British Columbia will see its Federal Transfers increase in the 2025-26 fiscal year.The Federal Government announced that B.C. would receive nearly $10-billion total major transfers.The first estimate of the province's Canada Health Transfer was $7.548-billion, with the province also set to receive $2.404-billion in Ca...

The Member of Parliament for North-Okanagan Shuswap said 2024 had some positives and negatives for most Canadians.Speaking to Vernon Matters, Mel Arnold said the highlight for his political career this past year was having his Private Members Bill (PMB) pass and become law."One of the highlights for my year has be...

Police in Kelowna seized drugs and a loaded weapon from a stolen vehicle.On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 18, Kelowna RCMP's Proactive Enforcement Unit located a vehicle that was stolen from Vernon this past July.The vehicle was stopped and the male driver attempted to flee on foot.Officers, with assistance from the P...

The province oversaw the planting of more than a quarter of a billion trees over the year.Through the B.C. Government's reforestation efforts, more than 280-million trees were planted throughout the province in 2024.There were 13 different species of native trees chosen for the replanting efforts in order to preserve n...

Penalties for flipping homes in British Columbia will come into effect in the new year.Starting January 1, 2025, the B.C. home-flipping tax will be in place to discourage investors from buying homes in order to take advantage of the housing market and turn a quick profit.People who buy their homes and sell them within ...

The former Hell's Angles Clubhouse in Kelowna has been sold to the city. The government finalized the sale of the property valued at roughly $1.25-million seized by the Province through the Civil Forfeiture process. "In February 2023, three Hell's Angels clubhouses in Vancouver, Kelowna and Nanaimo were forfeited ...

Harwinder Sandhu has a new role in government and is ready to bring her personal experience into her work.The MLA for Vernon-Lumby was named the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture for the B.C. NDP Government.Speaking with Vernon Matters, Sandhu said she grew up in a farming family and understands the efforts neede...

Kelowna RCMP have determined the death of a woman this past summer was not criminal in nature.The Serious Crime Unit investigated the death after the body of a 28-year old woman was located in the lagoon portion of Waterfront Park on June 21, 2024."We now have the necessary evidence and reports to conclude this wo...

UPDATE: 2 p.m. Dec. 18The winter storm and snowfall warnings for Highways 1 and 5 were lifted by Environment Canada Wednesday afternoon.-- Original Story --Environment Canada re-issued storm warnings for two area highways Wednesday morning.The weather agency extended the Winter Storm Warning for the Coquihalla, between...

The B.C. Government's forecast shows the deficit is set to rise.The province provided an update on B.C.'s second quarter economic and fiscal report Tuesday, Dec. 17, which showed the projected deficit for 2024-25 to be $9.4-billion.That figure is $429-million more than the first quarter forecast, and was mainly attribu...

Environment Canada is warning that heavy snow could fall on the Okanagan Connector, Coquihalla and Trans-Canada.The weather agency issued a Snowfall Warning for the Connector and for Highway 1 between Eagle Pass and Rogers Pass Tuesday, Dec. 17.The forecast for those two roads called for between 15 and 20 centimetres o...

People wishing to travel between the Okanagan and Ontario will have more options in the spring of 2025.Porter Airlines is expanding its services in B.C., and among the new routes is one between Kelowna International Airport (YLW) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).Service will begin on May 14, 2025, with f...

Rock The Lake music festival will host a Battle of the Bands competition.The event will see local musicians compete for a chance to earn a paid spot on the 2025 Rock The Lake lineup.The Battle of the Bands will be held at Red Bird Brewing on Feb. 28 and March 1, 2025."Rock The Lake is all about showcasing talent a...

Mounties in Kelowna are looking to return an ATV to its rightful owner.The green Kawasaki Brute Force 750 4x4i ATV was recovered from a property in the Lower Mission area after police executed a search warrant in relation to possession of stolen property in early-November.The ATV recovered by police (photo courtesy of ...

RCMP in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan are hailing the Stuff a Cruiser events as a success.Mounties set up two donation locations in Kelowna on the weekend of Dec. 5, and through these efforts were able to collect 418 unwrapped toy donations, along with $962 in cash.Similar events were held in Lake Country and West K...

Two provincial parties have come to an agreement on how to address some key issues and ensure the NDP hold the legislature for a full term.The B.C. NDP signed an agreement with the Green Party on B.C. outlining actions the government should take, with a focus on priorities that improve life for British Columbians.Premi...

Fraudsters are attempting to steal money from Vernon residents and visitors.Phishing scams have been targeting parking apps, including HotSpot, the third-party parking payment provider in Vernon.The City of Vernon warns that these scams usually appear online during searches, and involve fraudulent websites or advertise...

Kelowna RCMP recovered a stolen vehicle during the evening hours of Thursday, Dec. 12.Police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle in the 1000-block of Highway 33 and, after a search of the area, police located the vehicle with a potential suspect sitting inside.The suspect fled on foot and Police Dog Services were...

The B.C. Government is taking steps to ensure the film and television industry continue to operate in the province.Budget 2025 will include increases to the Film Incentive B.C. (FIBC) tax credit, which supports Canadian-content production, and the production services tax credits (PSTC) that provides a tax incentive for...

The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. (IIO) is investigating an incident in which a man was injured in Kelowna.The independent police watchdog said RCMP observed a man riding a bicycle near the intersection of Pandosy St. and Leon Ave. around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11.The rider tried to flee from police and was...

Vernon North Okanagan RCMP are investigating threats directed towards AL Fortune Secondary School in Enderby.Police learned of the threats at around 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, and worked with the school's principal to possibly identify the source."As a pre-caution, police were available at the school Thursday ...

The local branch of Habitat for Humanity is running a raffle fundraiser that has already received a lot of support.The Okanagan branch of the organization's 50/50 raffle had already surpassed the $144-000 mark as of Wednesday, Dec. 11, and the campaign continues through to midnight Saturday, Dec. 14.Half of the money r...

A motor vehicle incident on Harvey Avenue caused some traffic disruptions Wednesday morning.DriveBC said the vehicle incident occurred between Ellis and Pandosy Streets in Kelowna, just east of the William R. Bennet Bridge, Wednesday, Dec. 11.The last update provided by Drive BC at 9:23 a.m. stated southbound traffic w...

An organization dedicated to keeping doctors in the North Okanagan is running a winter fundraiser.The Haugen Community Healthcare Society, formed in 2008 to facilitate the Group Medical Clinic for Armstrong and Spallumcheen residents by sharing the clinic rental costs, is running a Hang a Stocking for Haugen fundraisin...

Kelowna RCMP's Operation Barcode saw dozens of people arrested and thousands of dollars in stolen property recovered in under a week.The operation, ran between December 2 and 7, saw the Community Safety Unit (CSU) work alongside Loss Prevention Officers (LPO's) and area businesses to target repeat shoplifters in the Ce...

The new student housing building at Okanagan College's Kelowna campus has been given First Nation names.Westbank First Nation Elders, Pamela and Grouse Barnes, provided two Syilx Okanagan names for the new building at a special ceremony Friday, Dec. 6.The building will be called citxʷ ki snmymyaʔtn, which translates ...

UPDATE: 2:25 p.m. Dec. 6The highway between Kelowna and Lake Country has reopened following an investigation into an alleged assault in the area Kelowna RCMP says the assault occurred in the early morning hours Friday, Dec. 6, and the highway was closed between Old Vernon and Beaver Lake Roads as local police and membe...

The labour force figures for the area that includes Vernon and the North Okanagan saw some fluctuations last month.Statistics Canada says the Thompson-Okanagan economic region had an unadjusted unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent in November, while the regional employment rate was 54.3 per cent.The unemployment rate was ...