B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Still trying to clean up the devastation of last week's storm, farmers in the Sumas Prairie of Abbotsford, B.C., are bracing for more rain this weekend.
After the area was flooded by days of torrential rain, with up to 120 millimetres more expected by Sunday morning, neighbours are helping one another pick up the pieces and salvage what they can.
Grant Bouwman and his family were back at their farm on Saturday after flood waters had forced them out last week. They were able to save their cows, but their barns and home were completely flooded.
"Farmers are tough, we're resilient, we know how to keep going, but it's not always easy," he told CTV National News. "There's a mental and emotional side."
On Saturday, trailer after trailer, driven by friends and neighbours, pulled into the family's property to help with the cleanup.
"It's emotional, but at the same time it's encouraging," he said. "People want to help."
As soon as water started flowing into the Sumas Prairie, the community mobilized.
"They just dropped everything and jumped in their pickup trucks," Richard Bosma told CTV National News.
Neighbours were able to help Bosma rescue every single one of his animals, but while his cattle are safe, his home remains underwater.
"It was a little disheartening to see the water hadn't gone down a little more, it was still about three feet deep," he said. "There's a slick of diesel fuel out there."
The added storm this weekend has slowed down cleanup efforts, dropping more rain every hour on an area desperate for reprieve.
Crews in Abbotsford were racing Saturday to complete repairs to the Sumas dike, a crucial tool in the city's defence against further flooding.
"We have done everything we can in a very short period of time," mayor Henry Braun told reporters Saturday.
The dike failed during the storm last week, flooding much of the Sumas Prairie. The situation was made worse when the Nooksack River in Washington State burst its banks and spilled into the Sumas River, which flows north across the border.
Now, with more rain this weekend and another storm expected next week, there are fears the dike could be breached again.
"The unknown factor is how much water is going to come from south of the border," Braun said. "The rain we can handle, I'm pretty confident of that, what we can't handle is if the Nooksack overflows."
Canadian troops, along with community volunteers, have been working to protect homes from further damage.
In the meantime, locals are doing what they can to get on the road to recovery.
"It could take weeks. It could take months," Bouwman said. "Depending on how strong the dikes are and how much water keeps coming."
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.