information is available.
The Canadian Press – Jun 19, 2023 / 11:51 am | Story: 432659
Photo: The Canadian Press
Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth speaks during a press conference in the press theatre at legislature in Victoria, B.C.
British Columbia’s solicitor general accuses the City of Surrey of playing games around its decision to retain the RCMP as its policing agency.
Mike Farnworth issued a statement saying he became concerned last Wednesday after learning a report on the future of policing in the city that hadn’t been shared with the province was nevertheless going before council.
Farnworth says he asked Mayor Brenda Locke to give them the report and delay the vote until they could agree on what was safest for the people of Surrey.
Instead, he says, council voted on the report before he had a chance to determine if it would ensure safe and effective policing.
Locke announced on Friday that a majority on council had voted to revert to the RCMP well into the transition to the Surrey Police Service, saying the change back would be far less costly than going with the independent force.
The report was supposed to be sent to the provincial government last week, and Farnworth has given the city a deadline of Monday afternoon, otherwise he says he’ll be forced to make a determination on safe policing without it.
“It is critical that I receive this report. Now is not the time to play games. The safety of people in Surrey is too important.”
Madison Reeve
Environment Canada’s special weather statement remains in place for highway passes in the southwest interior.
The impacted highways include the Coquihalla Highway – Hope to Kamloops, Highway 3 – Hope to Princeton via Allison Pass, and the Okanagan Connector – Merritt to Kelowna.
Wet snow or a mixture of rain and snow over the passes will create slippery conditions until Tuesday morning.
The statement was issued early Sunday morning.
“The two highest passes saw a little bit of snow, but not too much. Pennask Summit received two to three centimeters of snow, but it mostly didn’t accumulate on the road, only on the sides. We also noticed some amounts of snow on the sides, trees, and grasses at Kootenay Pass,” said Terri Lang, meteorologist with Environment Canada.
Lang expects snow overnight on Monday and into Tuesday morning.
“It’s during the night when the temperature cools off. The freezing levels are such that the rain would turn to snow, creating problematic conditions. Because the air mass is cool, we know that freezing levels tend to drop during the night,” Lang explained.
“Anyone traveling through those passes should be prepared for snow. I know it’s June and everyone is thinking about the beach and summer holidays, but you have to remember there is a significant elevation difference when traveling from one valley to the next,” Lang added.
For the latest information on driving conditions, visit drivebc.ca.
TW Buck / Glacier Media – Jun 19, 2023 / 10:49 am | Story: 432642
Photo: .
Adam Harling, and daughter Quinn caught this beautiful rainbow trout while fishing Dinosaur Lake, BC.
BC Family Fishing Weekend was out luring from June 16 -18.
This is an annual celebration of fishing which coincides with the Father’s Day weekend each year, and 2023 marks the 24th year for the event. Throughout the third weekend in June is a chance to fish license-free, our provincial government waives the requirement for residents of Canada to buy or carry a non-tidal basic fishing license.
The idea of BC Family Fishing Weekend is to encourage fishing enthusiasts, family, and friends to go out fishing together, maybe for their first time.
According to the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which manages the fishing in tidal waters, there is also an opportunity to fish salt-water for free. There are some exceptions, if you are planning to fish for a species that requires a conservation surcharge stamp in classified waters, then you are still required to purchase the appropriate license and stamp.
[email protected]
Sandor Gyarmati / BIV – Jun 19, 2023 / 10:49 am | Story: 432641
Photo: .
It’s been a similar story for other growers, as well as retailers, across Canada since the product was legalized in 2018, as over-supply, high costs and plummeting prices forced many to close their doors or scale back. Agra Ventures photo
A company that had a joint venture with a large-scale East Ladner greenhouse to grow cannabis has terminated its partnership, citing significant losses and the operation never being profitable.
Agra Ventures Ltd., which had a partnership with Houweling Nurseries on 64th Street in a venture called Propagation Services Canada Inc., also known as Boundary Bay Cannabis, announced on Friday it has “mutually agreed to effectively terminate and amicably exit” the joint venture by way of executing a series of agreements with its partner and related entities.
The company said it has settled its debt receivable and sold its equity interest in Boundary Bay Cannabis to its joint venture partner for an aggregate of $250,000.
Nick Kuzyk, CEO and Director of Agra Ventures, has resigned as an officer and director of the joint venture.
The company also said it has taken a significant step towards stemming its tide of financial losses and is now better positioned to preserve its current cash balance, as well as consider a strategic pivot in a more promising direction within the cannabis industry.
Agra Ventures said it has used approximately 130,000-square-feet of the 2.2 million-square-foot Delta greenhouse complex and, despite selling essentially all of the bulk cannabis that was produced within the greenhouse, and with the added assistance of a third-party wholesale cannabis brokerage firm to attract the best purchasers, high levels of supply resulting in declining market prices, combined with high operating costs, prevented the joint venture from being profitable at any time.
Since inception, Boundary Bay Cannabis “had accumulated approximately $25 million in losses and was not expected to record net income in the foreseeable future, due to unfavourable industry conditions, an onerous regulatory framework, and unattractive competitive dynamics.”
It’s been a similar story for other growers, as well as retailers, across Canada since the product was legalized in 2018, as over-supply, high costs and plummeting prices forced many to close their doors or scale back.
The Competition Bureau recently gave a series of recommendations on changes to the Cannabis Act to Health Canada.
In a statement, Nick Kuzyk said the recreational cannabis industry has not been set up for success and significant changes are needed to the Cannabis Act and other tax-related improvements.
Tasked with reviewing the current legislation, the Bureau’s recommendations include loosening the rules on how cannabis is packaged, reviewing the licensing process and regulatory compliance costs, as well as raising the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) allowed in edible products.
The president and CEO of another large-scale cannabis greenhouse operation in Delta, Pure Sunfarms, recently said it is a good start, but more is needed to help the viability of the legal cannabis industry in Canada.
“We’re happy to see the Competition Bureau make recommendations to support the competitive dynamics in our industry. It’s a good start, but without meaningful excise tax reform, we fear we won’t see the change we need to create the conditions necessary to allow our industry to thrive,” Mandesh Dosanjh told the Optimist.
Photo: The Canadian Press
UPDATE: 9:30 a.m.
The general secretary of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Society in Surrey, British Columbia, confirms the president of the gurdwara was fatally shot in an attack just outside the temple.
Bhupinder Singh Hothi says in a telephone interview that Hardeep Singh Nijjar had just left the gurdwara and was in his vehicle in the parking lot when he was attacked on Sunday night.
Surrey RCMP said in a news release that the shooting happened at about 8:30 p.m. and the victim died at the scene.
They say they are searching for suspects and trying to confirm a motive for the homicide.
Hothi says Nijjar had received threats because of his support for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan, in India, but the shooting will not deter those who share his beliefs.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has called a news conference for this afternoon in Surrey to provide further information about the case.
A video posted on Twitter about 90 minutes after the shooting showed a large crowd gathered outside the gurdwara, the scene illuminated by the flashing lights of police cars.
Some in the crowd chanted “long live Khalistan,” “we want a separate Khalistan,” and “death to India,” as RCMP officers looked on.
A video circulating on social media shows a person slumped over in the driver’s seat of a grey pickup truck, the windows shattered. Another video of the same scene from a different angle shows the vehicle surrounded by police cars.
– The Canadian Press
ORIGINAL: 6:15 a.m.
One person is dead following a shooting Sunday evening at a temple in Surrey.
RCMP say the shooting happened in the parking lot of the temple at 70th Avenue and 120th Street in Surrey.
Police were called to the scene about 8:30 p.m. on the 7000 block of 120th Street.
An adult male was found suffering from gunshot wounds inside a vehicle.
Officers provided medical assistance until paramedics arrived, but the man died of his injuries at the scene.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has been called in and will be working in partnership with Surrey RCMP.
Police remained on scene overnight, speaking to witnesses and canvassing for any video and physical evidence.
Possible motives for the shooting are not yet known, and police are still working to determine possible suspect descriptions from multiple witnesses who were in the area.
Police say social media posts are speculating on the identity of the victim, but are not in a position to confirm the victim’s identity at this time.
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