Premier David Eby and Grace Lore, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, have released the following statement in advance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women:

“Gender-based violence remains prevalent in communities throughout B.C. with women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender, non-binary and other gender-diverse people targeted with violence. The impacts on survivors, their families and communities are devastating and long-lasting.

“We know intimate partner and family violence, femicide, and all forms of gender-based violence increased in intensity, frequency and complexity during the pandemic. When restrictions eased, sexual assaults increased.

“We stand firmly against this violence and the misogyny, racism, colonialism, transphobia and ableism that continues to enable it.

“From Nov. 25 until Dec. 10, 2022, governments, organizations, communities and people come together to mark the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.

“These 16 days are a time to rally together in solidarity to end violence, in support of survivors and in recognition of the many people providing vital services and care. Throughout B.C., community organizations, advocacy groups, sexual assault centres, victim services and transition houses support survivors of violence with care, compassion and experience.

“Every day, people on the front lines are working to break the cycle of domestic violence, end the silence and stigma around sexual assault, and provide safety and healing for survivors and their families.

“We recognize our role in changing culture and reinforcing the lifesaving work underway to help end gender-based violence. Our government is delivering new, stable funding to support sexual assault response services; counselling, outreach and crisis support; victim service programs throughout B.C.; and critical investments in transition, safe homes, and second-stage housing so people rebuilding their lives have a safe place for themselves and their children.

“We know there is much more work to do.

“That is why we are developing a plan to help end gender-based violence. Our work will be guided by Indigenous partners, an advisory committee and the many experts, advocates and leaders who came together earlier in 2022 to provide feedback that will shape B.C.’s gender-based violence action plan.

“We want to especially acknowledge the advisory committee that has come together as we develop the plan for their experience, insights and expertise. We know that this work needs to be done in collaboration with the people who are working directly with survivors and their communities to ensure we are prioritizing our work to support those who have faced gender-based violence and help stop the violence that is having such an effect on people’s lives.

“We grieve the friends, family and community members who have been stolen from us by violence and femicide, including thousands of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people who have been murdered or who are missing in Canada.

“Stopping gender-based violence is everyone’s business. If you see or hear that something is wrong, speak up.

“Anyone who is in danger should call 911. If you or someone you know is being abused, or if you are concerned about someone’s safety, call or text VictimLink BC through its toll-free 24/7 confidential, multilingual telephone service at: 1 800 563-0808, or email: VictimLinkBC@bc211.ca

“Let’s challenge the behaviour that hurts people, break the silence that allows abusers to use violence, and pledge to make our province safer for everyone.”

Vancouver: The British Columbia man who killed his two young daughters on Christmas Day in 2017 has been denied an appeal by the province’s highest court.

Andrew Berry claimed the lower court made numerous errors, including that the judge allowed the jury to hear evidence of incriminating statements he made to first responders, hospital staff and his sister.

He was convicted in 2019 of second-degree murder for the deaths of four-year-old Aubrey Berry and six-year-old Chloe Berry, who were found stabbed to death in their beds in the Victoria-area community of Oak Bay.

The trial heard Berry claimed he was attacked by a man connected to a loan shark and his two daughters were killed, but the Crown claimed his “long-simmering animosity” towards his estranged partner led him to kill the girls.

In a unanimous ruling by three members of the B.C. Appeal Court, the judges dismissed the appeal, saying the trial judge didn’t commit any errors that would prompt them to change the verdict.

Berry was sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole for 22 years.

The Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival (VISAFF) was a huge success with over 80 film screenings, including 12 features and 8 documentaries, bringing together many respected members of the community from across Metro Vancouver and beyond.

The Opening Night Red Carpet Gala at Surrey City Hall kicked off VISAFF with great fanfare. Member of Parliament Randeep Sarai and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke were among the many dignitaries in attendance. The audience was also wowed by performances of San Francisco based violinist Raaginder and Shiamak Davar’s dance troupe.

At the Gala, VISAFF recognized actress Balinder Johal with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her immense contribution to the entertainment world. Actress Agam Darshi was also presented with a Leadership in Film Award for her contribution to the entertainment industry and the South Asian community. Writer and Director Jacquile Singh Kambo received the Emerging Artist Award at VISAFF and we wish him all the best for his future projects.

With the theme Unity in Diversity this year, representing a convergence of strong and authentic South Asian voices through the language of films, the VISAFF line-up included films in 16 different languages.

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C.: Prince Rupert RCMP say a 44-year-old man is believed to have shot and killed a 52-year-old woman at a local mall Monday morning before attempting to take his own life, in an incident that sparked a lockdown of the area.

Police were called to Ocean Centre Mall after reports of gunfire and fears of an active shooter, but officers say it was an “isolated incident” between two people who knew each other.

RCMP say in a statement the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man is in hospital in critical condition

Const. Gabriel Gravel says potential witnesses who haven’t spoken to police should come forward and provide a statement.

Investigators are also looking for surveillance, dashcam or other video recordings from around the mall between 6 and 9 a.m.

The mall has been closed to the public until further notice and while police say there is no active threat, they are asking people to avoid the area while officers continue their investigation.

The names of the victim and suspected gunman have not been released.

The shooting had prompted concern from officials including Premier David Eby, who began his news conference on housing Monday with remarks about the incident.

“I understand there is a very serious police-involved incident in Prince Rupert this morning that sounds incredibly troubling and that our thoughts and certainly our hearts go out to everybody affected by that incident this morning,” he said.

“We have limited details right now but certainly all British Columbians are thinking of the people of Prince Rupert right now.”

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond said the shooting was “truly tragic” and that supports are available for anyone in the small community who may need them.

Pond said his office, located near the scene, was locked down for about 90 minutes with people being told not to leave.

“When you get the word that this is a truly tragic incident it’s overwhelming. A lot of our staff know at least some of the individuals involved. There’s some overlap. So we’re offering counselling to our people,” he said.

Pond encouraged residents who felt affected by the incident to seek out resources.

Victoria: When a dike was breached and floodwaters started to flow across British Columbia’s Sumas Prairie a year ago, poultry farmer Corry Spitters said all he could do was let nature take its course.
A feeling of helplessness gripped him as the encroaching water methodically engulfed his farm’s 21 barns, and 200,000 of his chickens drowned, he said.
“You stand there and Mother Nature takes control,” said Spitters, 67. “What can you do? The water comes in and there’s nothing you can do.”
All he could think about as rising water claimed his chickens was: “Thank God we’re not drowning (too),” he said in an interview.
The record rains brought by an atmospheric river last November swamped southwest B.C., inundated farmland, washed out major highways and railways and forced thousands to flee.
Five people died in what the Insurance Bureau of Canada ranks as B.C.’s most costly weather event, with insured losses of $675 million.
A year after the disaster, provincial officials spent the past week touting rebuilding and recovery. The government said permanent repairs to the dikes were expected to be complete by next month, most dairy and poultry farms were “back to normal”, and Highway 8 had reopened to the public after being washed out in 25 places.
But any sense of optimism is tempered by an awareness from climate experts and residents alike that the next big storm could come sooner rather than later.
Climate scientist Francis Zwiers, director of the University of Victoria’s Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, said the group produced a study this year that concluded human-induced climate change had increased the probability of such an event by up to 50 per cent.
“The probability of what we thought historically were high numbers has been increased because of human influence on the climate system,” he said in an interview.
The scale of last November’s rainfall is told in the records shattered in almost 20 B.C. communities and locations.
From the morning of Saturday, Nov. 13, to the following Monday afternoon, 252 mm fell at the Coquihalla Highway Summit. In Hope, 225 mm fell, and in Agassiz, 208 mm.
Zwiers said the rains launched floods so severe that water level gauges in some locations were damaged or unreadable.
“It’s really hard to get reliable answers out of the gauges because typically when there’s a heavy rainfall event, the gauge becomes inaccurate,” he said in an interview. “It, in essence, becomes damaged by the extreme stream flow that’s produced.”
At one point in mid-November, all major transportation links out of Vancouver to B.C.’s Interior and east to Alberta were cut by landslides or washouts, including the Trans-Canada Highway, Coquihalla Highway, Highway 3, Highway 99 and rail lines.
Zwiers told a Senate committee reviewing the B.C. floods last June, that while such a storm was previously regarded as a once-in-50-years, or 100 years, event, precipitation of such magnitude was more likely a once-in-12-years event.
Zwiers said an atmospheric river is categorized as a flow of water vapour across the Pacific that originates in the subtropics.
“The particular atmospheric river that occurred was aligned with the Fraser Valley in a way that allowed moisture to penetrate relatively deeply into southwestern B.C.,” he said.
Spitters, whose Oranya Farms at Abbotsford is Canada’s largest organic chicken producer, said that in addition to drowning his flock, the flooding damaged and destroyed farm equipment.
“The birds alone were upwards of $2 million, and beyond that we had equipment damage and repairs and clean up that totalled in excess of $1 million,” he said. “We had a total loss of probably $3.3 to $3.4 million.”
But Spitters said he was back shipping between 40,000 to 60,000 organic chicken products to customers in Western Canada about one month after the storm.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said last week it had been an emotional year for many B.C. farmers, but most dairy and poultry farmers were back to normal, and most field crops had been planted as usual.
The Sumas Prairie dike breach saw 1,100 farms placed under evacuation order or alert, with 150 square kilometres of farmland swamped, resulting in the deaths of 630,000 chickens, 420 cattle and 12,000 hogs, she said.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said last week that repairs to the Sumas Dike were expected to be complete by the end of November, with 500 debris sites cleared. He said the province had approved more than $41 million in funding to repair and restore sites along waterways in the Fraser Valley, while a total $24.6 million in disaster financial assistance payments had been made.
Transportation Minister Rob Fleming meanwhile hailed the work of repair crews to reopen Highway 8, which winds along the Nicola River between Merritt and Spences Bridge. He called the repairs an “important milestone.”
Such efforts aren’t erasing concerns about a repeat of the disaster, however.
At Hope, about 150 kilometres east of Vancouver, Dewan Davesar runs the Hope Pizza Place restaurant with wife Rupinder. They were widely praised for providing free hot food for stranded travellers last year.
“I don’t actually know why I did that,” Davesar said in an interview. “It’s a signal from God. I think God gave me that signal.”
The family brought in a generator after the restaurant lost power and kept handing out free pizza, garlic bread and tea for days, he said.
“They tried to give me money but I said, ‘No, I don’t need money on these days,”’ said Davesar.
Davesar said that in the past year he’s purchased extra coolers and now keeps a generator at the restaurant.

By Dirk Meissner
The Canadian Press