CentreBC pledges $25M 'rural ER stabilization fund' to keep emergency rooms open
CentreBC Leader Elenore Sturko has announced plans for a $25-million-a-year "rural ER stabilization fund" to help keep emergency rooms open in the province.
The party's campaign pledge says the fund would pay locum doctors and nurses, and fund travel costs and "virtual ER backup."
Sturko, who is CentreBC's only incumbent legislator, says her party's plan will reduce wait times and increase public accountability in health care.Â
None of the leaders of British Columbia's larger parties have scheduled announcements in the provincial campaign on Saturday as voters head to municipal polls, a week out from voting day in the general election.
The B.C. Conservatives say interim leader Lorne Doerkson will be in Williams Lake where he's voting in the local elections and greeting constituents at campaign offices.
The BC NDP says Leader David Eby has no events while the BC Greens say Leader Emily Lowan is campaigning in Sidney and on Mayne Island.
Eby's decision to call the provincial election for Oct. 24 meant overlapping campaign periods with the municipal vote, drawing criticism from opponents and the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
Advance voting in the provincial election is already underway and continues until Wednesday.
The Conservatives have pledged they would legislate against provincial and local elections within 60 days of each other.
Doerkson said Friday the release of costings for his party's platform was "imminent" but the party hasn't said when that will be. The NDP and Greens have already released their costings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OSAP pause leads career college to suspend classes
An Ontario career college has suspended its academic operations as a result of a province-wide pause on student financial assistance to all private post-secondary institutions.
Trillium College, with campuses in St. Catharines, Kingston, Oshawa, Sudbury and Cobourg, says in a notice to students that as of Friday it paused classroom and online instruction.
It comes after Colleges and Universities Minister Nolan Quinn announced earlier this month that Ontario Student Assistance Program payments to career colleges and other private post-secondary institutions are paused while an audit is underway.
Career Colleges Ontario has warned the government repeatedly about potentially suspicious OSAP usage at a few colleges, while Quinn's office says evidence has emerged of "systemic issues."
Quinn has not named any specific colleges that may be under suspicion, but Trillium College campuses were not among six where Quinn denied OSAP eligibility earlier this year.
Trillium says its temporary academic pause is necessary because "continuing normal classroom operations without a viable funding solution would place the orderly completion of student programs at greater risk."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.
By Allison Jones | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
2 RCMP officers charged after N.W.T. man died in police custody in 2025
The RCMP says it has laid charges against two of its own officers after a man from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, died in their custody last year.Â
The Alberta RCMP, which led the investigation into the man's death, says the two Yellowknife officers face charges of criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life.Â
The charges stem from an incident in March 2025, police say, when the two officers responded to a report of a disturbance at a Yellowknife business.
When the officers arrived, the RCMP says they detained a man who was showing signs of intoxication and left him inside a police vehicle while they gathered more information at the scene.
Police say the officers returned to the car and found the man, 56-year-old Lawrence Blackduck, unresponsive.
He was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, the RCMP says, after life-saving measures were attempted and paramedics were called.
The RCMP did not give further details about the officers' alleged conduct which gave rise to the charges.
The national police service says it conducted an internal review in the aftermath of the incident and it has since made changes to police policy and training related to in-vehicle detentions.Â
Chief Superintendent Dyson Smith of the Northwest Territories RCMP extended his condolences to Blackduck's family and community and called the incident "deeply troubling."
"“This is a difficult day for our organization and the communities we serve. We recognize the seriousness of this incident and remain committed to transparency, accountability and maintaining public trust and confidence," Smith wrote in a statement.Â
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.