Local News

Improving B.C.’s adoption rate for children in care requires taking a long-term view, but the ministry in charge is too busy running from crisis to crisis, the New Democrats’ critic for Children and Family Development said Monday.

Bob McKenzie, the publisher of the Times Colonist since 2004, announced Tuesday that he was stepping down from the helm of what he called “the best newspaper in B.C.” His replacement has not yet been named.

A government liquor store site in Esquimalt, the Provincial Capital Commission headquarters and a James Bay parking lot are among properties being transferred to southern Vancouver Island First Nations in advance of full treaty settlements.

Another flurry of bills is expected to hit the legislature this week, even as the government admits it doesn’t have enough time to pass everything into law before the election campaign.

The family of 83-year-old Surjit Bhandal is getting a second chance to have the Indian national stay in Canada based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Bhandal has been asked to submit a new application for permanent resident status.

A Victoria lawyer who has earned a reputation among some as a fearless defender of free speech and others as an apologist for hate criminals is dying.

Now that he is dead, apparently by his own hand, you wonder if Bob Deryk — Bonsai Bob — just couldn’t stand the idea of going to prison, of losing his wilderness home.

B.C. needs to have a long overdue chat about regional policing in Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria, says Justice Minister Shirley Bond.

Thanks to a tip, police have “a possible suspect” in the case of an intoxicated man who was spray-painted with graffiti while he was passed out, said West Shore RCMP Sgt. Max Fossum.

WASHINGTON - Janet Napolitano, the Obama administration's homeland security chief, warned Tuesday that the looming array of U.S. spending cuts known as sequestration will cause pain for Canadians, in particular at the busy Canada-U.S. border.