Until 2017, BC was considered Japanese beetle free before the first insect was spotted in downtown Vancouver. Since then the federal food agency has overseen a tracking and eradication program in several Lower Mainland cities.

The City of Kamloops spent three times more on legal bills than it budgeted for last year. That's after a year of numerous council conduct investigations, an ongoing court challenge against new civic facilities and a hike in Freedom of Information requests.

B.C. General Employees’ Union President Paul Finch says the contract for 34,000 provincial government workers expires March 31, but talks are starting earlier. Finch says the union is cognizant of the financial and economic challenges facing the province, but its members have been facing an affordability crisis and a rising cost of living.