Royal Visit: Prince William and Kate Paddle to Haida Gwaii by War Canoe

Prince William Duke of Cambridge helps row a traditional war canoe in Haida Gwaii, B.C., on Sept. 30, 2016. Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Prince William and Kate arrived at a small village off the coast of B.C. on Friday in a replica 15-metre Haida war canoe, taken to the remote island by paddlers wearing T-shirts opposing liquefied natural gas development.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were welcomed to the Haida heritage hall by more than a dozen chiefs and elders.

Young dancers in brightly coloured and beaded costumes performed a dance to honour the survivors of Canada’s residential schools and their personal journeys.

Meet Canadian Mayor Who Wore Same Suit For Over One Year

Double standards are alive and thriving in politics. To prove that, one B.C. mayor wore the same suit for well over a year and waited for someone to notice and say something about it.

No one did.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said his 15-month social experiment only came to an end after a councillor made an offhand remark about his “plain, off-the-rack, boring, dark blue” suit.

“The comment was actually because three councillors had worn grey suits, and I was in a dark blue suit. So it was a flippant ‘Didn’t you get the memo?' comment,’ Stewart wrote on Facebook Monday.

In a 1,300-word note titled “What if the mayor wore the same suit for a year?” — most of it written in 2014 to reflect his thoughts when he began his test — Stewart talked about his experience.

He made reference to women in B.C.’s legislature — who make up 25 per cent of all MLAs — and how they face criticism based solely on what they choose to wear.

Church of Mormon wins fight with BC polygamous leader

James Keller  The Canadian PressA religious leader in a small polygamous commune in southeastern British Columbia has been forbidden from using trademarks belonging to the Mormon church, which has long condemned such fundamentalist splinter groups that continue to practise multiple marriage.

The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court last year after learning Winston Blackmore had registered the corporate name Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Inc. in the province.

Blackmore, who was charged last year with practising polygamy, is one of the leaders of Bountiful, a community whose residents follow a fundamentalist form of Mormonism that condones polygamy.

The mainstream Mormon church renounced polygamy more than a century ago and it has taken pains to make it clear it is not connected to Bountiful or a number of similar groups in the United States.

Two BC Terror Suspects Plead Not Guilty

Two people accused in what the RCMP described as a plot to blow up the British Columbia legislature have both pleaded not guilty in a Vancouver court.

The Canadian Press
Two people accused in what the RCMP described as a plot to blow up the British Columbia legislature have both pleaded not guilty in a Vancouver court.

Jury selection began today for John Nuttall and Amanda Korody who are charged with knowingly facilitating a terrorist activity, conspiracy and making or possessing an explosive device.

BC nurse leaves hospital after negative Ebola test

Patrice Gordon, a B.C. nurse practitioner and Red Cross delegate who recently returned from Sierra Leone, tested negative for Ebola this week. She is seen here caring for a one-month-old baby with Ebola in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Red Cross

Laura Kane The Canadian PressA B.C. nurse practitioner who was being tested for Ebola will be reunited with her family on Friday after health care workers confirmed she does not have the virus.

Patrice Gordon of Rossland, B.C., travelled to Sierra Leone in November to provide medical care to people suffering from Ebola and returned to Canada on Christmas Day. She checked into hospital in Kelowna, B.C. on Monday after she felt cold symptoms.

She tested negative for Ebola on Tuesday, but remained in hospital for further testing until her release on Thursday. Gordon told reporters in a conference call that she never truly feared she had the disease.

“I knew there was a very, very outside chance, but it never felt that way to me. I didn’t feel sick like I had seen people sick there. I knew how absolutely meticulous I had always been, we had always been,” she said.

Oops! Girl’s discredited story of sex assault cost BC father chance at job

Bob Ireland, here at his home in B.C., was falsely accused of sexual assault by his former foster child, and his family has suffered financial ruin. Torstar

Torstar News Service
It was a stunning allegation from the mouth of his little girl.

Robert Ireland’s foster daughter, whom he cared for in his seaside B.C. home for nearly a decade, made allegations of sexual assault against him shortly after she left in 2012, when she was in her early teens.

Her claim, investigated by police, never led to a charge or conviction. But it remains on his record, continues to undermine his ability to work and support his family and has changed the former police officer’s life for good.

“I was devastated,” says Ireland, 64, a married father of one daughter, another adopted girl and former foster parent to several children over the years, including the accuser and her brother.

Christian university sues Law Society of BC over decision to not accredit law grads

Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C

Keven Drews The Canadian PressA Christian university embroiled in a debate about religious freedoms and same-sex equality rights will challenge in court a Law Society of British Columbia decision not to accredit graduates from its proposed law school.

In contention is a community covenant at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., that prohibits sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman.

The society accredited the proposed law school last April but reversed that decision in October.

Earlier this month, the government announced that it was also revoking its support.

University spokesman Guy Saffold said the judicial review will ask the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn the society’s decision because it acted improperly under its own procedural guidelines and Canadian law.

“The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the freedom of religion, the freedom of religious communities to express their identity and we feel that the decision the law society has made violates those very important freedoms of our Canadian society,” said Saffold.

A similar judicial review is already underway in Nova Scotia. There, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society has decided not to allow graduates of the proposed law school to enrol in the bar admission program unless the university dropped a requirement that students sign a pledge to abstain from sex outside heterosexual marriage.

The Law Society of B.C. said in an email that it will defend its decision and respond to the university’s petition within the time provided under the court’s rules.

10th outbreaks of avian flu hits BC farm, more than 50,000 birds infected

A 10th outbreak of avian influenza was discovered at an egg-laying farm in Langley on Dec. 14, 2014, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

CTV
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed a 10th outbreak of avian flu has been discovered at an egg-laying farm in Langley, B.C.

More than 53,000 birds at the unidentified farm have been infected, pushing the total number of birds that are either dead or set to be euthanized to 233,800, according to the CFIA.

It marks the first time during the current outbreak that H5N2 has been found at a farm in Metro Vancouver.

The virus had so far been contained to B.C.’s Fraser Valley.

The outbreak was first discovered Dec. 1 at a broiler-breeder farm in Chilliwack before spreading to nine more broiler-breeder and turkey farms in Abbotsford.

It is unclear where the virus originated but officials believe it's possible that migrating birds may be to blame for its rapid spread.

Bird flu outbreak prompts seven countries to ban BC poultry

A couple of chickens feed on a hobby farm in Maple Ridge, B.C., Monday, Apr. 5, 2004. Five Fraser Valley farms have been placed under quarantine and more than 140,000 turkeys and chickens will be euthanized. At least seven countries have banned poultry products from either B.C. or all of Canada. (RICHARD LAM/CP)

SUNNY DHILLON | Globe and mail
Poultry producers across Canada are keeping an eye on the avian-flu situation in the Fraser Valley, but the outbreak has had little effect outside B.C., industry officials say.

Five Fraser Valley farms have been placed under quarantine and more than 140,000 turkeys and chickens will be euthanized. At least seven countries have banned poultry products from either B.C. or all of Canada.

The outbreak has stirred up memories of 2004, when avian flu led to the slaughter of 17 million chickens, turkeys and other domestic birds at more than 40 Fraser Valley farms. That outbreak cost the industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

Mike Dungate, executive director of the Chicken Farmers of Canada, said in an interview on Sunday that poultry producers in other provinces have yet to feel much impact as a result of the situation in B.C.

For 2nd Consecutive Year Bighorn Ski Chalet BC Named Best In The World

For the second consecutive year, a ski chalet in Revelstoke, B.C. has been named the best in the world.

Bighorn lodge won the title of "World's Best Ski Chalet" from the 2014 World Ski Awards, which started last year.

Gorgeous and cozy, Bighorn boasts an outdoor hot tub, a cinema, and a spa. Revelstoke, located in B.C.'s Kootenays, is known for its heli-skiing (where a helicopter takes you to unparalleled and hard-to-access ski terrain).

Ski industry professionals (tour operators, agents, senior executives, travel buyers, and media) as well as the public vote on the awards.

Other notable winners include France's Val Thorens for best ski resort, Utah's Stein Eriksen Lodge for best ski hotel, and Japan's The Vale Niseko for best ski boutique hotel.

Huff

You Want Some! BC woman offers cuddle sessions for $60 an hour

Victoria, B.C., masseuse Alexis Anderson says business is booming since she launched her cuddling service, SnuggleService.ca, in August. Courtesy Alexis Anderson

Thandi Fletcher Metro
The official Saudi Press Agency says a Canadian citizen was stabbed by a local man while he shopped in a mall with his family in the country's oil-rich Eastern Province.

“I’ve always been a very snuggly person,” Anderson told Metro. “Everybody’s good at snuggling as far as I’m concerned, but to snuggle strangers is a different kind of thing.”

For $60, customers at Snuggle Service get an hour’s worth of cuddling activities of their choosing with Anderson, from spooning to back patting and hand holding.

Anderson also offers cuddle-and-a-movie packages for $150 (no sexy or horror movies), as well as an overnight cuddle session that includes a movie in the evening with healthy snacks and a home-cooked breakfast in bed for $350.

Oldest person in Canada dies at 113

Merle Barwis, 111-years-old enjoys a birthday beer with family in Victoria, B.C. December 23, 2011. The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press
Canada’s oldest person who was known for celebrating her birthday with a cold beer has died just one month and one day shy of her 114th birthday.

Merle Barwis lived at The Priory residential care facility in Victoria, B.C., and held the oldest-person title for almost two years died Nov. 22.

Her grandson Terry Barwis, 65, a resident of the nearby community of Sooke, said she had few tips to share with her family about longevity.

“She said there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said. “If you’re old, you’re old. And if you’re young, you’re young.”