Continued on

From page 1 stick handling that one and many similar “personal agenda” questions.

Premier Eby made it clear that there will by no snap election. He said no one wants an early election and in his tour of BC during the leadership campaign, no one said they wanted a quick election.

Premier Eby said his government intends to honor the fixed date election which means next election will be in 2024. He was pretty committed so it does not seem like he will pull a fast one like his predecessor John Horgan did by calling a snap election mid way in his first term in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic to selfishly grab an absolute majority.

Premier Eby also spoke about homelessness and said that he and his cabinet are busy with trying to fix the homelessness problem all over BC - not just in Downtown Eastside Vancouver where currently there are two large tent encampments. He skillfully avoided a question about corruption in the “ homeless and poverty industry”in which most of the money flowed to advocates and staff salaries and administration costs of advocacy groups instead of actually going towards homes for the homeless. He is traded talked about how the NDP government has streamlined ICBC but steadfastly ignored what is happening at BC Housing. Premier Eby did venture into the lion’s den by answering a question on policing transition in Surrey - something that the Surrey MLAs do not do even in their sleep. Premier Eby said proper procedures, protocols and rules will by followed on the issue of police transition in Surrey. He also said that any police investigation into “fake letters” sent to the Solicitor General in support of Surrey Police Service should be initiated by the Gurdwaras and temples whose letterheads were used without permission. Premier Eby spoke at length on health care and how the BC Government is working hard to attract more medical professionals, including foreign trained professionals, to this province. And he spoke of how the government is trying to reduce the line ups at hospitals throughout BC. The newly minted premier carefully stayed away from the federal government demand for healthcare reform in exchange for more healthcare dollars that is being demanded by the provinces. Premier Eby was accompanied at the press conference by local cabinet ministers Jagrup Brar, Harry Bains, Bruce Ralston, Ravi Kahlon, Rachna Singh, Speaker of the Legislative Raj Chohan and MLAs Aman Singh, Garry Begg and Mike Starchuk.

Premier David Eby (fifth from left) with NDP MLAs.

Canada’s ban on the manufacture and import for sale of some plastic items, including grocery bags and straws, has taken effect. As of December 20, companies can no longer produce or bring into Canada plastic checkout bags, cutlery, stir sticks,

Straws and other single-use plastics now banned in Canada

straws and takeout containers -- and in a year, it will also be illegal to sell them. The manufacturing and import ban will extend to the plastic rings used to package six-packs of canned drinks next June and their sale will be prohibited a year after that. The federal government estimates that getting rid of the single-use plastics will eliminate 1.3 million tonnes of difficult-to-recycle plastic waste and a million garbage bags’ worth of pollution.

Here’s what is included in the federal

plastics ban Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised in 2019 that a ban would take effect by 2021, but it took the government a year longer to figure out a regulatory framework to make it happen. Statistics published last month suggested that Canadians were already cutting back on using items such as straws and plastic bags ahead of the national ban.

Resident of homeless shelter says victim protected her during altercation. Eight teenage girls have been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of a 59-year-old man in Toronto, police say. Police have not released the man’s name because his next of kin is still being notified. Three of the girls are 13 years old, three are 14 years old and two are 16 years old, according to Det.-Sgt. Terry Browne of Toronto police’s homicide unit. Three had previous contact with police, he said. Police believe the girls met on social media. None of their identities can be released under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The girls appeared in court at Old City Hall on Sunday, were remanded into custody and are due in court again on Dec. 29. Police have no evidence that suggests that the girls knew their alleged victim. Browne said police wouldn’t describe the girls as a gang at this point, but investigators are calling the incident a “swarming,” which he said normally involves selecting a target to victimize. At a news conference Tuesday, Browne told reporters a group of people flagged down emergency medical services staff in the York Street and University Area — in the city’s downtown core just north of Union Station — on Sunday around 12:15 a.m. Police said the group of teen girls allegedly assaulted and stabbed the man. Unclear why girls met that night Browne said the man was socializing with another person when the group of eight approached him. Police don’t yet know why the girls did so or why things escalated, Browne said. The entire incident unfolded over the span of three minutes, he said. The man was taken to hospital by paramedics with life-threatening injuries and died a short time later, police said. Officers from 52 Division arrested the girls nearby and recovered a number of weapons, Browne said. Police have not said what those weapons were. Police believe the girls came from various parts of the city, but don’t know how or why the met that night. Investigators also don’t know how long the girls have known each other, Browne said. “We really can’t see what the [connection] is with these eight young ladies right now. But our sense is, right now, that there’s probably some sort of social media component to it,” Browne told Here and Now. The girls were also involved in an altercation before the stabbing, said Browne, describing their behaviour as criminal. The earlier incident is believed to be “similar in style to the swarming,” he said.

Police believe the group was in the area at least by 10:30 p.m. ‘He protected me,’ witness says of victim Police say the victim moved into Toronto’s homeless shelter system in late fall and had a supportive family system. “He is not someone that I would describe as someone who appears or has been homeless for a long period of time,” he said. A resident of the homeless shelter at the Strathcona Hotel, who didn’t want her name to be used, said, she was smoking a cigarette with the man outside the shelter when the group of girls approached them. She said the girls tried to take her alcohol. The man told them to stop and leave her alone, she said. “He protected me,” she said. The girls punched him repeatedly, she added. She walked away because she was frightened and one of the girls tried to follow her. “Bleeding, bleeding, bleeding. I didn’t know if they had a knife or what. I was just scared,” she said.

8 teen girls charged with 2nd-degree murder in swarming death of man in Toronto: police

A Surrey man has been charged with a shooting on a busy Coquitlam street in 2021, police say. Police say Gunder Bringi, 26, charged in shooting that they say happened during argument. Gunder Bringi, 26, has been charged in relation to the daytime shooting in the area of North Road and Clarke Road, Coquitlam RCMP said. Officers responded to a call of shots fired on March 31, 2021 around 5:30 p.m. One man was found with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Cpl. Alexa Hodgins, media relations officer with Coquitlam RCMP, stated the shooting happened during an argument between two men. “This shooting occurred on a busy street during the day in the middle of the week, which shows a complete disregard for public safety.” Police say Bringi, who remains in custody, has been charged with multiple offences including: Discharge of a Firearm with intent to wound or disfigure a Firearm contrary to Order Coquitlam RCMP asks anyone with information regarding the shooting are asked to call 604-945-1550, and quote file number 2021-8323.

Extreme cold conditions cover most of BC & Alberta

From page 1

ECCC. Weather alerts in BC Many regions of BC are under extreme weather alerts. On the South Coast, arctic outflow warnings are in place for the following areas: Fraser Valley- Greater Victoria- Howe Sound- Metro Vancouver- Whistler In Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, strong outflow winds and cold wind chill values continue to bring bitterly cold temperatures throughout the region from Wednesday through Thursday. Wind chill values of -25°C to -20°C are expected, while in Fraser Valley East, it’ll be more like -30°C to -25°C. An arctic front brought a cold airmass to the South Coast, with outflow winds bringing temperatures five to ten degrees below seasonal. Weather alerts in Alberta The entire province is blanketed in weather alerts from ECCC. In both Calgary and Edmonton, extremely cold wind chill values of minus 40°C or colder are expected to continue throughout the week. It will be the coldest overnight and early morning, with some places seeing wind chill values of -50°C or colder on Wednesday. It’s expected to start warming up by the weekend.

14-year-old girl arrested after alleged assault at Guelph high school

A teen has been arrested and another girl sustained a concussion after an incident at a Guelph high school. According to Guelph police, on Dec. 7, they received a call from a parent saying his daughter was assaulted at school that morning. Police said the victim was in the hallway of a local high school when she was approached by another girl, slapped, pushed against a wall and punched several times. The victim sustained various bumps and bruises and was transported to hospital for treatment of a concussion. On Tuesday, a 14-year-old Guelph girl was arrested for assault causing bodily harm and is expected in court in February.

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