February 2026

B.C.’s new budget does away with the Independent Office of the Merit Commissioner, a legislative oversight body meant to prevent the governing party from appointing political cronies to positions of power in the public service. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey justified the decision by arguing that the commissioner hadn’t found any impropriety in recent audits, so […]

Without even as much as a mention in the most recent budget, B.C. is suspending the multi-billion-dollar Community Housing Fund that was a key part of its strategy to crawl out of the housing crisis. The sudden decision has left many local governments and those in the non-profit housing sector exasperated and confused. And project

Dear Editor, [Re: Trees a waste of tax dollars, Feb. 6, The News] So garbage pickup again raises its messy head. The city does not take the responsibility for looking after residents’ garbage now, and it never has. Recycling was started in Maple Ridge in 1972 by a local group of environmentalists, and has grown

BC RCMP are renewing their call for information on a 13-year-old homicide case in West Kelowna. Today, Feb. 18, marks 13 years since Jeremy Snow and Tiffany Goruk were killed. Snow, 33 at the time, and Goruk, 30, were driving in West Kelowna at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2013 when the SUV they

Harman Bhangu is the latest to throw his hat into the ring and announce he’s seeking the leadership of the B.C. Conservatives. Bhangu, MLA for Langley-Abbotsford, had already said he was strongly considering a leadership bid, in the wake of the resignation of former leader John Rustad. Rustad was forced out in a caucus revolt.